Five Common Damaging Customer Service Mistakes you need to Avoid

Successful companies understand the importance of customer service. You’ve kept your nose to grindstone to build a strong business that can survive the test of time, not to mention, you have a perfect team of aggressive and efficient workers, caliber products and an agile system that promises to over-deliver. While everything looks acceptable to you, your business is in an uphill battle of tough competition. Sales are in limbo and you are becoming increasingly concerned.

So what went wrong? Your customer service sucks. According to recent studies, 62 percent of global consumers are no longer doing business from brands and organization due to unsatisfactorily customer service experience. In today’s market environment, it is simply not enough to offer customers with exceptional products or service. Companies have to provide a seamless customer service in order to keep them from coming back for more.

Many companies understand the significance of customer service and they take it seriously. Think about what Amazon, Apple, Fresh Direct and Google Shopping Express have in common? They are the best of the best when it comes to giving their customer, an exceptional shopping experience.

Customer service is a key driver of customer retention and loyalty, which yields to enormous profitability. Below are five common damaging customer service mistakes, yet-avoidable, and how you can fix them altogether.

 Not Paying Attention to your Customers

We know it’s a busy day, but this alone should not be a reason to ignore your potential customers. Make sure you are actively listening and giving every customer your complete attention. Ask questions and always seek for a solution that works well for both parties.

Treating your Regulars way better than First-Timers

Each customer is extremely important, whether they are new or regulars. A person in a store is close to a buying decision and far closer than your average potential buyer on a list. One must treat each customer as if they were your only customer. Never give your regular customer a preferential treatment over new potential ones.

Letting your Customers Wait

Generally speaking, nobody enjoys waiting, especially if you are already annoyed about a product or having issues with a service. Always remember to try and deal with customers in a timely manner. Be clear what your response time and keep them updated. Your customers would definitely like to know that you respect their time and waiting them too long is a serious business killer.

Don’t Sell what your Customers Needs, Give them what they Want!

The possibilities are endless for influencing purchase behavior. Many customers nowadays are making research online before paying a visit to your store and when they come in, your poorly trained staff, will give the product they are certainly looking for or would simply jut tell them, they don’t have it.

In this case, your customer will lose another option to discover your other product or a premium item that will work well for that customer. They lost the opportunity to compare your product “apples to apples”. Your store is going to be dependent on what your customer needs, rather than what you carry.

Stop Arguing with Customers

Whether it’s a legit complaint or not, never argue with your customers. Even if you don’t accept their issue, you need to acknowledge their thoughts and opt to finding a resolution instead.

Being successful when it comes to customer service is about being genuine in helping your customer. Another aspect is to make the whole process easy as possible for the customers, so they feel valued. Try to avoid these common mistakes and focus on getting these right and surely you will be ahead of the game!

The post Five Common Damaging Customer Service Mistakes you need to Avoid appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/five-common-damaging-customer-service-mistakes-you-need-to-avoid/

Tips on Surviving the Retail Apocolypse

Tips on Surviving the Retail Apocalypse

The competition between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores has reached ominous proportions. It’s a difficult time for retailers, as a huge number of major brands and outlets are closing, many are consulting experts to modernize their business and strategize just to survive.

Despite a robust economy, traditional store closures have reached levels last seen during the great recession 9 years ago and literally speaking, walking through a mall in 2017; seems like walking through a graveyard.

According to the research firm Fung Global Retail & Technology, there are more than 8,000 stores that have closed nationwide last year and it is expected to peak in 2018. Many have signaled the beginning of the “retail apocalypse”, however, that probably exaggerates the reality, because elsewhere, there have been signs of life and it’s all not doom and gloom.

This is not the end for the brick-and-mortar store, rather an opportunity to embrace your physical and digital storefront, improve experiences to engage -especially the young consumers -both online and in store. Retail isn’t dead, it is undergoing a transformation!

Here are some tips how you can resist the impending doom and survive the retail apocalypse.

Deliver a seamless customer experience

Retailers have to service where their customers are. There are a lot of opportunities to purchase behavior and catch their attention, from the item that they wanted, to selling things they didn’t realize they needed. It is significant to reward customer loyalty and cross-device engagement by transforming interaction to unique experiences. One perfect example is through the use of augmented reality. This enable brands to create one of a kind in-store experiences and bring merchandising to the next level. Another strategy is producing exclusive events to VIP members (like product launching, early access to new products, extended hours, etc.) to provide sort of exclusivity for consumers desires.

Creating relevant content0

Great branding empowers customers and helps them develop their own sense of identity. According to the latest study of Epsilon, 80 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences. Inspiring content, built around customer activities and interest, help consumers decide how they can use the product in their everyday living. Another aspect to consider is how to effectively communicate content to different channels, example, reaching loyal customers with more personalized campaigns online. Understanding consumers shopping behavior can create more compelling in-store visits.

Encouraging and rewarding customer engagement

Engaging and keeping customers with your loyalty programs can be challenging. To make them interested, they have to be constantly reminded of their benefits and other rewards suitable for them or else they might forget and will potentially cause a negative effect on your business. Make your rewards program fresh, enticing and innovative with new exciting offerings and perks. Your customers want to get the latest updates and do not want to miss out any of your promotions and new offerings.

The retail landscape is changing rapidly and surely retailers can’t control all of the shopping behavior of consumers. Stores that fail to innovate will not survive. When you have a clear understanding of your consumer and identify, maintain and improve their in-store experiences plus invest in new strategies, you can absolutely survive the retail apocalypse.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in retail POP display products and has been creating and manufacturing quality accessories for retailers since 1980. Contact us to learn more how we can help you.

The post Tips on Surviving the Retail Apocolypse appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/tips-on-surviving-the-retail-apocolypse/

Triggering the Buying Impulse

People like to think they’re impervious to advertising and marketing.  But the truth of the matter is that most consumers can be reached via some simple triggers.

Triggering the buying impulse is intimately connected with the same thought process which leads people to pretend they’re not conditioned to respond to certain triggers.  They want to be “special”.  They want to be “in the know” and they want to feel as though they’ve obtained something everyone wants, but doesn’t have.

And that’s the key to understanding consumer behavior – people want to feel they’re first in line and know something others don’t.  Successful marketing triggers work from that knowledge and it’s highly effective.

Let’s talk about triggering the buying impulse by following some simple guidelines, outlined below.

The free gift.

They say there’s no free lunch, so what’s better than offering consumers something free with their purchase?  People love to break the rules and the time-honored rule about the “free lunch” is the reason a free gift can trigger impulse buys.

Online giant, Amazon, uses this technique.  When a product is selected, the “free gift” offer will pop up.  Also in play is bundling, which offers additional items at reduced cost.  If you’re an omnichannel retailer, applying this model to your online merchandising can bump your revenue by 10-20% and that’s not peanuts.

Needful things.

Everyone needs socks.  That’s a given (especially right now, as winter closes in).  Offering these and other needful things at a discount easily compels impulse buys.

Shoppers need them.  You need to move them.  Featuring items necessary to your shoppers at a reduced price is an excellent way to clear out inventory that’s taking up space in storage.

Don’t miss out!

Time-limited offers appeal to the psychological tendency to not want to miss out on something important.  Urgency, coupled with a limited supply of what your featuring appeals to this tendency.

Add to those qualities a high value to the consumer (whether monetary or psychological) and you have a winning item that will trigger impulse buys.

Popular?  Sale!

You’re already tracking your best-selling products, so putting them on sale is a baby step toward increased sales revenue, driven by impulse buying.

Omnichannel retailers have the jump on this tip for triggering the impulse buy.  Your social media platforms, shopping app and even Beacon technology can be used to alert consumers that their favorite products are on sale.  That alone can get them into the store and purchasing what you’ve got on offer.

Clip Strip Corp.

As an innovator in retail POP display products, Clip Strip Corp. has been creating and manufacturing superior supports for retailers since 1980.

That’s almost 40 years of experience bringing retailers quality accessories and display supports.  With that experience comes a desire to make life more profitable for retailers by offering them the display options they need for success in an intensely competitive market.

Because we’re leaders in the market, we’re always coming up with something new.  That’s how we got our start and why we’re still in business after almost 40 years.

The post Triggering the Buying Impulse appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/triggering-the-buying-impulse/

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Aren’t Fading Away. They’re Transforming.

We’re living in a consumer’s market.  When shifts occur in the retail sector, they’re usually driven by a combination of forces, but right now it’s the consumer who’s determining who succeeds and who doesn’t.

The rise of online retail has presented traditional retailers with a profound challenge.  But here’s the thing – they’re meeting that challenge with bold innovation and consumer-facing efforts which are revolutionizing the sector.

Brick-and-mortar stores aren’t fading away.  They’re transforming by providing immersive consumer experiences which are highly personalized and driven by the shoppers who visit their stores.

Tailor-made retail.

Part of the transformation of traditional retail resides in its embrace of the same channel that’s occasioned the disruption to begin with – the internet.  Brick-and-mortar stores are learning to create the same personalization, but in a 3D way, that the online retailers do for their visitors.

Consumers are demanding a retail experience which speaks directly to them and what they want from their shopping experiences.  And for those who claim that price point is everything, they should know that consumers will spend more for an experience that caters to them.

40% of shoppers say they’ve paid more for an item because they received highly-personalized service in the store they bought it from.  A slightly higher percentage of consumers say they return to stores which offer them this.

Online shopping gives consumers an element of control which is guided by vendors, but driven by the buyer.  Traditional retail can follow that lead, by adding amenities and features which give their shoppers the sense that it’s all about them.

Finally, omnichannel marketing means that customers can shop online, come into the store to pick up their purchase and shop, while they’re at it.  But the pros in brick-and-mortar are going even further.

Innovation is transformation.

The major players in retail are some of the most innovative in terms of ensuring they don’t fade away.  Department store giant, Nordstrom, has introduced new outlets which feature no product.

That’s right.  No product.

Instead, Nordstrom’s invites customers to come in for a styling session, with a personal fashion advisor.  Following a consultation, clothes are ordered and brought in, while the customer enjoys a drink.  It’s this type of transformative innovation which is keeping brick-and-mortars in the game, by putting consumers in the driver’s seat.

American Eagle has changed its strategy by making its stores student-friendly spaces which allow them to come in and wash their clothes, study and hang out.  They might not buy anything that minute, but while they’re there, you know they’re making a wish list.

As you can see, brick-and-mortar stores aren’t fading away.  They’re transforming to put the customer at the center of the retail experience in a way that’s innovative and intelligent.  They’re answering the challenge from online channels in ways which are re-shaping the future of traditional retail and its continuing health in the market.

To survive, we’ve always had to adapt.  Brick-and-mortar stores are doing just that – adapting and transforming.

Contact Clip Strip Corp. for exceptional retail POP display supports.

The post Brick-and-Mortar Stores Aren’t Fading Away. They’re Transforming. appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/brick-and-mortar-stores-transforming/

Get the Most Out of Your Retail Store this Holiday Season with Visual Merchandising

Christmas is retail Ground Zero.  This is where the rubber meets the road for retailers, with 30% of their annual income deriving from the Holiday shopping season.

That means you need to pull out the stops and give it everything you’ve got.  One way to achieve the desired effect (record sales) is visual merchandising.  While the term may cause the faint of heart to blanch, you’re a retailer.  You’re in a sector which is not for the faint of heart to begin with, so fear not.

You’ve got this.

To get the most out of your retail store this Holiday Season with visual merchandising, there are some simple, cost-effective rules to follow.  These are basic rules.  You don’t have to be an artistic genius to make them work.

Bring the color.

Because it’s the Holiday Season, the first colors to come to mind are red, green and white.  That’s all very well and good, but you can use other colors to create an arresting and beautiful display.

Stick to two colors.  That’s the most effective strategy for using color in your visual merchandising efforts.  Try hues not traditionally associated with the season.  Lose the green and red, replacing them peacock blue, or magenta.  Paired with white, these create tension and contrast which catches the eye.

Storytelling is powerful.

Your front window is the most traditional site to tell your shoppers and potential customers a story.  That story is about the Holiday Season, your products and your brand.  All these elements can work together to create a surprising tale which translates into sales.

Maybe your story is about Holiday stockings, hung with care.  Your products are the gifts stuffed in them and your brand logo adorns them all.   Or maybe your story is about Santa Claus’s cookies, left on the kitchen table for him to enjoy, in thanks for his Christmas Eve efforts.  Those cookies may be gourmet biscotti, or they may even be soaps in the shape of cupcakes.

But the story’s the thing.  Tell it without words and allow shoppers to walk into the tale you’re telling.

Create a focus.

Visual merchandising demands a thoughtful approach.  Don’t overwhelm your shoppers with too much of a good thing.

Creating a hotspot which draws the eyes of your shoppers is a tactic which can increase sales by almost 230%.  It’s effective.

Santa’s cookies or cupcakes (your products) are the focus of your display – not the table.  What’s in the stockings is the focus – not the stockings themselves.  When using visual merchandising during the Holiday Season, get your products seen in a whimsical way which speaks to the magic of this time of year.

You can get the most out of your retail stores this Holiday Season with visual marketing when you approach it as one of your customers.  What do they want to see?  Visual merchandising is for them, so think like them for great results.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in high quality retail POP display supports.

The post Get the Most Out of Your Retail Store this Holiday Season with Visual Merchandising appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/holiday-season-visual-merchandising/

Winter Display Ideas to Fall in Love With

Winter is coming.  It’s already feeling like it out there, but it begins officially on December 21 this year.  Winter display ideas to fall in love with and share with your customers can be fun.

There are so many ways to create beautiful winter displays without breaking the bank.  For this post, we’ll focus on cost-effective solutions.  We’ll also look at ways to achieve the effect you’re going for without driving yourself crazy.

Everyday items and unusual choices.

Winter displays are as easy as everyday items you might find around the house.  Cotton balls, for example.  String varying sizes of these on fishing line and create a snow storm in your window.

Scout around the dollar store and you’ll probably find plenty of fodder for your winter display genius.  Go to the arts and crafts aisle and look for white feathers.  Now, look for glitter glue.  Use the same fishing line you did for the cotton ball snowstorm to hang them and you have a surprising effect which is outside-the-box.

Secondhand shops are another great source of inspiration.  Often, you’ll find old doilies nobody wants here, bundled for a very small price.  Buy them!  Now adhere them to your window in the shape of a Christmas tree or snowman and voila, you’re a visual merchandising superstar.

Consider yourself crafty, or have kids who are?  Decoupage snowflakes are a folksy alternative to secondhand store doilies.  If your kids make them, that’s another wrinkle to your efforts – telling your customers about it.  Your kids might also want to help with constructing paper garlands, or popcorn and cranberry ones.

With a little imagination, the sky’s the limit.

Use words.

Your winter display can become even more fun, with the addition of a chalk board.  Write the words to seasonal songs in fancy script on the board, decorating it with a doily or two.  “Baby it’s cold outside”, or “the weather outside is frightful”, becomes an entertaining display element.

Even standard merchandising supports (as found in the trusty dollar store – yes, we love that place) like pre-printed “open” and “sale” signs can be customized to create another dimension to your in-store merchandising.  Adorn them with LED lights in the shape of icicles or stars and create something from next-to-nothing.

Create a world.

Your window is an opportunity to create a branded environment for your products.  Using simple materials, you can make magic from basic items.  Consider an enchanted winter forest, lit by twinkling LED lights.  The trees are bare branches, which can be found just about anywhere, lying on the ground, doing nothing.  5 to 10 of these make a small forest.  Arrange them around your merchandise, displayed in mounds of packing popcorn to imitate snow.

Back to the secondhand store.  Create a scene of a vintage Christmas using period ornaments that older people will recognize as those of their childhood.  This is especially effective if that’s your target demographic, or if you’re a toy shop frequented by doting grandparents.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in innovative retail POP supports.

The post Winter Display Ideas to Fall in Love With appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/winter-display-ideas-to-fall-in-love-with/

How to Reduce the Negative Effects of Slow-Moving Inventory

Every retailer needs to meet the retail challenge and that challenge is more evident in inventory management than in any other facet of retail sales.

Balancing the need for an inventory that keeps people coming in to buy and interested, with stocking top selling items is no mean feat.  Your fast-moving products usually account for about 20% of what’s in your stockroom.  The other 80% requires a watchful eye.

Let’s talk about how to reduce the negative effects of slow-moving inventory, to keep your stockroom dynamic.

Tracking is key.

We don’t have to tell you that keeping track of what’s in the back room is key to effectively managing inventory.  But allocating staff time to do so is a challenge.

Knowing what’s not moving is key to this project.  Once you’re aware of that factor, you can start with periodic checks to ensure you’re on the right track, where slow-moving product is concerned.

Once an underperforming stock item is identified, your job is to figure out how to reduce the effect of having it on the shelf.  Are you going to re-market it as something desirable, with an innovative campaign to move it?  Or are you going to recycle it as a gift to loyal shoppers, or as a co-op promotion?

Having strategies in place to move inventory that’s not moving itself is key to maintaining space for that 20% of top-selling inventory.  Perhaps it’s time to introduce automation that helps you see problems coming without having to resort to complex inventory regimes.

Key moments to move it and how.

Excess stock becomes most evident at the end of seasons and at the beginning of the year.  These are crucial times for you to act to reduce their impact on storage space and cash flow.

Even if you need to move these items at major discount, having the cash from those sales is more beneficial than stocking them at a loss.

If stock has been lying around for over 3 months, you don’t want it around anymore.  It’s time for a sales event, or a special offer.  Clearance sales are an ideal way to get that stock out of the back room, converting it into cash.

Following a season like summer, move those bikinis, shorts and sunglasses with an end-of-season sale.  Use social media to spread the news.  If you run a loyalty program for your diehard customer base, let them know first.  Offer discounts for Facebook shares and watch your store fill up with people ready to buy excess stock.

Creativity and process is how you reduce the negative effects of slow-moving inventory.  Excess stock happens to every entrepreneur who ever went into retail.  It doesn’t matter how carefully you plan, it’s just a part of the brick-and-mortar life!

Clip Strip Corp. is a leading provider of retail POP display supports for retailers like you.  Our innovative products allow you to use every inch of floor space you have, to move product efficiently and create a professional, customer-friendly environment.  Contact us.

The post How to Reduce the Negative Effects of Slow-Moving Inventory appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/reduce-negative-effects-slow-moving-inventory/