Here’s a business
strategy that can have a huge impact on your sales, and it doesn’t require a
large investment – no fancy software to buy and you don’t have to hire companies
to implement it. As a matter of fact, you’re already doing it. The question is:
are you doing it well?
This critical business
tool is CRM: Customer Respect Management. It’s different than Customer
Relationship Management, which is an integration of people, process, and
technology that provides seamless integration of every area of business that
touches the customer. Make no mistake, Customer Relationship Management is a
great strategy for large corporations which present multiple faces to the
customer. But regardless of your size, scope, or business, every company needs
to excel in Customer Respect Management.
Customers are the very
foundation of why you’re in business. They purchase your goods and services.
Without customers you’re out of business faster than you can say, “May I help
you?” Customer Respect Management means holding the customers in the highest
esteem and having a great appreciation for them. It’s not just a strategy. It’s
an action. It’s what Profitable Retailers do on a daily basis.
Almost all companies
believe they’re high in Customer Respect Management. I wish this were the case.
If it was, every time you went shopping would be a great experience. You would
leave stores feeling good about your experience. Unfortunately, as customers we
more often feel under-appreciated and not respected by many of the companies we
do business with. Ask a group of retail executives and owners if they respect
their customers and everyone will raise their hand. Ask a group of customers if
they feel respected by retailers and considerably fewer hands will go up.
Actions do speak louder than words.
I have to stop here for
a minute with a rant: Store owners who consciously or unconsciously allow
employees to park in the best spots closest to the door should be ashamed of
themselves. One day I went to the Starbucks® down the street. The first four
parking spaces were taken so I pulled into the fifth, walked into the store and
saw four employees and no customers in the store. Shame.
The Stop & Shop® grocery
store across from Starbucks is the same. When the store opens at 7 a.m., half of
the parking spots nearest the doors are taken and there’s not a customer in
sight. Shame.
These are spaces that
could be better used by the elderly, by a parent with young children in tow, or
– heck! – me. I’m your customer. But no, employees who haven’t been trained to
respect the customers enough to walk an extra twenty to thirty steps twice a day
take the best spots.
In small towns across
America, including my own, retailers complain that customers don’t shop in their
stores due to lack of parking. All too many of those same retailers walk out and
feed the meter in front of their stores so their car doesn’t get a parking
ticket. Shame.
Consider the lost sales
from a customer who had planned to come to your store, but gave up when there
was not a handy parking space. Maybe that customer had just a limited amount of
time, and when he or she saw that no space was readily available, that customer
just kept driving.
It’s ironic that
retailers spend millions of dollars on Customer Relationship Management when the
bigger problem is Customer Respect Management. I would put up signs in front of
all the close parking spaces that read, “Reserved for our best customer: You.”
Profitable Retailers
know that strong and lasting relationships of all kinds begin with respect.
Customer Respect Management doesn’t require a large investment of time or money.
It just requires that you respect your employees, and then let your actions as a
leader speak as loud as your words. Ensuring that your store is high in Customer
Respect Management will guarantee a successful and lasting relationship with
your customers.
About the author:
Doug Fleener is founder of the Dynamic Experiences Group. He is a veteran
retailer with more than 25 years of hands-on retail experience with world-class
retailers including Bose Corporation and The Sharper Image. He has also owned
and operated his own specialty stores. His new book, The Profitable Retailer:
56 surprisingly simple and effective lessons to boost your sales and profits
published by Acanthus Publishing.
Doug is now president and
managing partner of Dynamic Experiences Group LLC, a Lexington based retail
consulting firm dedicated to helping retailers create unique customer
experiences that results in higher sales and profits. Learn more at
www.dynamicexperiencesgroup.com or call Doug at 866-535-6331.
Fleener also shares his
knowledge of experience based retailing in a series of custom key notes and
workshops designed for stores, businesses, corporations, non-profits, and trade
associations of all sizes. His casual style and quick wit make him not just a
crowd pleaser but also an incredible motivator, encouraging people to take
action and deliver extraordinary experiences to customers and employees alike.
Learn more at
www.dougfleener.com.
