Avoid nightmares during the holidays
6 ways to prevent nightmares during the holidays
Fall is seen as the dividing line between the summer months and the upcoming winter holidays – a playful sign of the massive consumer spending that would follow. According to a new survey from financial services firm Bankrate, 50% of holiday shoppers in the US start their shopping before Halloween.
It’s important to make sure you’re prepared for the influx of shoppers and maintain the same quality of customer service you strive for all year long. With strategic vacation planning, you can tackle challenges head-on and impress your clients. Let’s take a look at the best ways to avoid being haunted by negative customer experiences for the remainder of the holiday season.
1. Eliminate inventory problems
Customers enter your store expecting to find what they are looking for. This shouldn’t be surprising, but a study from the IHL Group found that retailers lose more than $1 trillion in sales due to both under-stock and over-stock situations . The statistics are shocking, but it points to an opportunity for your company to be the place that always has what customers want. Ensure that your physical and online stores are not overloaded with stock of unimportant products and always have the “must have” party supplies available by optimizing your inventory management system .
How efficient is your supplement? How automated are your purchase orders? When you maximize the functionality of your inventory system, you can eliminate waste from over and under inventory by having full visibility of your merchandise. No matter how many stores you have or how many channels you sell through, a modern inventory solution gives you real-time insight into the inventory of your locations and warehouses. When you as a store make the most of your inventory management, your customers will leave the store with both the items they came for and a great review to share with family and friends.
2. Offer exceptional promotions
If there’s one thing consumers love, it’s taking advantage of great deals. Retailers start hunting for bargains early, and it’s up to you to be ready. This means that the benefits of preparing and carrying out promotions for you as a retailer cannot be underestimated.
Ideally, your promotions should benefit both your business goals and the demands of your customers. Know where your prices fit in the market compared to your competitors’ prices and measure the success of previous promotions. Be careful to maintain the perceived “value” of your products when promoting sale prices, your customers would rather buy a product of value than one with a suspiciously low price. Running several promotions simultaneously can be complicated, but if you select a store management system with powerful promotional functionality, the process of running attractive deals is simple. You can manage multiple promotions at once, schedule their activity periods, set a hierarchy that clarifies which promotion should overrule other promotions, and track the results of each campaign.
Customers will have positive experiences when you offer bundle discounts, initiate buy-one-get-one-free deals, and create personalized offers that suit their tastes, all while keeping significant profits for your business. These strategies are not only great for improving your margins , but also give shoppers a sense of accomplishment.
3. Reward loyalty
As you strive to provide great customer service for your shoppers, it’s important to remind them how important they are to your business. By implementing a loyalty program, your stores can share their investment in customer satisfaction with the customer themselves. You can strengthen their bond with your brand by surprising them with tailor-made discounts, tailored to their purchasing history.
Additionally, the more shoppers take advantage of these promotions, the more insight you gain into their purchasing habits. This means future rewards will be even more tailored to their preferences, and you can even offer limited edition items or personalized experiences. If you know your customers well, it is easy to provide rewards that really hit the right note. A clear understanding of what your most loyal customers value can also help you improve your long-term inventory management.
Globally, 56% of consumers say they would be more likely to buy from a brand with a loyalty program , so what are you waiting for? These types of programs can be easily set up and made available across all your touchpoints, allowing customers to access them online and via their mobile devices, giving them much more convenience and flexibility. Let your loyal shoppers know that your company values their business and treat them to an unexpected, yet personalized purchasing experience.
4. Embrace an integrated shopping platform
With most consumers integrating online technology into their daily routines, the reality is that your business must have both a traditional and an online store. It’s just as important that these storefronts can share data in real time , so all your sales channels can make the most of what your business has to offer.
Some retailers try to solve this problem by using add-ons that they integrate with their current systems. However, these can leave you with a Frankenstein’s monster of different modules and vendors , all producing inconsistent data and functioning with sub-optimal efficiency. The result is that you are left with frustrated customers who, after comparing their options and deciding what to buy, receive an email two days later telling them that their item cannot be delivered – “Sorry, we have we just realized it’s out of stock!”. Or worse, they order an item online that is in stock and can pick it up in the store, but are told on the spot that it is not available. 58% of consumers say it is important for inventory status to be visible online while shopping, Gartner reports.
With a unified retail management system like LS Central , you can decide which e-commerce promotions should match those in your stores, while also giving shoppers the ability to return and exchange items purchased online at the in-store customer service desk. Most importantly, you can match the stock numbers shown on your site with your locations. Providing your customers with useful and accurate product information is a surefire way to deliver a phenomenal experience.
5. Prioritize the employee experience
While technology can be the foundation for how your business works, don’t underestimate the power of human interaction . Whether it’s over the phone, email, or on the sales floor, the quality of your customer service determines how your customers view your brand.
Customers enter your store or website with a certain set of expectations , so your staff must be able to consistently represent your company’s customer service culture wherever they are. Make sure you have a clearly defined set of beliefs around the customer experience, and don’t hesitate to invest in training programs that can provide further guidance and interaction with these values. And with so many companies hiring seasonal employees, it’s especially important that they have all the tools needed to provide excellent customer service on the sales floor, like an intuitive Point of Sale system that allows them to be trained quickly and efficiently .
Your employees will also have an easier time meeting and exceeding customer expectations as your culture allows them to be friendly, informed and responsive. If the customer has a negative experience, your associate should feel comfortable “making it right,” even if that means getting a special price or in-store credit. Acknowledging a negative experience and responding quickly can make all the difference when trying to maintain customer loyalty.
6. Respond to customer feedback
Even if you have your act together in terms of inventory, promotions, loyalty rewards, employees and your retail system, you can still experience negative customer experiences. That happens despite your best intentions and even under the best of circumstances. What matters is that you respond to your customers’ feedback in a proactive manner , showing that you care about their opinions about your services. Remember, if they take the time to let you know about a bad customer experience, chances are they will pass their complaints on to your other customers as well. And perhaps worst of all, 73% of customers switch to one of your competitors after several bad experiences.
The same qualities your customers look for through human interaction when shopping can be applied when responding to negative feedback: empathy, kindness, and a genuine willingness to make things right. Accept your company’s potential shortcomings and use your customers’ criticism as a guide to finding solutions. The success of your business is based on the relationship you maintain with your customers. Be their hero if they’re dissatisfied with their experience, and they’ll likely continue to support you.
With the holidays just around the corner, there is no time to waste in making sure you have all your sales strategies in order. Contact our experts for more information!
