Customer service is one of the key areas that brick-and-mortar retail stores can use to gain an advantage. While many people may choose to shop online for many things, they still often prefer face-to-face customer service. This can give retail stores an edge, but only if they put work into providing good customer service.
It’s not always easy to provide helpful customer service, especially when customers don’t always treat staff in the best way. But there are many things that retail businesses can do if they want to keep improving their customer service, support their staff, and provide a good experience for all customers.
1. Keep Training Employees
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Employee training is essential if you want to provide good customer service in your store. When your employees are well-trained, they should know your products, your brand, and the best way to deal with different types of customers. However, it’s important to work together with your employees to provide the right kind of retail learning.
They want to feel like they’re supported and appreciated, not like you have a lot of expectations for them without giving them any appreciation. Get their feedback on the training you deliver and what sort of support they are looking for.
2. Listen to the Needs of Your Customers
To provide good customer service, you need to understand your customers. Listening to your customer’s needs will help your staff be more prepared to deliver the service that they’re looking for. You can get feedback from your employees to hear what sort of issues are raised regularly, or what questions customers often ask.
You could also hear from your customers directly, perhaps by asking them to fill out a survey or by getting their opinions in other ways. Use your website or social media to ask customers to tell you what they want from your store.
3. Be Visible and Available
There’s nothing more frustrating than needing to talk to a member of staff and not being able to find anyone. Maybe you can’t even tell who works there. It’s important for staff on the shop floor to be visible and available to your customers so they’re there for them when they need them.
This could include having your staff wear uniforms or name badges so they’re easy to identify. You can also make sure there are employees in different sections of the store, or perhaps set up a customer service desk.
4. Take a More Personal Approach
Personalizing your approach to customer service in your store is what can really make the difference if you’re trying to compete against online businesses. People will visit your store because they know they’re going to get some really helpful advice, and not just have a conversation with someone online who isn’t really interested in helping them. You also have the opportunity to get to know your regulars and offer them an even more personal experience.
Improve your customer service in your store to provide your customers with the best experience on every visit and support your staff.
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