Tag Archive for: retail industry
Every now and then someone walks into a store who does not want your attention. They’re not interested in your normal customer service tactics and skills; while they might appreciate all your efforts, they’ve no need of them. This is what we call a “Hands-Off Customer” in the sense that the customer service is not hands-on as it is with all the other stereotypes in this series.
Who is the Hands-off Customer & how to spot one…
The hands-off Customer can be a regular, but this isn’t necessarily the case. These are the people who come in knowing exactly what they’re looking for, probably where to find it in-store, and don’t want to be fussed or fluttered over. They’re on a mission and they’ve done the research; in sales-speak we might say that they are 90% of the way through the buyer journey and are now simply ready to grab what they need and pay.
It is essential for sales staff to learn to recognize a hands-off customer as soon as they’re greeted. The easiest way, of course, is to take a hint. When a customer says ‘no, thanks, I know I need’, it’s a good sign that they don’t need any staff hovering over them. As with the other types of customers that might walk into the store, learning to spot these hands-off customers becomes easier with time.
Correctly Identified a Hands-Off Customer, now what?
Having established that one of these types of customers isn’t open to the normal customer service tactics does not mean that they should not be serviced at all. After all, they’re still a customer and deserve to have the same great experience that all people who walk into the store get.
How then do we service customers who don’t want to be serviced? The trick lies in adapting your style. Just because a customer says they’re ‘fine’ and ‘don’t need help, thank you’ does not mean that staff has permission to neglect this customer. Rather than hovering, or actively up- or cross-selling items, staff might keep a vigilant – albeit distant – eye on this hands-off customer. Check to see if they do indeed find what they’re after. It’s always possible, after all, that they can’t find the exact thing they wanted even though they know that the store carries the product. The idea is to be helpful when needed; the customer is already inspired, that part of the sales trick is done but it’s important to keep them inspired.
When the customer has found the item they’re looking for and is at the cashier ready to pay, a small amount of customer servicing can be accomplished. A quick “did you find everything you were looking for?” will generate the correct experience – staff let them be, but they are always aware of the customer’s status and needs.
Don’t forget to say goodbye!
After the purchase has been made, the farewell is equally important. Don’t let the customer think that they’ve been dismissed simply because they didn’t ask for help. Make them aware of the fact that staff was aware of them. No one truly wants to be ignored – left alone? Maybe, ignored? Never.
What’s left to say…
Even though a hands-off customer doesn’t need help doesn’t mean that they should be dismissed out of hand. What’s more, the same customer coming back might not be a hands-off customer; the next time they might need some real customer service. Be ready for them.
Essentially, the rule of thumb is as follows: No customer should be ignored, all customers should be serviced to some degree.
What is a sharing economy and what changes came along with it?
Sharing and exchanging items has been around as long as humanity and digitalisation has brought it to the next level. With the rise of the Internet, people can connect across boundaries, now able to swap, lend, rent, resell, donate, subscribe, and share all kind of item.
The sharing economy movement, collaborative consumption – the definitions for this vary per disciplinary field – as we know it today, is all about people sharing underutilised human, physical and intellectual resources. The concept might have originated from idealism but with the help of digitalisation, it has evolved into a profit-driven business model.
With a sharing economy, the borders between customer and professional have been blurred. In many cases, the middleman has been cut out. Every consumer is now empowered to make business by monetizing their own assets, knowledge, and services.
Behind many peer-to-peer transactions, we often find fast-growing profit-driven, multi-million dollar corporations. Start-ups that had a simple but brilliant idea based on the values and spirit of the sharing economy movement now surpassed the sizes of well-established companies, disrupting several long-established industries and economic structures. With all advantages that have come along, such as a boost of innovation, marketplaces have become less regulated, creating challenges for established industries and businesses.
To quote Tom Goodwin:
“Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening.”
Reasons why the sharing economy might revive:
At the core of the sharing economy are the people., Whether it’s individuals, communities, or companies, all are embedded in the sharing system. Aside from the fact that every aspect of out lives is digitalised, changes in demographics have contributed to a sharing economy as well.
Maybe it’s due to our exposure to news on a daily basis, but certainly, our societies experience a shift back to community values.
Especially in developed economies, we can see a shift away from status-driven values, instead, we see that unique and authentic experiences, coupled with convenience, is what people are really after [Escan, 2011].
A sharing economy reflects those changes: trust between the provider and user lies at the core and using a service offered on a sharing platform often is perceived as a more authentic experience than purchasing the same product or service at a traditional store.
Besides this, people’s consumption patterns changed. Just look a few decades back where we lived in an ownership economy and dreams were realised by buying a nice house with garden in a suburban area, owning a car and all. Today ownership often feels like a burden. The dream house now has been swapped for a small rented apartment conveniently located in the city centre.
“We always have been in a culture where more is more, and suddenly we’re in a culture where less is a better quality of life. It’s pretty revolutionary.” – Bill Steward-
People want to be satisfied on the spot, having the product or service delivered instantly and conveniently, without having to put any effort. Connectivity, social media and smartphones make this possible. This is especially true for Millennials, that take part in sharing goods most actively, and for whom sharing is becoming the norm more and more.
Depending on the model, sharing concepts indeed are a more sustainable form of consumption that can contribute to a more circular economy. However, this story is more complex. Sharing can make us consume more as well, but we’ll save that discussion for another time.
How does the sharing economy affect the retail industry?
When hearing about the sharing economy, mostly we link this to companies like Airbnb, Uber, or Spotify, which have changed the concept of travel, transportation, and entertainment. But it is not ending there, small companies based on the sharing economy models are popping up everywhere, letting my wonder, which industry will be next?
In 2015, a survey conducted by PWC found that whilst the percentage of US adults that already have engaged in a sharing economy transaction connected to the entertainment and media industry with 9%is the highest, only 2% did so for a service within the retail industry in 2015.
I would probably have been reluctant letting a complete stranger stay at my house a few years ago, it’s something I could consider doing today. This is because platforms like Airbnb have managed to create trust. People have already opened up their homes for a night’s sleep, sharing cars for carpooling, and so on, and yet, we’re not really ready to share clothes quite yet.
Also read this article: Retail Customer Service: Reality of Retail Industry
How come?
It might be because whilst the examples above provide services, the retail industry is product based. Furthermore, owning assets such as a car comes with a lot of extra costs, such as insurance and ever-rising fuel prices, that make it less attractive to own a car. Owning a normal-priced piece of clothing, on the other hand, does not have further implications for the owner than the initial price and using up some space in the wardrobe – however, the implications on the environment the production and distribution of clothes have is huge. To get a better idea of what impact the fashion retail industry has on our environment you can have a look at this blog.
This post is brought to live by AQ’s Undergraduate Alexa V. .
As part of our internship programs, undergraduates and classic interns are encouraged to take part in company culture. Alexa’s primary focus is in digital marketing.
