For retail businesses, offering the best support is the heart and soul of every shopping experience, determining how clients feel about a brand long after they leave the store or click “checkout.”
What this means is that retail customer service should not be limited to responding to queries or resolving complaints; instead, it should be about creating experiences that can turn one-time shoppers into loyal advocates.
In the retail industry, where consumers have unlimited brands to choose from, it is exceptional customer care that differentiates one business from the other.
A simple “hello”, the right product suggestions or even a problem solved makes all the difference in winning customers and enhancing their loyalty towards your retail business.
This article gives the best retail customer service strategies to help grow your business and keep your customers happy.
Retail customer service refers to the assistance that businesses provide to customers throughout their journey.
Retail customer service can either be done in-store or through online platforms. In-store retailers may include grocery stores, supermarkets, electronics shops etc. Online retail businesses can include drop shipping, subscriptions, white labeling, private labeling and manufacturing.
The primary objective of retail customer service is to make sure that all customers are happy with their purchases and would want to come back again for additional purchases.
Some of the ways of providing good retail customer service may include:
For businesses in the retail industry to increase their sales, retain clients and attract new customers, they need to improve their support offerings. Here are useful tips to ensure the success of your retail business.
Provide your support team with access to customer data and conversation history, enabling them handle customer problems faster.
Automation of routine tasks gives support agents ample time to handle other client issues that need their undivided attention.
Regularly train your employees on the products, company policies, SLA, how to deal with different clients, and the entire on-boarding process.
Support team training can be done through mentorship on how to improve their skills, on-the-job training, holding workshops or even through online videos for future reference.
Customers like to be treated as individuals and not numbers. Personalizing customer experience involves tailoring client interactions and services to the individual preferences and needs of each consumer.
According to Semrush, 60% of clients say that receiving a personalized shopping experience will make them be repeat clients.
This means that retail businesses should actively seek strategies to make the service more personalized so as to retain more clients and attract new ones.
Ways to customize your service may include:
Retailers can also use data analysis to gather insights from customer behaviors or purchasing history to enable them customize shopping experiences.
A smile a day saves the day. When retailers express a friendly but professional approach in every customer interaction, it will always lighten the mood and make clients free to speak their mind.
Ways in which retailers can express a positive attitude include:
A positive attitude will make retailer employees handle client complaints calmly and constructively while focusing on solutions, which leaves consumers with a good impression of the brand. Being positive can ease stressful situations, promote a friendly environment, and improve customer service.
According to Higherlogic, 79% of clients expect businesses to offer self-service tools to assist them find solutions to their issues without reaching out for support.
Customers feel good when they solve their problems independently. Retailers can empower clients with various resources to solve their issues alone, such as:
Technology is a common factor in today’s retail customer service. There are many ways retailers can use technology to improve their customer service which includes:
These approaches help gather and process useful client information, which makes it easier to customize the service and improve the response time to customers’ queries.
Let’s say a client has an issue with a software application and urgently needs help. The customer then tries to reach you through your website, live chat, email, and social media hoping you’ll receive and respond to at least one of the requests.
Here is where omnichannel support comes in handy as it enables clients to always contact your company through any preferred communication channel without having to repeat themselves.
Having omnichannel support enables the retail support staff to deliver quick responses to client inquiries. This is because they have access to customers’ previous conversation history from all channels within one unified inbox.
It sure feels nice to have someone listen to you, right? The same feeling applies to clients in retail business, where they would want support agents to carefully listen to them without interrupting.
After listening to the clients, the agents could summarize their statements or ask questions to encourage further responses. This will assure the clients that the support agents have understood their issues or concerns and are aiming to address them.
Use simple and direct language to talk to customers to ensure the message is clear. Promptly respond to client issues to demonstrate that you value the customer’s time.
Retail businesses can also offer multilingual support to accommodate all clients from various parts of the world who speak different languages.
In retail business, you would want to know whether your clients are satisfied or not, what products they prefer, and how your team performs.
With the right customer service KPIs, you can identify pain points or recurring issues, allowing your retail customer care team to address the root causes of client issues.
Metrics such as NPS and CSAT can help evaluate customer contentment with the service you offer. Consider regularly reviewing KPIs assist in setting goals for improvement in services and also ascertains that progress is being made.
Customer service should not only be offered during the purchasing process but also during on boarding and post-purchase. Retail staff should be able to anticipate clients’ needs, questions, or potential issues before they arise, rather than waiting for them to seek help or voice concerns.
Retailers should deliver a proactive customer service by:
How can you appreciate your customers for their loyalty to your retail brand through thick and thin? Consider giving the loyal customers different incentives such as exclusive offers, discounts, or a point redemption system. Such gestures can encourage clients to return for more purchases.
Moreover, customer loyalty programs provide relevant data to enable retailers profile loyal clients and customize services to meet their needs.
Reviews can at times be positive or negative, but it is always wise for support representatives to quickly respond to all of them to establish good relations with their clients.
Retailers can collect customer feedback through surveys, feedback forms, in-app feedback, conducting customer interviews and email requests.
Retail companies should encourage clients to leave feedback after every interaction to gauge how satisfied they are with the services offered.
This practice shows that the organization values customer opinions and is always committed to addressing their concerns. Client feedback can help retail businesses to know where they can improve and keep increasing their quality of service.
The success of any business majorly depends on how well they manage their retail customer service. Below are some of the main advantages of good retail customer service:
When a customer receives special attention and is well-appreciated, they tend to develop an emotional connection with the retail business. This makes them trust the company
Consumers are always ready to share their positive experiences with others either verbally or through online reviews.
Retail businesses that offer high-quality customer service and have a good reputation will always retain their clients and attract new ones, thus creating a strong foundation for the prosperity of a business.
When clients feel valued and receive personalized support, they tend to make additional purchases and tell more people about the store.
It is easier for a company that provides excellent services to upsell or cross-sell their products as the clients believe that they will have a good experience as they did before or even better.
When a retail business quickly responds to client inquiries, solve their issues, or even warmly greet them with a smile, they tend to have a positive impression of it.
Customers often gravitate towards retail companies that prioritize their needs and strive to offer the best experiences.
This means they will stand out from other competitors who do not invest in that, enabling them to reach a wider market range.
Here are just but a few examples of brands known for offering exceptional retail customer service, that meets the needs of consumers, leaving them delighted.
Apple can be regarded as a company that has an efficient customer support system as a result of its well-trained personnel both within retail outlets and social media platforms.
The Genius Bar offers personalized technical support for the products to make sure customers are given hands-on support with their devices. Apple emphasizes on creating an engaging in-store experience with clients to increase their satisfaction.
One of the things that distinguishes Trader Joe’s from other grocery stores is the positive attitude of the staff and the unique shopping experience they offer.
Staff members are encouraged to engage with customers in a friendly manner and go out of their way to make personal recommendations of goods to them.
The interior design cover is constructed in a way that encourages exploration of the shop, hence making shopping fun and not purely transactional.
Amazon is renowned for its customer-centric approach. It strives to ensure that all the customers feel that they matter through its personalized recommendations as well as convenience in shopping.
Amazon’s retail customer service entails features such as easy returns, 24/7 customer support, and proactive communication regarding order status. Additionally, their Prime membership program provides benefits like free shipping and exclusive deals.
Virgin Trains East Coast invests in making a journey with them enjoyable: it will provide a pleasant travel experience that makes their passengers feel special.
This includes offering complimentary refreshments during travel, ensuring cleanliness on board, and having readily available personnel to help the travelers with any need or concern.
Good retail customer service involves resolving problems and creating moments that make your customers keep coming back. Happy clients often give positive reviews of your organization to others, thus leading to client retention and bringing in new customers.
By providing outstanding services and finding new ways of improving your services, you can stand out in a competitive marketplace, build trust in your clients, and create consistency in your business.
Contact us to set up a 30-minute live demo and learn how BoldDesk can help your business offer the best support in the retail market. You can as well start a 15-day free trial to experience our retail customer service software and explore the features firsthand. For more information, contact the BoldDesk support team.
We hope you found this informative. We would love to hear any feedback or other suggestions you may have in the comment section below.
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Decrease response times by 30 minutes
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