Adding Proactive To Retail Customer Service

How do you reach out to your customers to engage, interact, solicit opinions, gather information? Many of you might say email or email-based surveys; but...have you considered digital solutions at your location?

Active Listening at Whole Foods: An Opportunity for Conversation!

The days of the old, wooden suggestion box or tired-looking cork boards with faded and tattered flyers and weary, crumpled suggestion forms are long gone.

Today's digital solutions aren't just passively collecting information but have expanded to become customer experience zones displaying store specials, video and, even, websites. They offer a proactive engagement opportunity!

After all, the customer is at your location -- why not reach out and practice active listening?

Chris Lott, a CPS developer specializing in interactive experiences, says, "Take a look at the CPS Customer Comment Board where customers are empowered, given a platform to ask questions and provide feedback.  We've found they also offer ideas for new products, initiatives and improvements -- because they are being asked in the midst of their shopping experience!"

Lott goes on, "Most agree that customer service shouldn't focus only on 'putting out fires.' It's about developing relationships from the first point of contact." An on-site Board starts the conversation and encourages customers to engage with the brand and each other.

Where might such a Comment Board reside? Anywhere your customers interact with your brand, services and products!  Proactive interaction shows you support your customers and reduces the number of fires long-term. Here's your chance to create opportunities for conversation!

Builders: Relatable and Emotionally Charged Marketing Ideas

There's a current line of thinking suggesting that, regardless of the product (consumer electronics, cars, new homes), more and more women are now playing a primary role in the decision-making purchase process.

SalesTouch engages your audience with relatable content!

What does this emerging role have to do with your marketing approach and style?  If you've always marketed to what might be categorized as a "female audience," you might argue...not much.

However, all sorts of other bits of marketing data are emerging, as well: women are the "most" connected audience (throw out those preconceived "geek" ideas!).  That fact alone might suggest re-visiting your marketing approach: more mobile, less print; more Facebook, fewer mailers.

In addition, recent studies suggest women see information, products and even themselves in terms of how they relate to others.  Women, in other words, feel more comfortable responding to marketing messages that tell relevant stories.  And, the studies suggest a story's details matter as much as the outcome.

There are many marketing studies out there but.. let's just concentrate on these two pieces of information for a moment: women are "the most connected audience" and they are motivated by richly detailed stories.  How might this influence your marketing approach (and sales, for that matter!)?

Suggestion #1: don't cut to the end...take time (and energy) to tell the story!

Take a look at the image at the top of this blog.  It's from a CPS SalesTouch interactive touchscreen presentation at a multifamily property, The John Marshall.  This property is telling their location story: there's a lot going on in the surrounding area; there are all sorts of restaurants...

But.. that's not the end of their story!  John Marshall's interactive touchscreen system not only provides information about the restaurant and an appropriate image.. it calls out a signature dish!  If you were looking for an apartment in the area, can't you see yourself relating?  Trying this restaurant, living in this neighborhood?

To some extent, doesn't this image take you to Suggestion #2: The best stories are emotionally charged.  John Marshall doesn't just list the restaurants; it shows very appealing images and takes time to provide something really interesting: the "Gotta Try" dish.  Can't you just taste these oysters? Wouldn't it be great living in this property so you could try other restaurants and their signature dishes, too?

We'll have more Suggestions in future blogs talking about including women and their "relater" tendencies.  Meanwhile, try thinking of one new way you can incorporate relatable stores and technology into your sales and marketing process!

We'll give you a starter story idea: follow-up a prospect's visit (whether they were looking at a car, home, apartment or ...) with an email containing a short cell phone video you just made highlighting 2-3 items covered in your sales presentation -- as you open the door to the car or walk through the home visited.  It's easy-to-do and will resonate with your prospect!  This creative way to story-tell comes courtesy of new home sales trainer, Jeff Shore!

Interested in learning more about relatable marketing technology?  Here at CPS we can talk to you about interactive touchscreen-based presentations, social media walls and dynamic, consumer-focused comment systems.

Steps to Building Brand Loyalty

Remember clienteling? That's the blending of digital and physical worlds in order to maximize your customer's buying journey. Check out an earlier Blog for more details here.

Whole Foods blends digital and physical with a Customer Comment Board 

Without an exceptional customer experience, Chad Hendren suggests, it is very difficult to create brand loyalty.

Think about even the simplest exceptional experiences you've encountered: the Costco sample tasting stations, Nordstrom's "anytime" return policy, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car's willingness to pick you up at home. There's no doubt you'll compare your next purchase experience at a similar business to what you've already experienced and consider as an example of great customer service.

A well-known rule of thumb is it costs 5 times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one. Why not focus marketing time and effort on building loyalty by creating amazing experiences with your current customers?

Do you shop at Whole Foods Market?  Have you ever asked a Team Member for help locating something? They'll walk you across the store to locate the requested item!

Think about that customer journey -- and the amazing customer service you just experienced -- and you recognize they're extending that one-on-one experience with an omnichannel customer service platform.

Whole Foods has placed interactive touchscreen-based Customer Comment Boards in their stores so shoppers can submit comments, make requests, watch video, check the latest store specials, view Twitter feeds -- and thank Team Members!  It's a seamless, end-to-end customer experience.  Store Management can extend the proactive customer service by reaching out with an email regarding the shopper comment or Thank You.

Retail Customer Experience suggests that going omnichannel -- bringing multiple channels together, makes it possible to exceed customer expectations with experiences focused on customer needs.  CPS offers interactive Comment Boards --  contact us to determine if proactive customer service can help increase your brand loyalty!

2016: The Year for Consumer-Generated Content!

The voice of the consumer, according to bazaarvoice's Social Trends Report, continues to rise as the most powerful and trusted content by shoppers.

Customer Comment Board asks for feedback & delivers CGC

Consumer-generated content (CGC) was once called word-of-mouth!  You might recall "sleeper" movies that became blockbusters based on viewers telling their friends.

Today, CGC has grown and extended to include photos, videos, questions, chats and more.  It's transformed into a powerful, trusted and essential form of communication between the public and businesses.

CPS' Customer Comment Board provides on-topic information to shoppers (current ads, video and Tweets) and actively solicits shopper content via comments and staff recommendations.

Social Media Wall invites conversation!

It is a visually engaging wall of information and allows businesses to get some quality insights into their products, service and customer objectives.

Did you know nearly 75% of all Internet users are active on social channels today?  They're sharing opinions, ideas, thoughts and pieces of their lives.  As a result, consumer creation and sharing of product-related photos is skyrocketing.  Over 100 million photos are posted to Instagram and Twitter each day!  CPS' Social Media Wall integrates social content and copy into a traditional marketing mix of images and copy -- curated, of course!

The voice of the consumer has never been stronger -- and the intersection of CGC and traditional marketing is seen as the future of social commerce online.

Interested in finding out more? CPS will be at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas, Jan 19-21 -- Booth C2956 -- and Social Media Wall is a Best of IBS Awards Finalist!

Contact CPS and ask how you can incorporate CGC in your sales center or retail location.

Does the Term "Digital Transformation" Make You Anxious?

There's a recent McKinsey & Company article by Karel Dorner and Jurgen Meffert highlighting the key questions surrounding the concept of digital transformation. You can take a look at Nine questions to help you get your digitial transformation right on the McKinsey Insights & Publications page.

The article suggests there are few organizational stressers greater than digital transformation. Why? There are so many possibilities -- on so many levels.  Digital is ubiquitous.  Digital impacts core businesses (think about connected cars), opens new frontiers (e-health, anyone?) and suggests the need for fundamental change (do you have the type of staff needed?).

Comment Board -- proactively reaching out to the consumer

The authors suggest, when putting together a digitial transformation plan, it is helpful to consider  the customer journey as a way to initiate your planning. The Blog has reviewed this concept (take a look here) which can be summarized as the sum of an individual's interactions with a company's brand at all levels previously. 

Unpacking your customer's experience not only will help you map the journey --  it highlights how digital can make each customer/brand touch point more effective.

Take another look at the Whole Foods Customer Comment Board image to the right. We can all agree it is a transformation of the old style comment board with bits of pieces of paper stuck to it.

 In addition, doesn't it positively change the business touch point with the consumer interested in making a comment?

With its dynamic and visual design, the Board proactively solicits feedback -- and, at the same time, transforms the notion of a comment board providing valuable information with calendars, video and weekly specials.  Wouldn't you leave the Board with an enhanced experience?  That's the journey behind digital transformation!

Organizational Celebrations -- Scaling the Gong!

Just received an email from Williams-Sonoma ("the source for gourmet foods and professional quality cookware) celebrating founder Chuck Williams' 100th birthday.

"That's nice," I thought and then, "that's really cool they're sharing their corporate celebration with everyone!"

Celebrating! Whole Foods Comment Board Anniversary! 

Celebrating corporate events seems a somewhat grey area.  When organizations are small, every sale is celebrated, every birthday gets a cake.  Gongs clang, there are all sorts of special clapping ceremonies and congratulatory emails flow throughout the organization.

Then, time goes on, the organization grows -- multiple offices, different shifts, people start working remotely. Celebrating diminishes as size, logistics and all sorts of other things seem to get in the way.

But, we need a way to scale the gong! Because celebrating isn't just for the moment; it is a motivator, a team builder, a way to share in the success of others -- ultimately, driving individual and team performance and satisfaction.

Given the importance of celebrating sales wins -- and other events -- you have to ask, "How am I going to be able to keep on top of this?" There are all sorts of answers; we'll mention just one: CPS CRM emails key contacts whenever there's a home sale or closing.  Automatically; you don't need to do anything other than celebrate!

And, while we're at it: CPS is celebrating!  30 years since we were founded in 1985.  And, we're recognizing Customer Comment Board and SalesTouch installations. Take a look: we've scaled the gong by sharing!

Are Store Suggestion Boxes Past Their Prime?

It's true: the old, wooden suggestion box with a slot on top is no doubt past its prime.  Also no longer relevant to today's shopper is the passive comment board -- that tired-looking cork board with messages, faded and tattered flyers and weary, crumpled suggestion forms.

However, just because those items aren't relevant  doesn't mean retailers aren't interested in getting in touch with their shopper, soliciting opinions and providing information.

Today, many of those objectives are being met with digital solutions -- and they're not just passively collecting  but expanding to become customer experience zones displaying store specials, video and, even, websites.

CPS' touchscreen-based Customer Comment Board 

And...  are you listening to your customers?

CPS' touchscreen-based Customer Comment Board acts as a proactive customer service process.  Customers are  asked to submit comments, suggestions, ideas.  They're empowered, given a platform and might even provide ideas for new products, initiatives and improvements.

Take a closer look at the Board on the left -- there's all sorts of cstomer engagement initiatives combined into a single board designed to enhance the shopping experience:


   (1) The actual Leave a Comment section
   (2) A store events calendar with pop-up details available at a touch
   (3) Streaming video content
   (4) Weekly Specials display
   (5) Connections with social media

If you entered this store, wouldn't you want to walk up and see what's happening on this board? Digital signage has moved from a simple, one-way dialogue with either the shopper filling out a form or the retailer broadcasting to the customer to a two-way conversation. It's engaging, more personal and expanding the brand experience.

Customer Journey Planning...Nurture Your Customer's Experience

Are you familiar with the concept of Customer Journey Planning?

Think of the customer journey as a roadmap detailing how a customer becomes aware of and their interactions with your brand.  It's the sum of all the experiences your customers encounter when experiencing your company.

What are you doing to Nurture Your Customer's Journey?

In other words, this roadmap has a lot of ground to cover! And, unpacking the customer journey will help you nurture (and, ultimately, maximize) the customer experience.

Here's a sample: imagine you're a retail coffee shop:

     -- Your potential customer is driving from home to work and sees your store (that's the first opportunity to understand the customer experience: signage: is it visible, prominent, enticing?). Or, was there already a missed opportunity via website, FaceBook, Twitter?
     -- The customer walks in (opportunity: can they easily locate the door, is it easy to walk in and see what is available?)
     -- Your employee greets the customer (opportunity: does this greeting actually happen and is it friendly, knowledgeable and helpful?)
     -- Then, the product is ordered and delivered (opportunity: how readable is that menu? is it easy to place an order? what is the packaging? appealing? maintains temperature?) and paid for (opportunity: how is the payment processed? easily? latest technology?).
     -- The customer leaves with your coffee (opportunity: did your server offer food? are there POS items? anything else enhancing the exit process?).
     -- Any followup to this purchase? (opportunity: a receipt with survey info? customer loyalty program? any motivators to generate return visits?)

That's just one scenario -- and, if you're not maximizing the opportunity to understand your customer's mindset, you might be selling both your product and brand short.

Of course, every customer's journey will be slightly different; you'll want to note actions, motivators, questions and obstacles.  Take another look at the Whole Foods Customer Comment Board at the start of this blog: how does this enhance a customer's journey?

Turning Customers into Brand Ambassadors

No doubt, you've heard the stories of businesses that Go Above & Beyond for their customers -- handwritten follow-up notes, baked cookies, even gifts at the end of a long airplane ride!

There's a terrific MarketingProfs article about customer relationship initiatives (you can read it here). The author, Brandon Sawalich, points out the key to a good relationship is day-in, day-out engagement.

You've offered either a positive one-on-one experience or some sort of event; now, how do you keep the momentum going.  And, do it cost-effectively, day-in/day-out?

The customer experience doesn't need "big bang" moments all the time...but it does require an ongoing focus on the customer. 

Take a look at the CPS-designed Whole Foods Customer Comment Board image to the right. It solicits comments from customers -- about anything. Store personnel responses are published back to the Board. The Board provides for proactive customer service and the process effectively addresses the 5 key elements of positive engagement mentioned in Sawalich's article:

Listen -- How do you know what your customers want and need? Ask; then listen to the answers.

Engage -- Respond to their answers to #1.  An added bonus: doing it in an inviting manner.

Take initiative -- Anticipate your customer's needs.  Don't you love the businesses that provide an at-the-door umbrella stand when it's pouring rain? Or, the misters keeping you cool at the outdoor restaurant? Whole Foods publishes Weekly Specials on the Board -- as well as a Store Event Calendar. Customers know they can find the latest as soon as they walk in the store.

Personalize -- That's the human touch reaching out to the individual consumer. It doesn't have to be major: address them by name in your follow-up, keep notes in their customer file so you can customize your conversation. The Whole Foods Board encourages shoppers to reach out and thank store employees, by name, for outstanding service.

Get your employees on board -- Sawalich reminds us: you need employees who are willing to go the extra mile. And, encouraging that behavior needs to be something you do everyday.

Big events are great; Sawalich reminds us that "little things" ensure your customers get a consistent, high-quality experience -- and that motivates them to keep coming back for more! 

Tradigital Marketing: How You Can Maximize Results

Great Tanya Williams blog in DigitalSignageToday (you can read more here) pinpointing the paradigm shift underway regarding the way people consume marketing messages.

We've mentioned the transition from broadcast messaging to narrowcasting; at the same time, Williams suggests traditional marketing might be the conversation starter but digital is the new destination.


Traditional sales centers utilize interactive touchscreens

In other words, we can't think either/or.  It's not "traditional" vs. "digital" -- today's messaging needs to utilize the current and add digital to produce "tra-digital"  to generate better results.

What does this mean in real terms? Let's take a look at supermarkets as an illustration: you still see passive signage highlighting specials as well as weekly promo flyers.  No doubt your Sunday paper (if there is one!!) is filled with these flyers.

That traditional messaging is augmented by digital platforms such as point of purchase digital signage, automated line management systems and digital customer comment boards.

Point of Sales messaging + queue management

Williams highlights digital's ability to enhance the marketing message process (think: updated digital signage in minutes vs. printing, shipping, posting traditional signs) even as she combats "I can't afford to implement digital signage into my business" comments. Her "You can't afford not to!" response might sound a bit glib, at first.

Conduct a cost/benefit analysis, suggests Williams, and perform a competitive analysis, too.  What are your competitors doing? If you walk into your location, how does it compare to a tradigital one? Try a phased approach, she suggests; implement key locations first and tweak as you roll out. But...get started!!

CPS can assist you in this transition: our SalesTouch interactive touchscreen systems complement passive signage in sales/leasing centers; Customer Comment Boards are proactive customer service contact points and QuikLine manages  the "wait warp" inherent in busy retail locations.

Individuals as the Future of Brands

Traditionally, notes Hearsay Social's CEO Clara Shih, corporate marketing teams controlled the brand voice.  Now, Shih suggests, individual voices of employees, customers and the greater public are being empowered and transforming marketing processes. You can read more on Hearsay Social's blog.

It can be argued that the corporate marketing process is being transformed to what can be called curatorial or a facilitative role.  The "silo" approach with centralized control is changing to more of a consumer-directed dialogue.


Customer Comment Board: Empowering the consumer voice

Social networking has been driving much of this change; however, there are other ways to solicit and encourage your customer's voice. 

Take a look at the Whole Foods Customer Comment Board  featuring an interactive touchscreen.  Stores are practicing proactive customer service -- actively asking for input, soliciting advice, encouraging shoppers to highlight particular team members because of their engagement.  Team members respond to every one of the consumer comments, suggestions, requests and Cool Beans recognizing employees. 

It's no longer about putting out fires -- this is about focusing on the opportunity to do better business and stay relevant to consumers.

Are you reaching out to your customers to understand their needs and provide personalized service? What processes do you have in place to actively encourage consumer dialogue and integrate their voice into your brand?

Marketing Housing to Millennials? Product Info as Key

No doubt, you've run across an article or two (maybe twenty??) about marketing to Millennials.  Sometimes referred to as Generation Y or the Echo Boomers, Millennials are the demographic group following Generation X.  Born somewhere between the late 70's and early 2000's, members of this generation are known for their increased use and familiarity with communications, media and digital technologies.

CPS' interactive touchscreen: information, authenticity, quality

Although not large as the Baby Boom generation, Millennials are a significant part of today's economy -- which makes sense as they're in their prime "purchasing" years.  As a result, all sorts of marketing types are joining Millennial parents in trying to determine what influences their decisions! 

Pamela Marsh and Erin Bilezikjian-Johnson (referred to as M and BJ hereinafter) were interviewed for an Advertising Age article regarding Millennial "shopping habits." There were several interesting comments that are worth considering if you are related to a homebuilder or multifamily marketing team.  Then, it might be worth evaluating how your marketing approach meets the Millennial's "shopping" process.

First, M and BJ note there is the myth of Millennial "impulsiveness" regarding decisions.  Their analysis suggests the reverse, "Millennials spend time and effort researching products and services."  Millennials read reviews, talk to people and place a tremendous amount of value in shared information, experiences and references (frequently, via social media). 

This result suggests providing information is a critical marketing objective as is encouraging sharing and making acquisition of shared experiences and materials part of your marketing process. 

Second, look back to the first comment and revisit the concept of shared: Millennials "helicopter" each other; they tell stories about their experiences, provide details about prices and  highlight both good and bad purchases.  And, most of the time, they're using technology to helicopter.

This suggests facilitating stories is a great marketing process -- visually encouraginh your prospects and buyers to re-visit your sales/leasing centers, providing a "gathering" piece of technology such as a touchscreen to encourage conversation about the experience of living there and making purchases, and making sure you've maximized your social media presence in terms of story-telling.

Finally, even though Millennials are very tech-savvy, they're open to having relationships with brands.  However, the brand needs to meet several key criteria, according to M and BJ, including authenticity, affordability and quality.

How are you demonstrating these Millennial-critical qualities in your marketing program?  Take a look at the Whole Foods Market Customer Comment Board (above); they're using an interactive touchscreen system to solicit comments, provide a calendar of events and display the week's current specials (that's authenticity, affordability and quality -- at a touch!).

Remember the Say Hello! to a Lifestyle blog?

That blog was only a few days ago so...hopefully, you remember it! Optionally, you can scroll down and read it!

Whole Foods: Using technology to establish a connection

A key thought, based on reading The Power of the Post-Recession Consumer, is the change in behavior known as the Spend Shift as today's consumer looks for a lifestyle more oriented towards community, connection and quality. 

If you think about today's retailer line-up, Whole Foods has to be near the top of a list of retailers well situated for this Spend Shift.  Take a look at their website, http://www.wholefoods.com/, and you'll see stores offering community Open Mic nights so local musicians have a performance venue (complete with coffee and wine-bar) -- as well as offers to local farmers to investigate selling their quality, locally grown crops. 

We might argue Whole Foods takes connection to a new level, too.  Their new Customer Comment Boards are designed so shoppers can ask questions, post comments, recommend products and thank employees.  They've always had some sort of communications board -- for flyers, sale brochures and the like.  Now, they're using technology -- an  interactive touchscreen system --  to continue to establish connections!