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the Interaction
REACTION
How to enhance the in-store experience
“It’s all about the in-store experience!” is the mantra of just about every retail article we read these days. The word “experience” by retail definition might mean “what happens to you on the sales floor; something important that affects you personally.” Notice that definition does not include the words “customer service,” but to many retailers that’s exactly what in-store experience means.
And that’s a problem.
Each year we track our “KIZER & BENDER Invisibility Tour,” a tongue in cheek list of places we visited but were never acknowledged the entire time we were there. Really, how hard is it to say hello to a shopper who walks in your door?
With what shoppers experience in an interaction – on the sales floor, online or social media – the store is more important than ever. Customers have a tendency to shop in patterns, faithfully visiting their favorite stores, and if you want to make that list
of favorites you need to create and cultivate an experience that cannot be duplicated by a competitor. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Build your legends
Perhaps you’ve heard the famous story about
Nordstrom taking back a set of snow tires? Now, Nordstrom has never sold snow tires but one day an associate in the men’s shoe department happily authorized that return.
See, the associate had recently been in trouble for giving a customer a hard time about returning a pair of shoes. He swore to himself that this would never happen again, so when a woman walked in carrying two snow tires she wanted to return, his answer was “How would you like your refund?” And the rest is history.
We don’t know what happened to that associate, but we
do know that the story has morphed into a retail legend. Nordstrom has shared it for years, so has every person who has ever written or spoken about the company, including us. People who talk about extraordinary customer service still talk about Nordstrom.
Every store has legends. What are yours? If you don’t know, open a discussion at a store meeting. Things happen in your store that you might have missed – good things. Share your stories with the media via a press release*, tell them online, on social media, in email blasts, and on signs in your store. Stories are part of your unique in-store experience.
Embrace them.
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