Minimizing fuss, helping customers keep their holiday traditions alive and righting any problems that come up will be key goals for store CX this year.
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The key to a successful holiday season last year was whether retailers could support the customer’s objectives, not make themselves stand out. This year, that strategy is all the more important for financially constrained consumers.
“There are some years where consumers are more open to other objectives or rethinking their own objectives, but this year I think they’re going to be very narrowly focused,” Nikki Baird, VP of strategy and product at Aptos, told CX Dive.
The goal is to help stressed customers find what they need with minimal fuss. Retailers need to support customers’ quest to keep holiday traditions alive and offer managers and associates the support they need. And when problems do arrive, they need to act quickly to fix the experience.
The stakes are high, with consumers expected to spend $1 trillion with retailers in-store and online this year, according to the National Retail Federation. The right store experience can play an irreplaceable role in making this holiday season a success.
Marketing will get customers in the door, but the experience is what determines whether they come back again, according to customer experience expert and author Shep Hyken. Retailers need to make whatever investments are necessary for smooth operations during the busiest season.
It comes down to one question, Hyken said. “What am I doing right now to make sure that customer wants to come back the next time they need what we sell?”
Keeping the holiday spirit alive
When customers feel like they’re under pressure, the fun of the holidays becomes a beacon. Experiences should help remind them that these good times are coming.
Retailers can look to the back-to-school season to get an idea of how consumers will behave Cash-strapped consumers were willing to spend a bit of money to preserve their usual traditions, such as buying back-to-school outfits for their kids even as they put off a personal wardrobe refresh
During the holidays, this mindset shifts toward thinking about how they can maintain their holiday celebrations and gifting traditions, even as they cut back elsewhere, Baird said. “As a retailer, trying to help the customer achieve that objective is what’s going to win hearts and minds.”
Part of this strategy will be taking a more localized approach to preparing the store for the holidays Someone in Denver will have somewhat different holiday traditions than someone in Chicago, and retailers should shape their decor and product offerings with each store’s region in mind
Retailers will also need to be swift to remedy problems Stressed customers will have little patience for long lines or out-of-stocks, and if left unchecked these frustrations can worsen the experience for others in the store
“Retailers honestly need to do what they can to be prepared to deflect, redirect and keep those things from boiling over into other customers’ experiences or becoming blowback for the store associate,” Baird said.
Consistency is vital to preventing these potential issues Customers don’t look at traffic data before deciding to visit a store, they arrive when it makes sense for them, and they expect the same experience whether it’s the dead of summer or late December
“The point is, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a busy time or a slow time,” Hyken said. “You want the same result.”
Employees are your superstars
Employees are a store’s most valuable asset, much like the players on a sports team. And as with players, motivation and adept managers are the keys to success during the most important days of the season.
Just like any sports team needs constant motivation and they’re constantly working out and training, we have to do the same thing in business,” Hyken said. “It’s not a big deal to say to everybody 15 minutes before the door is open, you’re here for a pre-open meeting.”
One way these meetings can bolster morale is by calling on associates to share how they recently helped improve a customer’s day This creates an opportunity to compliment them on their work while reminding them of a positive experience amid the holiday chaos
It also falls on managers to support their employees throughout the day, Hyken said. The golden rule of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” applies in the business context as “do unto employees as you would have them do unto customers.”
For example, if a manager spots a frustrated associate during the day, they should pull them aside and help them recover Leaders need to keep associates from falling into a situation where they are overwhelmed and overworked — and therefore unable to deliver great customer service
Small gestures that acknowledge crunch time matter during this period Retailers should empower their managers to go above and beyond for their employees, such as by letting them buy lunch for the team on days where workers might miss lunch due to the sheer volume of customers
“This is not the time to be really cheap or controlling about ways that you can make store associates feel glad that they actually showed up for work today,” Baird said.
Wrongs happen, but they can be made right
Things go wrong, especially during the holiday rush. It’s the way retailers respond to the problems, as well as the successes, that define the lasting experience.
Some issues require an immediate response If a customer has too many items in their cart for a self-checkout line, they need to be ejected from that queue. That customer may be annoyed, but everyone else in that line will be pleased to see the rules apply to everyone
Any problem that costs the customer money, such as product or promotion being improperly rung up at the register, is likewise grounds for immediate action.
“If it’s financial, and you have taken money from me, you need to fix that now,” Baird said. “No rain check. No ‘we’ll send you an email.’ None of that.”
Other problems require time to solve. Out of stocks should be avoided if at all possible, but when they do inevitably occur, there’s no way to make the product instantly appear. That doesn’t mean there’s no way to make it right for the customer.
The simplest way to make it right is to have the item delivered to the customer for free, or to put it on hold at another location Ace Hardware stores have a policy that goes one step further — they will call nearby competitors on the customer’s behalf to see if they have the product in stock
“They would rather hold on to a customer and lose that sale,” Hyken said.
Even when experiences go smoothly, relationship-building effort continues after store experience Personalized follow-up messages are a common tactic for online sellers, but underutilized by brick-and-mortar stores
“If you can get a new customer in during holiday time, and they turn out to have this great experience, remind them of the great experience they had with some type of a follow-up message,” Hyken said.
