Customer Experience

Retailers are constantly competing for customers and customer loyalty. There are many different ways to attract and retain customers. The obvious way is price. Price matters, but so does product availability, brand loyalty and advertising. The factor that contributes most to a successful sale is the customer’s shopping experience. When a shopper has a great experience, loyalty is created. Study has shown that customers will accept less selection, travel a longer distance and even pay more to have a better shopping experience. Here are five ideas that will help a retailer to create a successful shopping experience.

1.  The first step is to understand the shoppers’ expectations so you could have a plan to exceed their expectations. This may sound obvious but there is no one-size-fits-all. Retailers must meet and exceed individual shopper’s expectation without creating distraction. For example, you want to let the shoppers know that help is available. However, constantly asking them if they need assistance may create the opposite effect.
2. Increase pre-sale experience. Before a retailer could offer a better shopping experience to their customers, they have to draw customers to the store. Advertising, brand messages, store locations and exterior signage are among the important pre-sale experiences that help shape consumer expectations prior to in-store sale. Inside the store, features like merchandising strategies, interior signage, tags, employee dress code and checkout process further contribute to a successful shopping experience.
3. The most powerful factor that could shape the consumer’s experience is the store’s staff. Of all the factors, what the employees do, how they dress, what they say, how they say it and when they say it have the greatest impact on the shopping experience. It is the human touch that makes the greatest difference. Consequently, retails must not only evaluate employee’s current contributions but discover how to increase their motivation, reinforce positive behavior that contributes to shopping experience and discourage behavior that doesn’t.
4. Define the experience. The essence of defining the shopper experience lies in taking steps that will increase the trust that consumers feel for the store and the relationship the store establishes with their shoppers. The theme must have substance and be credible and demonstrable. Some of the tangible services include carry-out service, personal shopper, house accounts and home delivery.
5. After defining and identifying the above elements, the retailer must ensure that each element is in alignment with the desired shopping experience. You must ask “How does this element contribute to the customer’s expectation and experience?” A single inconsistency can be serious enough to undermine the consumer trust and credibility.

To design and deliver a successful consumer experience thoughtful assessment of customer needs is required. A thorough evaluation of the current environment and a clear vision make a significant difference in the subsequent performance of the retailer and in the clarity of the message that each sign, advertisement and employee communicates to the customer.

Digital Coupons

In a study by GfK Knowledge Networks, a full service research firm, shows that digital coupon users shop more frequently and spend significantly more during each trip than the average consumer

The study looked at the shopping behavior of over 200,000 households that use digital coupons. Thee households were identified as having redeemed coupons from Coupons.com or one of the many websites in the Coupons.com digital coupon network.

The study showed the following:

• Digital coupon users make 22 percent more shopping trips per year.
• Digital coupon users spend 23 percent more per shopping trip.
• Digital coupon users spend 49 percent more per year.
• Digital coupon users make 48 percent more trips to stock up.

More than 55.7 million American consumers are now using online coupons, representing 25 percent of the U.S. population.

EMV - Europay, Mastercard and VISA

You may have heard the initial EMV and be wondering what does that stand for?  It stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA.  The three financial institutions worked to put together a standard for an EMV card.  An EMV smart card is a plastic card with at least one embedded integrated chip that will process data and comply with the EMV technical standards.

You may have heard the phrase Chip and Pin used along with or interchangeably with EMV.  Actually Chip and Pin is a type of EMV card that uses a personal identification number to identify the cardholder when the transaction is taken offline.  Since nearly all transactions today, in the U.S., are taken online the EMV cards they may be authenticated by other means such as a signature.  Please take note that Visa has announced plans to institute a liability shift in the U.S. for October 1^st 2015 for locations and processors that are not prepared to accept the EMV secure cards the paragraph below was taken from the Visa Bulletin of August 9^th 2011 which can be view in entirety at this web site: http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/bulletin-us-participation-liability-shift-080911.pdf

Visa’s Counterfeit Liability Shift Policies

Visa intends to institute a liability shift in the U.S. for domestic and cross-border counterfeit transactions effective 1 October 2015. Visa’s global POS counterfeit liability shift policies are designed to encourage EMV chip card issuance and acceptance in participating geographical regions, effectively creating a more secure environment for transactions within and between each participating Visa region. Note: The liability shift encourages chip transactions because any chip-on-chip transaction (i.e., a chip card read by a chip terminal) provides dynamic authentication data, which helps to better protect all parties.

With this type of liability shift, the party that is the cause of a chip-on-chip transaction not occurring (i.e., either the issuer or the merchant’s acquirer) will be financially liable for any resulting card-present counterfeit fraud losses. When a transaction occurs using chip technology, any liability for counterfeit fraud, though unlikely, would follow current Visa Operating Regulations.

The policy assigns liability for counterfeit fraud to the party that has not made the investment in EMV chip cards (issuers) or terminals (merchants’ acquirers). The policy encourages wider deployment of EMV cards and terminals.

Organic Food Industry

Organic foods now occupy prominent shelf space in the produce and dairy aisles of most mainstream U.S. food retailers.  Organic refers to the way agricultural products and foods are grown and processed. Organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers.

The Organic Trade Association’s 2011 Organic Industry Survey showed that the organic industry grew at a rate of nearly eight percent in 2010, with the growth being over $28.6 billion.  Some facts from that survey are:

• U.S. sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to $26.7 billion in 2010.  
• Organic food and beverage sales represented approximately 4 percent of overall food and beverage sales in 2010. Leading were organic fruits and vegetables, now representing over 11 percent of all U.S. fruit and vegetable sales.
• Organic non-food sales grew 9.7 percent in 2010, to reach $1.97 billion.
• Mass market retailers (mainstream supermarkets, club/warehouse stores, and mass merchandisers) in 2010 sold 54 percent of organic food. Natural retailers were next, selling 39 percent of total organic food sales.

MK 500 Micro Kiosk

Improve customer service and the customer experience with the latest innovation in self-service technology, Motorola’s MK500 Micro Kiosk. This compact, easy-to-install and affordable device allows retailers to put the power of self-service in every aisle or department.  So, no matter where in the store your customers might be, help is never more than a few steps away.

With the choice of laser scanning or imaging technology the MK500 supports all the bar codes you need to capture today and tomorrow.  Motorola signature laser scanning technology delivers aggressive performance and accurate capture of all 1D bar codes, even damaged and poor quality.  Patented Liquid Polymer scan element is frictionless for superior durability and reliability.

Motorola advanced imaging technology with laser style performance on 1D, 2D and PDF bar codes.  Patented illumination system enables omnidirectional scanning, increasing productivity by eliminating the need to align bar code and scanner.  Comprehensive networking options: IEEE 802.11a/b/g and Power-over-Ethernet support.  Provides the flexibility to easily connect to your wireless or wired LAN.

Compact 5.6 in. x 5.1 in. form factor with a slim 1.7 in./4.2cm profile.  Easy to deploy virtually anywhere in the store from aisle end-caps to shelves, poles and walls.  Support for standard mounting VESA brackets enables easy mounting of the MK500 on shelves, walls and other store locations.

3.5 in./8.9cm color QVGA touch screen plus three programmable buttons enables deployment of easy-to-use and very intuitive interactive applications.  Intuitive aiming pattern enables easy scanning of bar codes.  Ability to remotely stage, provision, monitor and troubleshoot devices dramatically simplifies and reduces the costs associated with deployment as well as day-to-day management.

Building Business Credit

One of the biggest challenges for startups and small businesses is that many have blank credit files.  While it may be true that there's nothing negative in there, there very well may be nothing positive, either.  It's just blank and that's a problem because an empty credit file is just as bad as having a bad credit file.

With so many different entities, from lenders to vendors, using business credit information to make decisions, empty credit files can make or break a startup or even an established company.  Just like your personal credit, a good credit rating can open the door for a business to borrow money, secure credit, get better payment terms or even obtain a contract.

So how do you go about establishing business credit?  Simply pay your bills on time and start documenting examples of good payment history.  That way, you'll help your company boost its businesss credit scores.  Five Stpes to Building Business Credit:

1. Open a credit card in the business name.
2. Only use the card for purchases you know the business can pay.
3. Pay all your suppliers on time.
4. Make sure your suppliers report your good payment history to D&B (Dun and Bradstreet) is essentially a credit reporting company for businesses.
5. Ask your bank for a credit card without a personal guarantee.

Receipt Marketing

Receipts provide an advertising and branding opportunity that reaches every customer of your store with little to   no overhead cost.  In an economy where it is crucial to ensure your business is maximizing every outreach tool, there is no better time than now to revisit the content of your store’s receipts.

After seeing the same receipt messages day after day, it’s easy to overlook the potential for promotion and increased store efficiency that receipts can offer. Consider the following when reviewing your current printouts:

·       Are customers aware of any online presence or promotions your store has to offer?

·       Is the store offering new products or enhancements that could be highlighted?

·       Do loyalty program customers see the savings and benefits they have received with every purchase?

·       Has your business marketed a consistent message through other venues that can be added to the receipts?

·       Is the store using excessive staff resources on store returns when a written policy on receipts would make the process more efficient?

You may identify any number of reasons to change or update your receipts.  Given the fact that receipts continually reach your most loyal customers and drive business to your store, it is worth the time investment to focus on your message.