When you’re running a brick and mortar store, you’re up against a lot of stiff competition from the online shops. People love to shop online because it’s convenient and often a lot cheaper but there’s one thing that they can’t do, personal service.
That’s the thing that keeps brick and mortar stores alive because a lot of people want that personal touch when they’re shopping.
That’s why customer experience is the most important thing for you right now, especially during the Christmas season when people are hitting the high street to buy all of their gifts. These are some of the easiest ways to improve customer experience.
Sort Out Inventory
If people come into your store looking for something and it’s all sold out, you’ve lost a sale and they’ll go elsewhere. That’s why good inventory management is essential.
Always monitor your sales closely so you know which products are selling well so you can make sure you order enough.
It’s also important that you make adjustments during busy periods, especially around the holidays. You’re going to get a lot more customers so you need to order extra inventory to make sure that nobody is disappointed.
Rethink Your Layout
Store layouts aren’t just random, they’re set up with the shopper in mind. If yours isn’t, you need to have a rethink.
If people are spending ages wandering around trying to find what they’re looking for, they might just give up and leave.
When you’re setting the store up, make sure that the most popular items are front and center and put the best deals in easy to find places too. Get some good signs above each aisle so people can easily find the right section of the store.
Make The Payment Process Easy
When you’re going up against the convenience of the online world, you need to make sure that the shopping process is as easy as possible, particularly the payment process.
Nobody wants to stand around for ages waiting for a card payment to go through so it’s worth getting a new terminal if yours is a bit outdated. Make sure that you’ve got enough tills open when the store is busy as well so people aren’t waiting in line for ages.
Good Customer Service Staff
This is your number one concern because this is the one thing that you can offer which online stores can’t. Having a staff member that you can ask for help is a big plus for a lot of shoppers so it’s important that you make sure that your staff are all properly trained.
They need to be polite and welcoming, but not too forward, otherwise, people might think that they’re too pushy. Always ask people if they need help and then keep a distance until they approach you.
When you’re hiring, always look for people that have good customer service experience. Their job extends a lot further than just operating the tills and showing people where to find things.
If you can nail the customer experience in your store, you should be able to beat the online competition.
