Have been out and about across various retailers in Sydney this long weekend. And the one thing that stood out was the lack of great customer service.
I was in one of Sydney's biggest retailers and the absence of staff on the floor was mind boggling. My favourite sign? "Queue here for service"
Talk about a contradiction.
Note to the retailers: your shoppers notice. And they don't like it.
On three separate occasions in two different stores I overheard comments about the lack of available help and service.
Several ideas came to mind.
First, using customer service as competitive differentiation.
I couldn't help but reflect on the 2011 IBM smarter shoppers study. I attended the Sydney presentation where they shared their brilliant piece of (global) research. Their report showed that shoppers (of all ages) are becoming more "instrumented" (using technology to shop). Furthermore, the retailers who'll win the most hearts and minds will be the ones willing and able to serve, listen and empower their shoppers. They weren't talking about battling it out on "lowest price" - they were talking about future competition being shaped and shared by "best experience" (see my previous posts here on Value)
Second, it got me thinking about the application of technology at-retail. Think: AR, tablets, interactive smart surfaces, mobile etc. Technology opens up multiple possibilities - not least of which would be providing & supporting sales staff with the tools to deliver world class service experiences.
Thanks to M&C Saatchi, I'm heading off next week on the global retail study tour. I can't wait!
I'm keen to see how global retailers are delivering world class customer service (read: 'brand') experiences and integrating innovative uses of digital within their retailing environments to build competitive advantage.
Watch this space!
