When most people think of marketing and communications, they think of things that relate to acquisition strategy – getting new customers through the door. A customer’s in-store experience once they’re through the door is just as vital. The Covid-19 pandemic has completely changed the in-store customer experience. It’s just as important as it has ever been, but now there are more things to be aware of that stores probably did not pay any attention to before.
No matter your niche, when customers are happy and enjoy being in your store, their ticket and frequency will increase. All you have to do is optimize the in-store experience.
How to Optimize the In-store Experience in 5 Easy Steps
1. Create a Customer Experience Strategy
How do you want your customer to feel while at your store? Are you more concerned with driving sales or increasing loyalty and shopping frequency? By creating a customer experience strategy, you can decide what’s most important.
Customer experience is especially crucial during a pandemic. People are risking their health to come into your store. The store manager must provide the safest, most enjoyable experience possible for their customers. These factors and more make up the customer experience.
To create a safe customer experience strategy that works, you should:
- Take as many safety precautions that you can.
- Track ROI over a certain period (weeks or months) after implementing a new marketing strategy
- Request customer feedback as often as possible
- Capture demographic information from your customers, including their retail interests
2. Make Your Employees a Top Priority
While customers are the number one priority, don’t forget about your most important brand ambassadors. Your employees have the most direct contact with your customers. If they’re happy and excited, it will shine through. Make sure that all of your employees are following the safety precautions that you put in place. If customers see the employees being safe, it will remind them to follow the precautions and make them feel safer.
Doing simple things such as wearing masks, gloves, sanitizing often, having a limited capacity and putting out stickers placed 6 feet apart in check-out lines are easy ways to show your customers that your employees care about their safety. You can check out the CDC’s website to learn more about what precautions you can take for a safer in-store experience.
Empower your employees to communicate openly with management and form direct relationships internally and with customers. If your employees do not feel safe in the environment you provide, it will reflect during their interactions with customers. Have open conversations with them about what safety measures they think should be implemented. Showing employees that you value them will motivate them to make customers feel valued as well. What comes around goes around!
3. Create Safe Interactions
Rather than focusing solely on selling a product to make a profit, spend time educating your customers. This will convey that you care about their needs and respect their ability to make an informed decision. It will also position you as an industry expert with credibility. Utilize digital signage for a contactless way of educating customers. Limiting pressure to make a purchase will make your customer feel comfortable, gaining their trust and encouraging them to return the next time they need advice.
Interacting with customers is something that seems taboo right now. A large part of in-store experiences in the past has been customer/employee interactions, and there’s now a fear of talking to strangers. Unfortunately, this is a fear that will not be going away any time soon. The pandemic has woken people up to the reality of how easy it is to attract unhealthy germs in a public space. This means that the way you interact with customers needs to change.
Try to provide as many touch-free experiences as possible. Updating your store technology to have the tap feature on card scanners is an extra measure that will minimize physical contact between employees and customers.
4. Use a Point of Sale (POS) System
Point of sale (or point of purchase) systems are used for easier customer checkouts. Like any technology, POS systems have evolved over the years. They can also be used to gauge brand loyalty by analyzing product information, order data, customer frequency data and other key performance indicators. Customers will appreciate the speedier checkout process and shorter lines, and you’ll benefit from the functionality of the POS system.
Quicker check-out times and shorter lines mean there will be fewer people in your store at a time and people will be in and out faster. This will help lessen the spread of covid within your store. Having a good POS system that tracks inventory could also save your company if there is another lockdown where supply chains are derailed.
5. Take Advantage of Digital Signage
Part of providing a good in-store experience for customers is ensuring that information is easy to access when they need it. Think of all the places within your store that provide information to customers… whether it’s a menu, directional signage or POP displays, the inside of your store is a great place to reach customers. Take advantage of their attention and incorporate digital signage to provide the content they want in a clean, modern format.
While there are countless benefits to digital signage, there’s no doubt that it improves the customer experience. Utilizing as much digital signage as possible will provide a smoother experience for customers and minimize contact with sales representatives.
In a world where online shopping has made it difficult for brick-and-mortar stores to compete on price, safety and convenience, improving the customer experience is crucial. If you implement these tips, you’ll be providing a safe experience in no time, all while building loyalty.
Need help creating a positive customer experience? No matter the industry, Burkhart can give your brand the overhaul it needs to connect more with customers. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more!
