Bust the Retail Customer Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias – also called confirmatory bias or myside bias – defined as the tendency for people to favor information that confirms their preconceptions … regardless of whether the information is true:
- You charge too much for your service … I can get it cheaper elsewhere
- You make too much money on me … I should even get services for “free”
- You suggest I purchase unnecessary add-ons … I checked the internet and it recommended to not trust you
If you’re a retail business owner or manager, is there any question your staff is encountering a consumer with less time, less loyalty and perhaps even a sense of entitlement, leading to adversarial situations, with increasing frequency?
I suggest these interactions are strained, the relationships tenuous, because of lack of a detailed plan to consistently and genuinely communicate your business’ relationship objectives and set expectations with prospects/customers.
And yet, as retail staff may feel like it’s an “us versus them” relationship, given the repetition of interactions with tension/friction, it can unnecessarily turn into confrontational versus conversational, too quickly, too often. To mitigate that possibility, let’s consider equipping customer-facing-staff with several tools, to facilitate a migration of the customer’s anticipation of a potentially stressful transaction, to one that matches our capabilities, our deliverables and our own desires of a mutually beneficial relationship. With more detail to follow, here are three steps:
- Identify and implement … to truly ‘exceed customer expectations’, acknowledge both your existing limitations and resources (staff, facility, funding, etc) and develop a plan, to be implemented in spite of any current shortcomings. You may be surprised of the interest and creativity of your staff in contributing, if your goals and expectations are clearly outlined. Your plan should include the pro-active contact points you make, as well as the response actions to de-escalate issues (who is doing what, and how). Also, if it’s been a while since you’ve gone through the customer experience on your own, of researching/buying a major purchase (a car, mattress, house), then I suggest at least one of those three, with consideration to the odds that the majority of your customer base, want to make an educated purchase and avoid feelings of “buyer’s remorse” associated with an impulsive decision.
In this step, contracting the services of a specialist, a consultant, can be of significant value, to provide both direction of suggested key observation points of the consumer process, as well as their unbiased perspective for areas of improvement beyond your scope of initial consideration (and potential ‘rose colored lenses’). Discuss the “road map” of your company’s typical customer, then match any points where you can include a branding position (honest and unique to your market, from keychains and post cards, to customer rewards programs), generate a positive interaction and position yourself as a resource/product expert. With a consultative approach to product selection, your sales and customer service staff are more likely to feel less pressure of a ‘pitch’ and come to their own conclusion. Coach your entire staff on the value of every possible interaction point with a genuine smile, consistent greeting and how to be a resource for assistance. Lastly, consider follow-up visits from the specialist/consultant you hired, to analyze and report on the progress you’ve made, while also developing a medium and long-term action plan.
2. Leverage technology … invest in a proven software solution, for efficiencies and improvements in retail transactions. Simply put, a paper driven process in most environments is outdated and possibly (given our litigious society), a liability. This isn’t just about doing business via the preferred medium of most customers (digital), it’s about removing sluggish points in the transaction (given the preference of expedited purchase process) and inconsistent performance. With this step as well, an experienced software-as-a-service (SaaS) consultant can be invaluable, for one reason:
“You’re the most trained to use a software solution, the day the trainer leaves.” ... Then what?! Now, the consultant steps in.
With an SaaS consultant coming back after you implement the technology, they can assist in creating a positive experience for your staff, as they look to develop a new ‘culture’ around the modified business model, via the addition of the technology solution. Additionally, the consultant can pinpoint the key performance indicators (KPI) for which the SaaS was intended to enhance and on which to report.
3. Inspect and expect, short thru long term … have executive management deliver a clear directive, with motivation for success and the same, clear understanding by your staff, that goals/processes will be reviewed with regularity and objectivity. After you’ve “identified, documented and consulted”, it’s time for now the consistency, that reporting and reviews are responsible for producing.
By creating expectations of standards, rewards and consequences associated with the short, through long-term goals, it’s up to senior management to build credibility through timely and constructive feedback, both individually, as well as at the group and organizational level.
Ultimately, the good news, is that there is very little financial investment (other than an SaaS and consultant services, which should both generate measurable ROI to off-set that expense), to differentiate yourself from the competition and to feel confident that your customers’ experiences are optimal as possible. Steps 1 and 3 are about attitude and the combined aptitude of your staff. From there, leaders may find that the pace with which they lead the pack, is all that’s needed to drive customer satisfaction towards positive and profitable interactions.
The result of addressing these three points, is not about changing a customer’s mind (aka – opinion), rather, it’s the more beneficial modification of the customer’s perception (aka – reality) about you, your staff and your services, as being reasonable, if not even dare-say, exceptional (aka – remarkable).
While many managers profess a cradle-to-grave philosophy of prospecting, customer retention and the customer life-cycle, unless there is a commitment to document the encompassing details of a specific action plan, the path to success would seem to be more haphazard up the mountain, than an efficient trip.
So let’s join together, as retailers with a common goal of NOT contributing to customer bias. You’re on the right path, if you see the points above as an opportunity to hone your business model and reach the summit, more easily, more sanely and more often.
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Shawn M. Ramsey
Area Vice President ... Software as a Service (SaaS)
20 years automotive – Retail, OEM supplier, Vendor