The Secret to the survival of Brick n Mortar Retail lies in “Touching Customers Hearts”

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Is it the end of the road for brick n mortar retail? Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have no chance of surviving the onslaught from e-commerce unless they invest in their customer experience.?Traditional retailers must compete with e-commerce providers by gathering insights and learning about their customers and their behavior. The physical interaction is one thing that gives an unbeatable edge to the traditional retailers over e-commerce however the onus of using this unique edge lies squarely on the traditional retailer.

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Focus on building long-term relationships through excellent customer service. What I find completely lacking in our country is the complete absence of customer service in its true sense. The most that are done is mere lip service, for instance instead of regular designations you would have designations like customer delight manager, chief customer service officer…. Too much English very little substance. Here’s a personal incident I recently experienced. Went to a multinational retail chain store in a mall close to my residence after a very long time. Covid had driven me completely to e-commerce hence shopping in a physical store after over a year or more, I was quite excited.?Unfortunately, they did not have my size in the store, I requested the sales staff to check another store for my size, which they did after much persistence. Luckily, this other store 15 kms away did have my size but the only way I could get it was by getting to the physical location of the store and buying it. ?While I was trying real hard to make that purchase the staff was only trying to make it difficult.??Reminded me of my stint in the late 80’s at what was then a two store phenomenon, called Bed, Bath & Beyond in upstate New York, if we didn’t have a particular size that the customer wanted we did everything to make it available including getting it drop shipped directly from the manufacturer to the customer at no cost. This was over 30 years ago, no wonder Bed, Bath & Beyond ended up being a fortune 500 company with over 1200 stores. ?Retailers should have methods such as email interactions, surveys, and a social media presence in place to keep track of?customer interactions, following up to ensure customers are satisfied. In-store, retailers will want to make sure their staff is trained and knowledgeable of products to be sure customers’ needs are met.?

Add value to the in-store experience.?Excel, where most online shops fail by offering free ship-to-home or same-day delivery to shoppers whose desired item, is out-of-stock. Provide special deals on purchases that reach a certain threshold, as many e-commerce brands do. Offer VIP customers exclusive holiday shopping or invitations to unique in-store events. Allow?“click n collect” service?for shoppers who want to stop by quickly on their way home from work to pick up items ordered online; once they’re in the store, they’ll likely walk out with more. Allow online price-matching, so consumers know they’re getting the best deal possible.

Providing personal treatment by utilizing Retail loyalty marketing software can help you gather data on your customers’ shopping habits. You can then use this information to suggest additional purchases, alert customers to new merchandise they might like or upsell and cross-sell. Make sure your store employees can easily access this information. More important than the technology, however, train your employees to provide top-notch service (no looking at their phones when customers are in the store). You can even encourage employees to send shoppers personalized emails or interact with them by text to develop one-on-one relationships. I remember earlier in my career with legendary department store chain Macy’s where I first conceived and executed the concept of personal shopping in the early 90’s. I would have the salespeople on the shop floor send physical thank you note to their loyal customers, wish them on their birthdays and anniversaries, and generally make them feel special.

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Back to the Basics is what is required to establish that ultimate connection. How many of us remember doing grocery shopping at the local Kirana store as a kid. The parents would give you a list of daily groceries or house goods to take it to your neighborhood kirana/parchun store and hand it over to the uncle sitting on the cash register. He would inquire how everyone at home and mind you he knew everyone by their names.?And while he is chit-chatting his assistant is filling in the order and bringing it to the cash register. Now the uncle would open up his old notebook and get to the page with our family name and address. He would record each item neatly along with the date of purchase. In case he was out of one product he would tell you that it would be delivered to your house in some time. The bills were cleared monthly when most people would get their salaries. What he was doing was practicing CRM in its true sense.?Knowing a customer one on one, understanding the customers’ requirements, providing credit and personalized services, would all lead to customers returning to the same store over and over again. The vegetable vendor after your normal order would throw in some coriander and green pepper as a reward for your loyalty.

????????????????To conclude the easiest way to beat E-commerce is by striving to touch your customer’s hearts.

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