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The Future of Marketing: Make Things People Want or Make People Want Things?

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(HT farisyakob)

Becoming an ACE at retail selling

The diagram illustrates the setup in a retail sale.

 

The retail employee is the ‘ambassador’ of your retail proposition – which includes all the Ps of the Retail Mix.

The Customer (is also a person) but they enter the retail environment with a shield between them and the offer you want to make. This ‘shield’ may be past experience, attitude, fears, perceptions, cognitive dissonance etc. (Importantly these are typically emotional in nature.)

The retail sales person must penetrate that shield. There are two facets to that activity:

There are certain psychological hot buttons that can be used to lower the customer’s resistance. (I have written about that before.)

There is a certain ‘process’ that applies. This is the part that muse be ACE’d.

A few observations about this ‘process’:

• The retail sales interaction is NOT process driven as many trainers/consultants would apply. Sometimes a sale can happen in the blink of an eye, sometimes it takes multiple visits.
• Occasionally you may recognise ‘stages’ of the process, but you can’t train staff to follow a rigid process such as: Identify the need, evaluate alternatives through to close the sale – or ANYTHING like that.
• People carry that ‘shield’ for a reason: they don’t want to be sold to, so the best you can do is to make sure you can help them buy.
• The reasons why people buy are fundamentally emotional. If you want to be effective at helping them buy, you must converse accordingly. (Metaphorical selling is what we train.)

How do you structure this interaction with the customer so that you can:

• Relate in such a way that you can make a fair representation of your offer?
• Help the customer buy according to their needs?

APPROACH

• Approach the customer when you have seen the buying signals.
• Check your own body language, attitude and energy before you approach. (It’s contagious.)
• Make sure that the customer can see you when approach.
• When you are close enough to stop, make sure there are no barriers between yoi and the customer. (There are many different kinds.)

CONNECTION

• Making the connection is the first step. Unless you succeed here, you cannot and should not proceed. In fact, if you feel you screwed this up, smile/greet and move on. Come back later.
• This connection is verbal and non-verbal. Both should be open, honest and sincere. No tricks necessary: just smile & greet.
• Do NOT ask if you can help them.
• There are many appropriate opening statements or questions and these depend on the customer, the scenario and the sales person’s own confidence.
• Your OBJECTIVE is to make a connection, NOT to make a sale, not to serve the customer, not to even help them buy.

ENABLEMENT

• Initially we called this execution, but considering what we want to achieve, enablement is a truer reflection. This is where the conversation relies on your knowledge of the offer (including product knowledge) and your knowledge of consumer psychology; that is how to push those hot buttons. 
• I often marvel at people who have no formal training simply use their instincts without knowing why they do something, simply just do it right. (But not as often as one would like.)
• The conversation that happens at this stage must be structured to lower barriers and appeal to their emotions. There are phrases that people can learn – and as they experience success, they gain confidence to develop their own style, whilst staying true to the principles.
• The shield cannot be broken down by ‘force’. (Hard sell.)

Even if you do this right, you may not get the sale today. But if you do it right you will get more often than most, more often than before; and worst case, you will get it next time.

Have fun

Dennis

GANADOR helps retailers and their retail supply create high-performance businesses through innovative learning & development technology and programs.

Easy or Hard?

We have good friends in Melbourne. Smart people. People whose insight and opinion are valued, despite the fact they are from Melbourne. (Just kidding). And one day this friend said something that has taken me a long time to process.

She asked me: “Why do you always do it the hard way?”

And as I thought about that, I realised that doing it the hard way was ingrained in me. I had always thought the hard way is the same as the right way. And I  also realised that it wasn’t easy for me to switch my approach readily between the hard/easy options – it is as if people had a natural predisposition one way or the other.

Although the hard way is NOT necessarily the right way to do things, on balance I think it is the better way. The pay-off may be later, the effort may be bigger, but generally speaking the easy way is usually the crowded way. Invariably it is also the less interesting way. Of course that is not always the case. If you are lost in the jungle you would be silly to ignore the well-worn path in favour of hacking your own way.

If there is an easy way and there is a hard way; and the question is which one are you inclined to choose?

This is the easy way.

• Politicians taxing bad habits, instead of…
• Cops writing speeding tickets, instead of…
• Ads made of slides on TV, instead of…
• Retailers discounting prices instead of…

The easy way may get results, but results with many unintended consequences.

These are:

• Bad habits become the mantel the rebels wear with pride
• People make accidents watching their speedometer instead of the road
• People become immune to the blatant pitch
• People learn to wait for the inevitable sale

The hard way is, well…hard.

That would be to:

• Create taxes that may be politically unpopular, but effective – or possibly to curb government spending
• Train learner drivers proper defensive driving skills
• Create engaging, relevant ads
• Build a relationship based on the right value proposition and to deliver delightful experience.

The sad thing is, even though we know that, most people will still seek the easy way. Check the Lotto queue if you don’t believe me.

You don’t have to though.

It is a decision.

Here are some warning signs:

• If things go wrong, you wonder who is to blame.
• You check the number of likes instead of the number of orders
• When you are presented with an opportunity, you think of all the things that can go wrong first
• When a rep/consultant cold calls, you close them out without hearing if they have anything of value to your business

But, unlike me, you don’t always have to choose the hard way. Just be careful: I bet that the apple that Eve ate was once low-hanging fruit.

Have fun…

Dennis

GANADOR helps retailers and their retail supply create high-performance businesses through innovative learning & development technology and programs.

Be inspired...

Aha- it's my FAVE insight...

This week the proverbial apple fell on my head.

Our main game is training. But, we do also do some consulting because (a) we are pretty good at it and (b) we find it a great way to stay current. (We need to learn too…)

Just his week it was a retailer; 22 years in the business and ‘knows everything’ despite the fact that (a) that had call in the rescue squad and (b) their claims that they were willing to learn.

In conjunction with the Landlord, we had decided that unless the retailer could produce (or at least was willing to try and produce) an accurate set of numbers for us to base our assessment and advice on, we would play hard ball.

I know some readers may disagree, but the reality is that the landlord is a property manager, not a bank, so financing under-performing businesses has to make sense from their perspective (improving or securing their ROI) because they should not be in the business of sharing the business risk as a bank would do.

During our initial conversation, the apple fell on my head. I realised that retailers can be classified based on how they make decisions.

There are four main approaches to retail decision making:
1. Factual
2. Anecdotal
3. Visual
4. Experiential

Let’s run though them quickly from the bottom up.

Experiential

They rely on their experience; the ‘I-have-been-in-this business-22-years’ type of retailer.
So, when I ask him; “what is your average sale”, the vague answer is ‘somewhere between $30 and $50.’

Visual

They go on what the SEE.

Look at the store, it looks OK. Look at the customers in the mall – not enough. Look, at the car park – there is no one there but commuters.

Anecdotal

They base there strategy and their responses on what the guy across the road is doing; or what the supplier said, or what they heard on the news - all anecdotal evidence.

Factual

I am still trying to find them. I dream about it… maybe one day.

Come to think about it, there may be a 5th type.

Maybe there are retailers who may consider all the angles (FAVE) to come to a balanced view:

• The ones who realise that you can’t survive on low-hanging fruit forever.
• The ones who know that success is sweat spelled differently.
• The ones who don’t look for the magical silver bullet.
• The ones who realise that the environment is the same for everyone.
• The ones who are willing to learn.
• The ones who can read between the lines…

I learned from the apple that fell on my head that when someone is locked into a single paradigm like that, there is no helping them.

But if I ever bump into one, I will let you know. And if you do, please let me know - or if perhaps you are one; I would love to buy you a coffee…

Have Fun

Dennis

GANADOR helps retailers and their retail supply create high-performance businesses through innovative learning & development technology and programs.

PS: On Friday we published the Winners’ Circle, our occasional newsletter – and it is pretty cool even if I have to say so myself. This issue is ‘DESIGN YOUR FUTURE’. Click on the subscription link to be notified …

Let's call it progress...

Accounts Receivable Tax 
Airline surcharge tax 
Airline Fuel Tax 
Airport Maintenance Tax 
Building Permit Tax 
Cigarette Tax 
Corporate Income Tax 
Goods and Services Tax (GST) 
Death Tax 
Dog License Tax 
Driving Permit Tax 
Environmental Tax (Fee) 
Excise Taxes 
Federal Income Tax 
Fishing License Tax 
Petrol Tax (too much per litre) 
Health Tax 
Hunting License Tax 
Interest Tax 
Liquor Tax 
Luxury Taxes 
Marriage License Tax 
Medicare Tax 
Mortgage Tax 
Personal Income Tax 
Property Tax 
Poverty Tax 
Prescription Drug Tax 
Real Estate Tax 
Vehicle Tax 
Retail Sales Tax 
Service Charge Tax 
School Tax 
Vehicle License Registration Tax 
Vehicle Sales Tax 
Water Tax 
Watercraft Registration Tax 
Well Permit Tax 
Workers Compensation Tax 
And Now a Flood Tax and then a Carbon Tax ! 

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world. 
We had absolutely no national debt, had a large middle class, and Mum stayed home to raise the kids. 

It's a dark and stormy night...

The winds have whipped the waves into a frenzy. It is as dark as sin. The ship is tossed violently from port to starboard and the seamen are lurching about. You shout your orders. The first mate relays the message with frantic pitch in his voice. The wind seems to be picking up and the last remnant of the moon disappears behind the dark clouds. Someone yells that the boat seems to be taking on water.

You look up, glance at the lighthouse. It seems about right. You know that if you can keep it in sight, you will enter the quiet of the bay in a few minutes. Your troops follow your gaze and it seems to reassure them; they still rush, but somehow it seems more controlled.

That is our economy, your business and your staff.

And the lighthouse is your ‘vision’.

• How are you doing with that ‘vision’ thing?

• Do you use it to steer your business through stormy waters?

Most businesses don’t use their vision in a practical way – it simply adorns their annual reports and page 1 of the strategic plan – because more often than not it is utter gobbledegook.

Check out this site for examples of good and bad mission statement, or this one for a few fortune 500 companies.

You can skip that and take the dennisprice test for a good vision statement:

If your PA (or any of the most junior staff members) can use it to make practical decisions in their job, then it is useful.

Let’s compare two famous organisations:

AVON

“The Global Beauty Leader We will build a unique portfolio of Beauty and related brands, striving to surpass our competitors in quality, innovation and value, and elevating our image to become the Beauty company most women turn to worldwide. The Women's Choice for Buying We will become the destination store for women, offering the convenience of multiple brands and channels, and providing a personal high touch shopping experience that helps create lifelong customer relationships. The Premier Direct Seller We will expand our presence in direct selling and lead the reinvention of the channel, offering an entrepreneurial opportunity that delivers superior earnings, recognition, service and support, making it easy and rewarding to be affiliated with Avon and elevating the image of our industry. The Best Place to Work We will be known for our leadership edge, through our passion for high standards, our respect for diversity and our commitment to create exceptional opportunities for professional growth so that associates can fulfill their highest potential. The Largest Women's Foundation We will be a committed global champion for the health and well-being of women through philanthropic efforts that eliminate breast cancer from the face of the earth, and that empower women to achieve economic independence. The Most Admired Company We will deliver superior returns to our shareholders by tirelessly pursuing new growth opportunities while continually improving our profitability, a socially responsible, ethical company that is watched and emulated as a model of success.”

STARBUCKS

 “Share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better.”

• Does it dictate what they sell?
• Does it dictate how they sell coffee?
• Does it dictate how they treat a customer?
• Does it dictate how they treat a supplier?

Does it help people do their jobs?

Based on your reading of the mission statements above; which company would you rather work for?

I will leave it for you to decide.

But I will ask again:

How are you doing with that ‘vision’ thing?

PS: The day after I wrote this, Smart Company published their 6 lessons from the Hot 30 entrepreneurs under 30. Guess what is at the top of the list?

PPS: Our next issue of the Winners’ Circle will be out later this week:

GROWING A BUSINESS AND BEING HAPPY. (If you want in, drop your name + email in the box.)

Have Fun

Dennis

Dr Dennis Price helps retailers and their retail supply create high- performance businesses through innovative learning & development technology and programs.

Brutal truth about customer service

I have an admission to make: Just like you, I am sick of hearing about customer service. And to make matters worse, we are retail trainers, and yes, customer service trainers.

Delivering great customer service is hard - possibly the hardest thing to achieve in an organisation. Great customer service is therefore also one of the best differentiators a retailer can have because it is so hard to copy.

Great customer service is therefore still the holy grail of a retail organisation. You can copy someone’s marketing. You can copy their range and assortment. You can even open up right next door. But you can’t copy a service culture.

Ready for the big insight?

You don’t TRAIN for customer service, you CULTIVATE it.

If you consider that key difference carefully, then quite a few differences emerge from the traditional view of customer service. Let’s consider what the process might be like if you thought about breeding (or growing) customer service.

PLANT

The first step is to plant the seeds of customer service: A vision. A customer service charter. (Of course planting assumes planter – and it is a prerequisite that the planter is made of the right stuff.) It helps if the first seed is a strong seed that will eventually sprout the other seeds that will spread the culture.

Many employees will have been exposed to other customer service cultures and will have been trained in other organisations. Transplanting them is a dicey proposition. Sometimes it will take and sometimes not.

NURTURE

Water and fertisliser. Not everything is easy or pleasant to do. Nurturing is hard work – ask any farmer. And it is relentless.

The fuel that will deliver your success (the fertiliser) is your passion. You must stir your passion into the soil and spread it around generously.

PROTECT

Make heroes of the people who deliver. When it comes to cutting staff, are frontline people first to go and management the last?

If the CEO does not take a pay cut when things are tight, you can be sure the soil for customer service is not fertile.

If someone makes a legitimate mistake, with the customers’ best interests at heart, and they are fired anyway; you can be sure that seeds of service will not grow. If punishment is the outcome, then making yourself small and invisible is the natural response.

Small and invisible people cannot do great things.

PRUNE

One of the hardest things you must do is to fire the people who don’t fit in –especially if they are seen as ‘performers’. Those who are unhappy and those who mock customers or serve with a heavy heart must be let go. 

A novice observing an experienced gardener will wonder why seemingly healthy branches are pruned. But the experienced gardener can see which shoots are growing in the wrong direction and are sapping the energy of the whole plant.

REAP

This is why we do it: to reap the fruits. And as the biblical analogy goes (and I paraphrase) we all know that bad trees don’t bear good fruit.

RE-SEED

Put back. Re-invest. Use the best performers as your mentors for the new people coming through. To reap does not mean stripping the cupboard bare – it means you allow enough to reinvest in next year’s crop. Leaving some money on the table, the old gamblers knew, would allow you to walk away from the game alive.

REST

Reward the ‘soil’ with a break. Plant a different plant. Don’t train in customer service only. Add some variety. Allow people to develop themselves and their other interests too.

There is more to it of course – not everything fits the ‘cultivation’ metaphor. (Read more here.)

The caveat, going back full circle, is of course that these skills are only viable in the right culture.

And creating the ‘right’ culture can be done, and you can even use consultants to get it right, but change management is not a simple skills training exercise that is sold to the cheapest bidder. You need to work withpeople who understand people and share your passion and your commitment.

There are other dynamics at play too, and it is worth considering a few other salient facts and facets before rushing out to start the process.

PERPETUAL

You can never stop. If you lose focus because you want to implement something else (another buzzword platform) and you lose sight of this process, it will wither on the vine.

UNPREDICTABLE

You are working with people some results may surprise you - and not always in a bad way. You are bound to experience and gain some delightful interactions and outcomes. And you are bound to come across a customer that is hard to please no matter what.

In conclusion, we should then consider what the role of customer service training is, if there is one.

Breeding your customer service culture is not something that can be outsourced to a trainer. Consultants and trainers have a role to play, and the role WE play is:

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DESIGN

We have adopted a structured approach to help our clients step through the whole customer experience. It is easy to SAY that we should walk in the shoes of the customers; and it is easy to TALK about Moments of Truth. But institutionalising those the experience is another matter altogether. Customer Experience Design (CXD in our shorthand) incorporate several frameworks that constitute a comprehensive approach to customer experience development and delivery.

CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS

The skills employees need to have to deliver great customer service are either communication based:

• How to ask questions.
• Listening with intent.
• Responding with empathy.
• Solving problems efficiently.

And great customer service also needs product- and organisational knowledge. Product knowledge supports the sales process and is rather obvious. But organisational knowledge in is equally (if not more) important.

And by this I don’t only mean knowledge of policies and procedures, but:

• What are the limits of authority? (And when is it OK to break it.)
• What is our vision and what is my role in growing towards that vision?

And ultimately, a piece of advice you may not want to hear.

Unless you can commit to a passionate, lifelong commitment to make great customer serivce a cornerstone of your business, you really shouldn't bother. Save your time and money for when you go bust and need to do something else.

Future of Shopping

HT @pallian

genuine, genius, generous, kid-entrepreneur

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