| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
We Sell For Less and Our Stores Are a Mess!
What kind of image do you present when marketing your products? Are you professional and well organized or does your store/site/whatever scream, "sloppy!," to those who matter the most: your customers? Let's see how one leading retailer is winning the sales war, but losing an important battle: store organization. WalMart is dominant in so many categories with the various products that they sell. In 50 years the company has gone from a local player to a world powerhouse and is on track to expand throughout the land of the largest consumer market in the world, China. As much as WalMart is conquering new horizons and dominating the American landscape, one problem is arising: their stores are a mess. Visit your local WalMart store at any given time and you will find throngs of shoppers but few workers. Most workers are busy at the front end of the store ringing up sales, while others are scattered throughout the store putting up stock. Why is this a problem? Quite frankly, WalMart is a victim of its own success. Stock turns over so fast, that the store must replenish during peak store hours in order to keep everything on hand. A good problem to have, right? Not if you are a customer who wants something and you cannot navigate aisles to find what you need as boxes of stock partially block you out. WalMart's chief competitor, Target, seems to have gotten it right. Their stores are neat; the signs to help you find various sections are big, bold, and color coordinated; and stock replenishment does not take over the aisles. On the other hand, KMart was once an industry powerhouse and many of their stores are old and disheveled. More importantly, KMart is now an "also ran" as other retailers -- including WalMart -- have presented a better place to shop for customers. As much as price is a driving factor in winning the sales war, store organization and cleanliness can eventually undermine sales as customers are turned off by a messy environment and choose to go to your competitor. While many customers will accept a lower level of customer service [less floor help available, for example], clutter will drive them away faster than low prices will pull them in. You can tout, "Always low prices, always" in your motto, but your customers will flee if they find your store to be disorganized. Competitors wait in the wings to grab what you will lose: can you afford the loss of sales? Matt Keegan is The Article Writer who covers topics as diverse as business, customer service, aviation, human interest, employment and travel. Please visit his site at http://www.thearticlewriter.com for samples of some of his work.
MORE RESOURCES:
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Customer Service - Winning Customer Experiences Winning Customer ExperiencesMuch research has been done on what the makes a winning customer experience. What is it that makes customers come back to your business instead of going to someone else's? If your repeat business is low, what is it that you are doing to drive your customers away? There is a consistent theme that emerges across the research - winning customer experiences are built on consistency. 7 Bits Of Critical Information You Cant Afford NOT To Know About Your Customers If you think customer relationship management is just a piece of software, you're dead wrong. Customer relationship management is about understanding your customers. Responding to Complaints It's possible that in the course of your business dealings, you may (just may) have to deal with a complaint from a customer or client .. Make Your Customer Your Friend The simplest way to describe a 'durian' (pronounced doo-ree-ann) is to say it's a yellowish-green fruit about the size of an mid-sized watermelon. It has a thick skin of spikes, and a rich bitterish-sweet fruit. Debt Elimination Scam May people these days have a problem with mounting debt. The average person is well below the bad credit limit and is in desperate need to fix it. How To Handle Customer Billing Snafus Q: I just discovered that for the past six months I have been billing a client half of what I should have been. Should I just include the total of the past due balance on his next bill or contact him first to let him know that it's coming? This client has been difficult in the past, so I'd rather not deal with him until I absolutely have to. The Death of the Loyal Customer One of my classes in management focused on the repeat customer. The course stressed the importance of the repeat customer to the financial welfare of the business. How to Win the Hearts of Your Customers and Friends Those of us doing business over the internet have to become especially adept at our listening and speaking skills since we don't have the luxury of talking with our customers face to face. It's especially important to give those on the phone extra attention - listening to their voice, because that is the only thing you have to go on, to sense their emotion. Take Care of Yourself Before You Take Care of Your Customer One of the most important questions people ask when they are focused on improving their quantity and quality of business is: "What is my competitive advantage? What makes me unique, memorable, special? what truly sets me apart from the rest?" While there are no definitively right answers to that question, most people come to some conclusion that customer service is a critical component of your competitive advantage. For most businesses, the service they offer can vary from exceptional to not so hot, depending upon circumstances. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Learn from the Complaints of Customers and Employees Listening to complaints, whether they're reasonable or not, is a part of every manager's job. Sometimes complaints can be overwhelming. The Sellers Creed I will not make sales. I will make Customers. Renewing Customer Loyalty Every business loses customers, but not many do much about getting them back. And that is a big mistake. Whats For Lunch? As an entrepreneur, I'm always intrigued by small businesses, home-based or not, that exceed the expectations of their customers in a big way.Let me tell you about one of them. Everyone talks in code! How often have you left a meeting with a customer or your boss telling yourself he likes my ideas. Only to find later that you didn't get the sale or your boss has told everyone that you are crazy. Is Your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System Doomed To Fail? "Right, People. Let's blast out that mail campaign we've been planning for so long. Customer Service, the Internets Primary Neglected Business Concern Customer service is everything to a business. Just look at big, successful retail chains: They let you return perfectly good merchandise just because you changed your mind. Loyal Customers Take Commitment In today's competitive world of retail, many stores are implementing external marketing programs designed to attract new business.Unfortunately, the cost can be very high with little return on investment. 5 Golden Online/Offline Business Rules To LIVE Or DIE By Whether online or off, if you plan on running or maintaining any type of credibility within your business, there are some guidelines that are safe to say any existing or potential customer expects if they are to do immediate or future business with you.As an online entrepreneur for over 3 years I have found that even though I don't have the pleasure of meeting face-to-face with my customers, ones perception of you and your business can be viewed as good or bad all depending on the way you handle questions or comments posted by people interested in your product. What Do They Want Anyway? You want customers. I want customers. Add Value - And Kill Mediocrity in Customer Service There are two kinds of customer service we all experience occasionally, outstanding customer service, and bad customer service. What we experience most of the time is mediocre customer service.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |
