Retail Success Guide: Five Ways to Outservice Your Competition

Transcription

1 Retail Success Guide: Five Ways to Outservice Your Competition

2 Okay, but First: Why Bother? Why outservice your competition? What exactly are we saying here? Well, consider this. It might not happen today, but somewhere in your market, in the very near future, a retailer is going to give their customer an unforgettable, standout experience. And then they ll do it again, with another customer. And another. These won t be accidents. In fact, that retailer is going to be pretty systematic about this. Why? Three reasons you already know: 1. They want their customers to come back (often). 2. They want their customers to buy more at each visit. 3. Then they want they customers to tell others about the exceptional service they received. That smart retailer knows that there are just three ways to attract and keep customers: price, product, and the customer s experience. So they re not going to ignore the customer experience. Want to see what an unforgettable, standout experience looks like? Visit an Apple store. No one needs to go to a store to buy Apple s products. But go they do, in crowds for the experience. This same sort of customer amazement is going to happen in your market, too. So it might as well happen in your store, with your customers. Customers today have lots of choices. Outservice your competition, and those customers will keep choosing you. You have many opportunities to make it happen certainly at the POS, but in many other ways, too. Let s explore a few of them.

3 Opportunity #1: Mobilize Yes, it s an industry buzzword at the moment, but the possibilities with mobile technology in retail are real. Despite the growth of ecommerce, 85% of all retail purchase activity is still expected to occur in brick-andmortar stores in So, it s worth incorporating mobile technology in your business! Mobile technology can create: The self-starting customer More than a few retailers are deploying tablet-based customer self-service solutions in the aisles, for those customers who want to engage this way. Associates can be paged or alerted, assisting as needed. The go-to associate Tablet-based apps can give associates in-the-aisles access to extensive product, pricing and inventory information so they can better assist customers. While the associate is helping the customer, they can also guide them toward complementary purchases that boost basket size. The visible manager Managers on the floor greeting and assisting customers can significantly enhance the customer experience. But managers need to stay on top of store processes and performance metrics, too. Mobile reporting and tracking apps let managers cover both bases.

4 Five Ways to Outservice Your Competition The right-time, right-place, right-info manager Managers moving about the store can seize upon a range of opportunities to enhance the customer experience if they have the right information, at the right moment. Equipped with a suitable mobile app, a manager will know to praise an associate who just made a big sale or has been receiving positive customer feedback. Or they might know that a lightly stocked area is about to be replenished with inventory received hours earlier. Real-World Examples Epicor Mobile Manager provides key store metrics like gross profits and receivables, critical data like top-seller inventory levels, and in-theaisles pricing information to managers on the go so they can be where customers are and engage at will. You can also respond quickly when issues arise by receiving automated Eagle alerts on your mobile device. Epicor Pricing Planner includes an app for ios and Android that helps you gather pricing data from the competition. Stroll through a competitor s store, mobile device in hand, capturing prices, images, and notes. Start with a shopping list or play it by ear.

5 Opportunity #2: Know Your Customers, Know Your Stuff The more you know and the better you understand why things are the way they are the better positioned you are to give customers a great experience. Of course you want to know all you can about your customers. What they ve bought, how often they shop, even the route they take through your store. Armed with that knowledge, it s easier for you to create targeted offers to customers, and to help them find (and purchase) more items related to what they re already buying. Naturally, you ll also need to understand your products, pricing, sales figures and inventory, inside and out. Not just facts quantity on hand, vendor catalog price, last quarter s sales, etc. but margins, patterns, trends, and historical comparisons, too. When you can gather the data you need, and unearth these kinds of hidden insights, you can plan, buy, and merchandise more effectively. Then, when customers enter your store, they find what they need (and some other stuff that will come in handy) in the quantities they need at a price that works for them. Modern analytics and reporting tools give you these insights. Some tools stay in the back room, helping you forecast demand or optimize margins. Others support everyday tasks, enhancing decision making throughout your business. In every case, with every use, they re helping you outservice your competition.

6 Five Ways to Outservice Your Competition Real-World Examples Epicor Eagle Performance Manager offers Market Basket affinity reporting that lets you quickly and easily see what items are selling together, and what items a given customer or customer type are buying. Armed with this information, you ll know what to promote tomorrow and whom to upsell right now. Who signed up for your loyalty program but hasn t been in the store for 100 days? Epicor Eagle analytics lets you run queries like this so you can reach out with special offers to lure them back.

7 Opportunity #3: Sell from All Your Inventory No matter how carefully you predict demand and manage replenishment, it s going to happen: a customer will come into your store to make a purchase, and you ll be out of stock. That s not going to win you any customer love. Quick before your customer starts searching on their smartphone for another source come to the rescue. Find the item for your customer at one of your other store locations. You can offer to have the item transferred to your store, or the customer might want to pick the item up at your other location. You might even offer to deliver or ship the item directly to your customer. Now, about finding those items at your other locations. If you have to make phone calls to get this done, a few things may result: Your customer might not have the patience for this (even if you do) Your customer definitely won t think of your store as a paragon of modern, efficient customer service Your colleagues at other stores might be just a little busy. You hope so, right?

8 Five Ways to Outservice Your Competition Real-World Solution Don t depend on this 20th century method. Instead, use your Epicor Eagle Multi-store Inventory solution or Eagle Mobile Manager application to do a real-time search across all your stores, in a matter of seconds. Thanks to the ease-of-use provided by Epicor Eagle N Series, you can execute this search in no time, and show your customers the results right on the screen. They ll be impressed. You ll save a sale and possibly a customer relationship.

9 Opportunity #4: Make Loyalty Truly Rewarding It s well established that repeat customers are more profitable than new ones. That s why so many businesses have loyalty programs, formal or informal. But what makes one loyalty program work better than another? Hint #1: Remember our theme. Outservice your competition. Think service, and you re on the right track. Hint #2: What do consumers like about loyalty programs? That would be the rewards, wouldn t it? Not so fast. What you might not guess is what consumers say they value above all else, when it comes to loyalty programs. It s their experience as customers. Example: in frequent flyer programs, travelers value shortcuts through airport security even more than the free flights they earn. So when you set up your loyalty program, remember: it s fine to reward your customers with discount coupons or reward dollars or whatever will encourage them to return and make more purchases. In fact, it s critical. And you ll need to do some analysis to determine what those rewards should be and to whom they should go (first and foremost, your highest-value customers). Once you have things running, the single most important thing you can do is use the information your rewards program gives you.

10 Five Ways to Outservice Your Competition Let s say your customer arrives at checkout with your rewards program card in hand. Your associate scans the card. This is the moment. What happens here will be remembered especially if it s good. Ideally, then, your associate checks their POS screen and warmly greets the customer by name. That s a memorable, positive experience especially if your team does this every time that loyal customer checks out (or asks a pricing or other question in the aisles). Real-World Solution The Epicor Eagle Loyalty solution gives you the query and analytics capabilities you need to identify purchase patterns you want to encourage, so you can set up your program accordingly. You can also monitor loyalty customer behavior. You ll know if a customer stops coming around, so you can set up relevant offers to bring them back. And Eagle N Series gives you and your associates the means to instantly recognize loyalty customers and reward them with an outstanding experience. For example: you can set up navigation favorites and definable data fields, so your POS screens (stationary and mobile) can deliver key customer information (name, tier, or, even pet s name) with a click or a touch. That personal touch will bring them back every time.

11 Opportunity #5: At POS, Faster Is Better Checkout speed. If it s not the most important aspect of shopping in your store to most consumers, it s close. No matter how long a customer may enjoy browsing the aisles, when it s time to go, it s time. Even if you provide a stellar customer experience at every other point in the customer s visit, a lengthy delay at checkout will be the last thing they remember happening. And you don t want that. Fortunately, speeding up checkout is one of the things you can accomplish fairly easily. Here s how: First, make sure your associates at the counter have good tools easy-to-use POS screens, at-the-ready customer and product information, and quick and easy access to help should they need it. Lines still too long at times? Employ line-busting techniques with mobile apps that can capture a customer order and have everything set for payment. Get proactive and take checkout to your customers in the aisles, or next to a busy promotional location. Mobile checkout devices and apps are the key here (and remember, if you can quickly recognize a loyalty program member, go ahead and personalize their experience).

12 Five Ways to Outservice Your Competition Real-World Solution Epicor Eagle N Series POS screens are designed to simplify the experience for associates at checkout. Customizable favorites can be added for instant access to frequently needed information. Eagle N Series also helps save time and hassle for customers with automatic Driver s License data capture. A quick scan of the license barcode will retrieve customer information that otherwise might need to be spoken and/or keyed. Eagle N Series also features the Eagle Mobile POS application for use on tablets and mobile devices, so associates can jump into line-busting or remote checkout activities whenever the need arises.

13 There. That was easy. One more thing about outservicing your competition: your whole business is a moving target. Customer expectations will do anything but stand still. So keep your eyes open, and watch for opportunities to make it memorable. You might see something your competitors miss. Epicor can help. At Epicor, we don t just sell software. We partner with our customers because we want them to succeed. All the same, we ve created Epicor Eagle N Series to be the optimal technology for retail s constantly changing landscape: Every screen, every menu is easy to access, learn, and use Navigation and key data areas are customizable to fit your business unique requirements An ever present, instant-access Support Bar lets users take advantage of help, live chat support, on-demand training videos, and the Eagle Community Forum with a single click Complex tasks are dramatically simplified, so users can get from point A to point B quickly and easily Eagle N Series is built on a robust, widely used technology platform that lets Epicor quickly evolve its capabilities as retail needs change; and enables fast integration with key third-party solutions (such as payment processors) when new opportunities arise to enhance the overall benefit of Eagle.

14 About Epicor Epicor Software Corporation is a global leader delivering business software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service industries. With more than 40 years of experience, Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries. Epicor solutions enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve profitability. With a history of innovation, industry expertise and passion for excellence, Epicor inspires customers to build lasting competitive advantage. Epicor provides the single point of accountability that local, regional, and global businesses demand. For more information, visit Contact us for more information on Epicor Products and Services eagle@epicor.com Corporate Office 804 Las Cimas Parkway Austin, TX USA Toll Free: Direct: Fax: Latin America and Caribbean Blvd. Antonio L. Rodriguez #1882 Int. 104 Plaza Central, Col. Santa Maria Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, CP Mexico Phone: Fax: Europe, Middle East and Africa No. 1 The Arena Downshire Way Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1PU United Kingdom Phone: Fax: Asia 238A Thomson Road #23-06 Novena Square Tower A Singapore Singapore Phone: Fax: Australia and New Zealand Suite 2 Level 8, 100 Pacific Highway North Sydney, NSW 2060 Australia Phone: Fax: The contents of this document are for informational purposes only and are subject to change without notice. Epicor Software Corporation makes no guarantee, representations or warranties with regard to the enclosed information and specifically disclaims, to the full extent of the law, any applicable implied warranties, such as fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, satisfactory quality or reasonable skill and care. This document and its contents, including the viewpoints, dates and functional content expressed herein are believed to be accurate as of its date of publication, July The results represented in this testimonial may be unique to the particular user as each user s experience will vary. The usage of any Epicor software shall be pursuant to the applicable end user license agreement and the performance of any consulting services by Epicor personnel shall be pursuant to applicable standard services terms and conditions. Usage of the solution(s) described in this document with other Epicor software or third party products may require the purchase of licenses for such other products. Epicor, Business Inspired, the Epicor logo, and Eagle are registered trademarks or trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2014 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.