Chapter 12

Customer Services and Retail

Selling

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Customer Service

High-quality service - A service that meets or exceeds customers’ expectations.

A way in which retailers provide the high-quality service expected and reduce customer defections is through relationship retailing programs.

Relationship retailing programs - The activities designed to attract, retain, and enhance long-term relationships with customers.

LO 1

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Customer Service

Retailers can develop long-term relationships with their customers by offering:financial benefitssocial benefits

LO 1

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Exhibit 12.3 - Three Basic Tasks of Retailing

LO 1

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Customer Service

It consists of all those activities performed by the retailer that influence:the ease with which a potential customer can shop or

learn about the store’s offering.the ease with which a transaction can be completed

once the customer attempts to make a purchase.the customer’s satisfaction with the transaction.

LO 1

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Customer Service stopped

Transient customer - An individual who is dissatisfied with the level of customer service offered at a store or stores and is seeking an alternative store with the level of customer service that he or she thinks is appropriate.

Gives another store the opportunity to convert them

What are some of the stores you know which actively work to avoid losing customers – and how do they do it?

LO 1

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Customer Service

It must be integrated into all the following aspects of retailing:Merchandise managementBuilding and fixture managementPromotion managementPrice managementCredit management

Examples of good and bad?

LO 1

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Common Customer Services

Pretransaction services - Provided to the customer prior to entering the store.Convenient hours – Examples of those which don’t?Information aids – such as?

See p. 442

LO 2

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Common Customer Services

Transaction services - Provided to customers when they are in the store shopping and transacting business.CreditLayawayGift wrapping and

packagingCheck cashingGift cards

Personal shopping Merchandise availability Personal selling Sales transaction

LO 2

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Common Customer Services

Personal shopping - An individual who is a professional shopper performs the shopping role for another; very upscale department and specialty stores offer personal shoppers to their clients.

Dwell time - The amount of time a consumer must spend waiting to complete a purchase. Want to minimize this.

See pp. 448LO 2

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Common Customer Services

Posttransaction services - Provided to customers after they have purchased merchandise or services.Complaint handlingAccepting Merchandise returnsBe careful of fraudulent returns

Renting, not buyingFraudulent employee actionsShoplift returnsPrice switching (harder now)

Servicing, repair, and warranties

DeliveryPostsale follow-up

LO 2

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Exhibit 12.4 - Six Rules to Follow When Handling a Customer’s Complaint

LO 2

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Exhibit 12.5 - Factors to Consider When Determining Customer Services to Offer

LO 3

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Exhibit 12.6 How the Retailer’s Sales Force Meets the Expectations of Both Vendors and Customers

LO 3

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Retail Sales Management

Types of retail sellingSalesperson selectionSalesperson trainingEvaluation of salespeople

LO 4

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Retail Sales Management

Types of retail sellingRetailers that concentrate on the sale of shopping

goods want their salespeople to both get and take orders.

In lines of retail trade where predominantly convenience goods are sold, the role of the salesperson is that of an order taker.

It is generally true that retailers with high margins and high levels of customer service place more emphasis on order getting; those with low margins and a low customer service policy tend to emphasize order taking.

LO 4

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Retail Sales Management

Salesperson selectionHiring criteriaPredictors

DemographicsPersonalityKnowledge and intelligenceExperience

LO 4

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Retail Sales Management

Salesperson trainingRetailer’s policiesMerchandiseCustomer typesCustomer choice criteria

No active product choice criteriaInadequate or vague choice criteriaChoice criteria in conflictExplicit choice criteria

LO 4

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Exhibit 12.7 - Various Customer Types

LO 4

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Exhibit 12.7 - Various Customer Types

LO 4

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Retail Sales Management

Evaluation of salespeoplePerformance standards

Conversion rateSales per hourUse of time

Selling timeNonselling time Idle timeAbsent time

Data requirements

LO 4

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Retail Sales Management

Conversion rate - Percentage of shoppers that enter the store that are converted into purchasers.

Sales per hour is computed by dividing total dollar sales over a particular time frame by total salesperson or sales-force hours.

LO 4

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Exhibit 12.8 - Selling Process in the Retail Environment

LO 5

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Exhibit 12.8 - Selling Process in the Retail Environment

LO 5

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Exhibit 12.8 - Selling Process in the Retail Environment

LO 5

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Exhibit 12.9 - Some Closing Signals the Salespeople Should Watch For

LO 5

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The Retail Sales Process

Prospecting - Locating or identifying potential customers who have the ability and willingness to purchase your product.

Closing the sale - Action the salesperson takes to bring a potential sale to its natural conclusion.

LO 5

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The Customer-Service and Sales-Enhancement Audit

The objectives of the auditIdentify the service, salesmanship, and sales-

enhancement methods that will produce more sales from the existing shopping traffic.

Target the methods by store and selling area that will produce the most significant improvements.

Determine the added sales that can be generated by improving the accepted service level, salesmanship, and sales-enhancement programs.

LO 6

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Advantages of the audit:Provides management with a detailed analysis of

current sales activity by location and by selling area.Identifies how and where additional sales volume is

available.Measures, analyzes, and reports on the specific factors.

The Customer-Service and Sales-Enhancement Audit

LO 6

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Basic serviceCustomer contactSalesperson-initiated contactCustomer acknowledgment

SalesmanshipMerchandise knowledgeNeeds clarificationActive sellingSuggestion selling

The Customer-Service and Sales-Enhancement Audit

LO 6

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Sales enhancementImpulse purchasingWalkouts

The Customer-Service and Sales-Enhancement Audit

LO 6