Having the right merchandise on the shelves at the right time goes a long way toward cultivating repeat business at any brick-and-mortar store. However, the customer experience plays an equally important role here — and the caliber of that experience depends heavily on the treatment customers receive, from the moment they walk into your establishment, to the moment they leave. That’s why it’s critical to provide good retail customer service training to every employee.
Training Basic #1: Interpersonal skills
The ability to provide good retail customer service starts with finely honed interpersonal skills. These skills allow customer-facing employees to build the level of rapport with customers that generates repeat business.
Emphasize politeness. Employees should say, “Can I help you?” “Please,” and “Thank you.” Teach staff to take their lead from shoppers — for instance, backing away, rather than “talking up” merchandise, if customers want to browse alone. Other basic interpersonal skills that should be covered in retail customer service training include listening to customers without interrupting them (especially if it’s to push merchandise), refraining from sharing unsolicited opinions (e.g., “that blouse doesn’t look great on you” or “that’s not a good shade of paint”), refraining from multitasking when working with customers, and thanking customers for visiting the store even when they don’t make a purchase.
Training Basic #2: Product knowledge
Employees should be knowledgeable about the merchandise your store carries and be able to easily answer questions about individual products. Just as importantly, they should be able to offer suggestions about other items customers might need. For instance, if you operate a hardware store, employees should know which type of paint best suits which application, as well as provide input about what else customers engaged in a painting project may need (e.g., brushes, rollers, painter’s tape, and pans). In a women’s specialty apparel shop, employees with proper retail customer service training should be willing and able to suggest which garments shoppers might want to try on based on communicated preferences and to help them put together outfits down to the accessories.
Training Basic #3: Answering questions
When customers have questions, they expect answers. Brushed off or simply told that the person they’ve asked doesn’t have these answers, they’ll likely seek out your competitor first the next time they need an item your store sells.
Tell employees that they shouldn’t be embarrassed if they don’t know the answer to a particular question, but that they must go out of their way to find someone who does (or some other way to obtain the information). This means seeking out another employee or the manager or tapping into the point of sale (POS) system or vendors’ websites.
Training Basic #4: Employee availability
There is nothing more frustrating to customers than having a question about an item in one department — and being forced to seek out a sales associate in another department to obtain the answer. In fact, often this is enough to drive customers straight out of a store and down the street to a competitor’s location. To prevent this from happening, have a strategy for employees sharing information without having to leave the customer’s side, whether that involves the use of technology or having employees make sure a replacement is available in their department if they must leave the floor for a few minutes.
Good retail customer training is essential to the success of every successful brick-and-mortar store. When customers feel welcome at your store, that they’ve forged a connection with your employees, and their needs have been properly attended to, they’ll be customers for life.
