In a world of retail, that’s been through a pandemic like a rough tumble down a bumpy hill, it’s left marks on all of us and changed the way we look at things and where we choose to spend our money
Your team of employees are the face of your brand every hour they are on the clock. How they interact and work together is much more important than you may think. A recent trip to a local retailer reminded me of this mark that continues to be missed among others.
I wanted to potentially invest in a handy tool I was considering that included blue tooth technology and what took me to a local store. The investment was around $150. I wanted to see it myself, not online, and get a few questions answered hopefully.
So my husband and I walked into the store. Were greeted by one associate, probably around Baby Boomer generation. We were greeted with a kind “Hello, can I help you?” There were two other associates on staff that appeared much younger, I’d guess they were iGens.
I deliberately made my way to the area of the store we needed to be with my hubby and the boomer associate following me. It was like the line you formed to go to the lunchroom in grade school. Now at the display, and also closer to the younger associates, I grabbed the item and read the box. I asked the boomer two questions about the item, one regarding Bluetooth technology. I noticed the I have no clue feared looked on their face upon delivering my questions. They proceeded to read the box and fumbled out some information as if to attempt to provide some value. I felt bad for them and appreciated their humbled attempt to help. Why? Because I couldn’t help but notice their teammate’s kind of snickering about their peer’s feeble attempt to help me. Did they know their teammate would struggle to answer this already and waited for the show? Shame on them!
We kindly said we’d have to do a bit more research and left the store feeling bad for all three of those employees. No one could have felt good about that. Teams that play together, stay together. Perhaps a bit overused but for a darn good reason! Imagine how I would have felt about that brand if one of the teammates that may have been able to assist did? They didn’t appear to be busy. I know I would have left that store feeling good and with the product in my hand if that had occurred.
I’d be lying if I said that I will think twice about ever returning to that store. Especially if I have questions. I can do that on my computer at home and spare myself the pain and empathy I felt for that team on that day.
According to The KEENFOLKS consumer trends reporting for 2022 most companies still face significant barriers to becoming customer-centric as outlined below:
- Functional silos prevent customer data sharing 52%
- Culture not aligned around the customer needs 39%
- Missing key technology platforms to manage data 35%
- No common definition of customer centricity 31%
- Support not equipped to manage customer issues 28%
- Insufficient expertise in data analytics 28%
- Organization focused on sales before customer 28%
On that one day, they missed the mark on 2, 4, and 7. Changed my feeling about their brand and they only have one store! Creating a culture that works together like players on a sports team will provide a team worth going to see! Bonus… your teammates just might stay longer when you create a culture that feels a whole lot better to them and your customers too!
