April 21st, 2009
I found out about the power of specificity when a store manager telephoned to complain about a mystery shopping report. The mystery shopper had said that suggestive selling had not been done, but the manager disagreed. He claimed his staff member should get the points for suggestive selling because he was present at the time and had heard his staff member say, “Would you like anything else?”
In my view, “Anything else,” should forever be banned from the retail lexicon. It is not a suggestive sell and its use should score zero in a mystery shopping report.
McDonalds’ sales folk never say, “Would you like anything else?” What they do say of course, is, “Would you like fries with that?” “Fries” is very specific. The power of the suggestive sell is in the use of the product name – fries in this case. The memory of previous pleasant consumption evokes a yes response, or perhaps a no if the customer’s memory is of waistline expansion. On the other hand, “Anything else? “ is not specific. It evokes nothing. The answer to “Anything else,” is most often NO by default because the customer cannot think of any “thing.”
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April 14th, 2009
A customer experience is what the customer says it is. Not what mystery shoppers say it is.
Mystery shoppers get paid to shop. Customers pay to shop.
What mystery shoppers do well is measure processes and standards. Mystery shoppers will tell you if the processes that create the customer experience have met your pre-determined standards, but only your customers can tell you what those standards should be.
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April 9th, 2009
The measurement of delays by mystery shopping is a key metric. It’s a given that acknowledgement times, on hold times, and service times appear in virtually all mystery shopping reports. As C. Northcote Parkinson, author of the best seller, Parkinson’s Law, famously said, “delay is the deadliest form of denial.”
But does mystery shopping accurately measure delays? Well, yes and no.
Yes, in that a mystery shopper can measure a queue time, of say five minutes.
No, in that those same five minutes will be perceived differently by different customers.
A customer’s perception of time is affected by variables such as the culture of the customer, the nature of their activity at the time, gender, length of the queue, and even the frequency at which they queue. So it’s not the five minutes that counts, it’s how the customer feels about it. And it’s customer feelings that determine their loyalty. They may forget the words you used, but they never forget how you made them feel.
Posted in Mystery Shopping: How to Get Good Results. | 1 Comment »
March 20th, 2009
Famed marketer Jack Trout says that service is a given – not a difference. Trout points to the work of Michael Porter, Professor of Business at Harvard University for the explanation as to why “better service,” or “better anything” for that matter, does not create competitive advantage.
Porter makes a clear distinction between what he calls, ”operational effectiveness” and “strategic positioning.” Operational effectiveness means performing the same things as your competitors, only better. You are running the same race.
Strategic positioning on the other hand means running a different race – one that you have set yourself up to win.
Curves for example runs a very different race to the average gym.
On the surface it would seem that when Curves started out in 1995 it was entering a saturated market. But now it is the world’s largest fitness franchise with more than 10,000 outlets. That’s a new opening every 12.2 hours!
So much for “saturation.”
The secret behind this staggering growth is not better customer service, but a different kind of service. Curves occupies a market position somewhere between the full service gym and exercise at home. Curves pulled customers from both by combining the convenience of home exercise with a supportive, female-only environment. They eliminated almost everything typically found in gyms (men, mirrors, hard-to-use equipment and long workouts).
You cannot win the game of business with “better.” You win by being different.
This series of articles explores the role of customer service in business strategy.
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March 18th, 2009
What went wrong at Nordstrom?
According to a study conducted at the University of Texas, “Nordstrom’s…problems (in part) stem(ed) from a poor choice of inventory which has alienated somewhat its fashion conscious customers ,”
and…
“Nordstrom’s weakness in spotting new fashion trends would be expected to have been particularly punishing since its customers are among the most fashion conscious of any store. ”
There you have it. Even legendary customer service did not protect their competitive position. Nordstrom’s problems were caused by not stocking the right product. And their customers did not hesitate to defect the instant they could not get what they wanted.
This series of articles explores the role of customer service in business strategy.
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March 10th, 2009
If great customer service does create competitive advantage then we should see increased sales in those businesses rated highly for service excellence. We should also see improved profits, and in the case of public companies, a growing share price.
US-based retailer Nordstrom is arguably the most famous in the world for customer service. It’s the stuff of legend. But there has been at least one occasion when even Nordstrom could not make their fantastic customer service work.
According to marketer and author Jack Trout, Nordstrom’s service excellence did not save the legendary retailer from financial troubles. In “Differentiate or Die” Trout cites an article in Business Week published April 19th 1999. Entitled, “Great Service Wasn’t Enough,” the article points out that Nordstrom was experiencing, “weak sales growth,” disappointing profits” and a “volatile stock price” despite its legendary reputation for service.
It’s clear is that customer service on its own does not confer competitive advantage. Should you doubt it, ask yourself when you last heard someone say, “I’m going to the shops to get some service.”
This series of articles explores the role of customer service in competitive strategy.
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