Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Showing posts with label customers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
7 Top Communication Tips for Retail Staff
03:07 | 
Posted by
ATC
I was in one of the big supermarkets yesterday and couldn’t find the product I was looking for, so I stopped one of the sales assistants to ask for help. I was surprised by the assistant’s response as she looked panicked and said she had no idea where the product would be and told me to ask someone else. I then approached another assistant and got the same response! Finally with assistant number three, I was taken to the correct aisle and he found the product for me.
Maybe these two sales assistants were new to the job or maybe they were both having a bad day, but either way, they weren’t providing very good customer service. This got me wondering about how much training staff in this store were receiving.
I worked part-time in a few different High Street stores when I was at university and I remember that we received the most basic training, but I believe that I still offered good service to the customers who came into the shop because I used my common sense. However, retailers can’t simply rely on all staff using common sense and understanding how customers should be treated. Sales assistants need to understand how to communicate effectively with their customers and it is up to retailers to provide this training.
7 essential communication tips for retail staff dealing with customers:
- Language – the vocabulary that you use can totally change the message that is being given to the customer. Make sure that language used is appropriate for the target market e.g. the teenage market might be happy with slang, but will the rest of your customers?
- Grading – If customers don't understand what you are saying, don't just keep repeating the same thing more loudly and slowly! Maybe the customer doesn't understand because he/she is from another country, has literacy problems, or maybe you are just using the wrong vocabulary. Grade your language – if the customer doesn’t understand what you are saying, find another way of saying it.
- Intonation & Tone – the intonation and tone you use can change the meaning of your message. Something that is meant to be a simple instruction can sound rude or aggressive if said in the wrong way.
- Body Language – you may be saying one thing, but your body language could be saying something else. Looking bored/uninterested or panicked doesn’t give the right impression to customers. Dealing with customers in a confident manner will make you appear more professional.
- Eye Contact – make eye contact with customers when you are talking to them. This will make you appear interested in what they are saying and make you more approachable and friendly.
- Smile – nobody wants to be served by a shop assistant who looks like he/she wants to be anywhere else but in the shop. Customers want to feel welcome when they enter the store and feel that they can approach you.
- Find someone who can – if you really can’t help the customer then find someone who can. Either direct the customer to the correct person/counter or take them there yourself – don’t just say you don’t know and walk away!
Thursday, 20 January 2011
What’s lacking in customer service training?
01:11 |
Posted by
ATC
Whilst watching the Mary Portas programme last night, I was interested to see that sales staff in the high street retailer Pilot had only received the most basic of customer service training. This isn’t the same for all high street retailers – some staff are expected to take NVQs in customer care as part of their staff training, but there is still something important missing. Training staff in procedures is not enough – sales assistants need to understand how to communicate effectively with their customers.
The following communication tips are essential for retail staff dealing with customers:
- Language – the vocabulary that you use can totally change the message that is being given to the customer. Make sure that language used is appropriate for the target market e.g. the teenage market might be happy with slang, but will the rest of your customers?
- Grading – If customers don't understand what you are saying, don't just keep repeating the same thing more loudly and slowly! Maybe the customer doesn't understand because he/she is from another country, has literacy problems, or maybe you are just using the wrong vocabulary. Grade your language – if the customer doesn’t understand what you are saying, find another way of saying it.
- Intonation & Tone – the intonation and tone you use can change the meaning of your message. Something that is meant to be a simple instruction can sound rude or aggressive if said in the wrong way.
- Body Language – you may be saying one thing, but your body language could be saying something else. Slouching or leaning on the counter/a rail doesn’t give the right impression to customers. Standing up straight and checking your posture will give you more confidence and you will appear more professional.
- Eye Contact – make eye contact with customers when you are talking to them. This will make you appear interested in what they are saying and make you more approachable and friendly.
- Smile – nobody wants to be served by a shop assistant who looks like he/she wants to be anywhere else but in the shop. Customers want to feel welcome when they enter the store and feel that they can approach you.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Reach more customers - improve your messages
10:47 |
Posted by
ATC
Do some of your customers have poor literacy skills and struggle with reading, writing, speaking or listening?
The answer is probably yes, as according to the National Literacy Trust one in six people in the UK struggle with literacy and their skills are below the level expected of an eleven year old. This may be is a shocking statistic, but how does it impact on your business?
Well, if you have always found reading and writing easy, then it’s probably hard to imagine the daily struggle that people experience if they have literacy problems. Can you imagine trying to buy food in the supermarket if you can’t read what’s on the labels? How do you know which aisle to go to if you can’t read the signs?
The problem is bigger than this though as it’s not only reading and writing that people struggle with - speaking and listening can also be an issue. This doesn’t mean that someone with poor literacy skills can’t speak, but it does mean that he/she might struggle to communicate clearly in certain situations.
Not everyone will struggle to this degree, as it depends on each individual’s level of literacy, but any literacy problem is going to make everyday life more difficult.
Now let’s go back to your customers. Most businesses send out hundreds of messages in different forms – e-mails, letters, posters, fliers, phone calls, face-to-face communication etc – without thinking about how the messages will be understood by ALL of their customers.
Until you can put yourself in your customers’ shoes, it’s difficult to realise how your messages are coming across to anyone who has poor literacy skills. To launch a new campaign, the Director of the National Literacy Trust, Jonathan Douglas, is going to try and get through the whole day on 5 November without speaking. The aim is to highlight how important all literacy skills are, including speaking and listening, in order to communicate effectively.
Learn more about how to reach more customers by following out Top Tips on Twitter
The answer is probably yes, as according to the National Literacy Trust one in six people in the UK struggle with literacy and their skills are below the level expected of an eleven year old. This may be is a shocking statistic, but how does it impact on your business?
Well, if you have always found reading and writing easy, then it’s probably hard to imagine the daily struggle that people experience if they have literacy problems. Can you imagine trying to buy food in the supermarket if you can’t read what’s on the labels? How do you know which aisle to go to if you can’t read the signs?
The problem is bigger than this though as it’s not only reading and writing that people struggle with - speaking and listening can also be an issue. This doesn’t mean that someone with poor literacy skills can’t speak, but it does mean that he/she might struggle to communicate clearly in certain situations.
Not everyone will struggle to this degree, as it depends on each individual’s level of literacy, but any literacy problem is going to make everyday life more difficult.
Now let’s go back to your customers. Most businesses send out hundreds of messages in different forms – e-mails, letters, posters, fliers, phone calls, face-to-face communication etc – without thinking about how the messages will be understood by ALL of their customers.
Until you can put yourself in your customers’ shoes, it’s difficult to realise how your messages are coming across to anyone who has poor literacy skills. To launch a new campaign, the Director of the National Literacy Trust, Jonathan Douglas, is going to try and get through the whole day on 5 November without speaking. The aim is to highlight how important all literacy skills are, including speaking and listening, in order to communicate effectively.
Learn more about how to reach more customers by following out Top Tips on Twitter
Labels:
communication strategy,
customers,
Listening,
Literacy,
Reading,
Speaking,
Writing
|
0
comments
Friday, 15 October 2010
How does the language you use affect your business?
00:52 |
Posted by
ATC
The answer to this question is yes for the majority of businesses in the UK, yet very few organisations think about how the language they use will impact on their customers and clients. Organisations are seriously limiting the number of customers they can reach by not reviewing their communication strategy.
Let’s consider the first question again: Are some of your customers and potential customers from other countries? The answer is yes they are. According to the Office for National Statistics, ‘The number of people from overseas living in the UK reached a record high of 6.7 million.’
So, the chances are pretty high that a large percentage of your customers and clients use English as a second language. Communicating with someone who isn’t a native English speaker isn’t a problem though, is it? The majority of us have come into contact with people from other countries around the world in our everyday lives or when we go on a foreign holiday. Most of us have some experience of communicating with people from other countries.
Stop and think for a moment. Have you always been able to get your message across? How do you know if the other person has really understood? Often we assume that we’ve explained ourselves clearly, but have we really? Being a native English speaker and using English everyday doesn’t mean we naturally know how to adapt our language to different situation and for different people.
In business, thinking you’ve got your message across isn’t good enough. In order to retain existing customers and attract new ones it’s vital to be certain that you’ve put your message across clearly and concisely.
Learn more about how to get you message across to a wider customer base by following our ‘Top Tips’ on Twitter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)