Customer Service in a Multi-Channel World

About Lenati Easy to find?Lenati is an award-winning Easy to pay?boutique consulting firm Easy to receive?that designs, implements, Easy to return?and optimizes marketingand sales solutions for Easy loyalty program?companies that want tobuild stronger customerconnection. Based in thePacific Northwest, Lenati iswell-known for intellectualrigor, expertise, and an Customer Service in a Multi Channel Worlduncanny ability to perceiveand meet clients’ needs. My grandfather loved America because unlike the Old Country where “Customer Beware,” here customer was king. Consequently, if a store didn’t treat him like one, he would leave. That level of customer service may have gone underground for a few decades, but it’s back again – and this time it applies across shopping channels that didn’t exist a decade ago. Sales people too busy to help? Go home and search online. Website difficult to maneuver? Find another one. Nice product but no free shipping? Keep searching. Great price but difficult and costly to return? Find a different store. It’s good to be king. Fifty percent of in-store purchases now begin with an Internet search. And manyAbout the Author online purchases happen after a visit to a store. The purchase may be inspired from a Facebook post or a promotion on Twitter. Customers want to pay usingDonna Schmidt is a their mobile gift cards. They order online and expect to pick it up at the store.Senior Consultant at Lenatiwith 15 years experience The customer’s journey is no longer defined by channel. The customer isacross diverse industries thinking “Gosh, I’d like a new pair of sneakers,” not “Today I’ll transact mydesigning andimplementing solutions to shopping activities through an online portal.” To succeed, retailers must applyenhance customer and cross-channel strategies. They must acknowledge that providing customermember experience. service is not about any specific channel, it’s about providing a seamless experience across channels. Because it’s not about the channel customers are using, it’s about the activity customers are trying to accomplish. 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com

Click to edit Master title style Point of ViewThe retailers who close the sale are those who provide outstanding customer service throughout thejourney, regardless of channel. It means providing customers with a path that is so easy and feels sosecure that they no longer have the desire to continue to search. Click Click Click Click STORE STORE STORE STORE 1 2 3 4 More Free Easy photos Shipping ReturnsThink of each frustration as a yellow caution light along the road to purchase. Each one is a point atwhich customers may decide to take their business elsewhere. And if a red light is reached, the salewill be lost to a competitor that has removed these obstacles. Easy to FindThe ability to find a product is the most important, and most complex, portion of the path. If it is not easyto navigate, the customer will turn left and head for a different merchant. Customers may need a completeeducation on the product or they may arrive knowing precisely what they are looking for. Either way, theyexpect timely answers to detailed questions whether they are in the store, online or using their phone.Easy to Find…. In Store Finding a product while physically in the store requires retail spaces that Wi-Fi are engaging, clearly marked departments, aisles that are easy to navigate Mobile Apps and logical product arrangement. It requires knowledgeable sales people Easy-to-find sales person and intuitive technology, so that customers can easily find products while Staff can respond to meandering down the aisle, browsing on a tablet or using a mobile inquiries about application. The store must be Wi-Fi equipped and store inventory Twitter or Facebook information must be immediately available to sales staff and customers, promotions Staff can speak to including detailed product specification. If the requested item is only online inventory available online, the customer should still be able to purchase it then and Sale can be there, even if they do not have a mobile device or laptop/tablet with transacted in-store them. If instead they are told to go home and check out the company’s for online products website, the chance of ultimately closing the sale with that customer has Fast check-out significantly diminished. 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com Page 2

Click to edit Master title style Point of View Easy to Find…. Mobile Traditional online sites do not render well on a mobile device. If Online page for Mobile retailers wish to capture customer interest wherever customers might Mobile Apps be, they need to supply mobile-friendly sites that allow customers to Online displays local quickly find products on the small screen of a cell phone, including inventory per-store inventory information. Many major retailers are now Geo locators providing mobile applications to make it easier to shop with a mobile Text alerts Barcode scanners phone. Target’s shopping and gift list applications have been extremely popular with customers. Geo-mapping is an important part of the mobile strategy so that customers can quickly find products in their area. Once in the store, customers with the right mobile app should be able to scan product bar codes to receive specifications, promotions and other information. Easy to Find…. Online A customer who types the word “Sneakers” into a search engine has Effective search filters immediate access to dozens of merchants. For a customer to stick Search history Product comparison with a particular site, the site’s search functionality must be superior. chart It must be intuitive, clear and easy to use with the ability to save, filter Detailed product and sort results so that customers quickly find the desired product. specs Multiple photos w/ different angles Online stores sell the same products across the Internet. Depending Online reviews on the level of product detail displayed by their catalog software, and Easy to find Chat w/ depending on what product details are supplied by the product prompt assistance manufacturer, some retailers will show more photos and product Easy to find Cust Serv specifications than others. If a customer wants further detail than # with direct connection to what is displayed online, calling Customer Service or using Chat appropriate probably won’t help -- the customer service representative is looking department (no long at the same information as the online customer. Consequently, if a voicemail menu; no site does not have the level of detail needed, the customer will leave long wait times) to find another merchant’s site that does. The merchant that wins the customer’s business will have an easy site to navigate with excellent search ability, filtering, search history, purchase history and product comparison charts. Product "We believe the keys to specifications will be detailed with multiple photos showing the competing in our industry product at many angles. Online reviews, along with helpful include, first and foremost, customer service… “ demographic information of the reviewer (Nordstrom lets reviewers Michael Koppel, EVP and add their age range and other personal information), help the CFO, Nordstroms customer know if the review applies to them. The merchant will be quick to identify products with low customer ratings and remove them from inventory. Online chat and customer service phone numbers are easy to find with low wait times. Customer service representatives are skilled at helping the buyer find the right product and add value beyond the catalog information already available to the customer. 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com Page 3

Click to edit Master title style Point of View Easy to Find…. Facebook and Twitter  Prompt responses to Merchant Facebook pages and Twitter streams have become standard customer inquiries, players as customers search for the perfect product. Customers may including detailed get the initial idea to purchase a product from a promotion on product information  Prompt responses to Facebook or Twitter. Or they might decide not to buy the product customer complaints based on negative feedback posted by other customers. Twitter, with  In-store and its ability for message threads and direct messaging, is a customer Customer Service service platform whether the merchant has planned it to be so or not. Center staff can The savvy merchant will get ahead of the curve and have plans in place respond to questions about products/ for addressing feedback and providing personalized service, including events promoted on detailed assistance to help a customer find a specific item. The Facebook and Twitter merchant whose primary use of these platforms is to post promotional news will turn off customers seeking hands-on assistance.The need for internal communication across channel sales force is equally important to acknowledgingFacebook and Twitter as de-factocustomer service platforms. Customerswho learn of a product through Twitteror Facebook must be able to continuetheir product search online or in thestore. If the journey feels disjointed, orif the online or in-store sales force isunaware of the product beingpromoted on Facebook or Twitter, thecustomer will feel that their time hasbeen wasted. Easy to PayThe ubiquitous cash register may be on its way out. Why would customers wait in a long line when at acompetitor’s store they can pay a sales person anywhere in the store using the sales force’s POS mobile device? Orwhy not pay using a mobile app on their own cell phone and have the product shipped to them or ready for pick-upat the store? How about a quick scan of the product bar code onto a cell phone payment application, pre-set tocharge a bank or credit card? And is the credit department friendly, easy to reach and tied to a compelling loyaltyprogram? The merchants that provide options will win over those who don’t. 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com Page 4

Click to edit Master title style Point of View Easy to Pay…. In Store POS mobile devices As more stores implement POS mobile devices enabling customers to Cell phone scan/pay finalize their purchase wherever the sales person might be, the more Short lines & easy to customers will expect a quick and easy check-out experience and become locate check-out process frustrated with long lines waiting for a cash register. As mCommerce grows, customers will expect the ability to pay directly with their phone by scanning their payment information to a store device. A customer with a basket full of products who sees a long line looming ahead will think twice before visiting this merchant again. Easy to Pay…. Online No mandatory login Though “shopping cart” functionality has become standardized across the Phone option (with Internet, there are obstacles that can cause buyers to click away and find minimal time on hold) another merchant. If the obstacle moves them to another channel, their Online payment options other than credit card frustration rises and timely service, including seamless knowledge transfer across the channels, becomes critical. Can the buyer make a purchase without having to create an account with a user name and password? If there is a special promotion, is it easy to understand whether the promotion applies to this particular purchase and does the discount show clearly at check-out? If there is a credit card promotion for additional discount, is that experience easy to navigate and does it return the buyer to the check-out to conclude the sale? Multiple payment options are also important. Can buyers easily call customer service to complete the sale if they do not wish to pay online? Can they use PayPal and other options to avoid supplying their credit card number online? If the merchant stores their credit card information, is it easy to edit expiration dates or select a different card for payment? Easy to Pay…. Mobile As more and more buyers find their product using their cell Online page for mobile Mobile Apps phone, the ability to conclude the sale within that same Scan & Pay transaction becomes critical to not losing the business to a different merchant. Customers don’t want to be told that they have gone as far as they can on their path and must now find a different channel to reach their destination. Easy to Pay… Facebook and Twitter Payment through Twitter may mean a link to another online resource, but payment directly through Facebook is certainly on the horizon. If a user invests the time to browse a merchant’s Facebook page, find a promotion, read user feedback and decide to purchase an item, the best chances of closing the deal are to provide a payment option then and there. When that occurs, the customer service expected from this channel, and the ability for a customer to move to and from Facebook during the product search and receive relevant customer support across channels, will become more critical than ever. 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com Page 5

Click to edit Master title style Point of ViewEasy to Receive Free shipping! Free shipping! Customers want their merchandise, and they want it without paying extra Free shipping! and without a hassle. It’s that simple. How they receive the merchandise Buy online & pickup in is not related to what channel they use to purchase it. The merchant who store provides affordable (free is best), convenient options for product deliveryregardless of the channel in which the product was purchased will win the sale.Easy to Return Free returns! Buy online and return to Like delivery, customers expect affordable (free is best), easy return options store no matter what channel they used to purchase the product. Unless a retail Printable, postage-paid store is unavailable in their location, they expect the option to return a mailing labels product to a store no matter how it was purchased. Flat postage rate for all returns Clear return policy A liberal return policy that allows customers to return merchandise for any Liberal return policy reason, even if the packaging has been opened, and even if time has passed, Options on how refund is with no restocking fees, will win back customers. Nordstrom and REI are provided (cash, debit, market leaders in this area, applying their famous return policies across all credit) regardless of how it was purchased channels.Easy to Return… Special online and mobile considerationsThe online channel differs most significantly from an in-storeexperience in that the buyer is going on a certain amount of faiththat the product will meet expectations. No amount of onlinephotos and product specifications can replace the ability to touchand feel the actual product. A liberal return policy goes a longway to off-set concerns of buying a product sight unseen.Additionally, the online and mobile channels require a logisticallysimple path to returning products. Customers expect the return policy to be clearly stated, return mailinglabels easy to print, and the confidence that the costs and inconvenience of a product return do not outweighthe advantage of buying the product. And they expect the ability to return a product to a local store. 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com Page 6

Click to edit Master title style Point of View Consider a large purchase that needs assembling like a barbeque grill. If purchased from a store, customers know that should they “There is no commission at go home and assemble it, and then not like it, the grill can be taken REI. There is all the support back to the store as-is, no need to take it apart. The sales people in the world for helping might complain and point to the return policy that states all refunds people to get what they be in original packaging, but in the end the store will refund the need.” Sally Jewel, CEO, REI purchase. Now let’s say the store has a barbeque grill online that is not available in the store. The merchant who constructs customer service policies by channel will expect the grill to be dissembled and shipped back in its original box. Savvy customers would not buy from this merchant. Instead, they would purchase from the online catalog of a competitor with a convenient location. If dissatisfied, they will bring the grill, assembled and no packaging, to the bricks and mortar store for refund. Easy Loyalty Program Clear online explanation Customers expect loyalty programs to span channels, just as their purchasing journey All channels can respond spans channels. And they don’t want to waste time picking a merchant who will to program inquiries, regardless of which provide points only to find that the points expire in a short time frame, have different channel advertises the value depending on the channel or have complex strings attached. program Customer service To win customers, each channel must be able to respond to inquiries about loyalty responds appropriately to programs, no matter which channel originates the program. Applying loyalty points “silver” and “gold” customers during check-out must be simple; the customer expects the sales force to be Credit department phone knowledgeable about the program and seamlessly apply the appropriate credits. numbers are easy to find When purchasing online, special promotions should not hinder the check-out with short hold times process, take customers away Debit card options with same loyalty benefits as from the Shopping Cart (in credit worst cases, abandoning Applying loyalty points them on a vendor site related does not complicate the to the promotion), or leave check-out process, in-store anything unclear as to the or online Sufficient time provided original price without the before points expire – or program and the discounts no expiration date applied with the program. 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com Page 7

Click to edit Master title style Point of View  Easy to find  Easy to pay  Easy to receive  Easy to return  Easy loyalty programRECOMMENDATIONS • Implement a customer service strategy with measureable objectives that crosses all channels; make sure it remains an enterprise-wide strategy when implemented at the team level; tactics created to move forward may be specific to the opportunities or challenges of a specific channel, but all team members must be working towards the greater cross-channel strategy and collective objectives • Share channel-specific promotions and content calendars across channels with all staff • Align sales force behavioral expectations across channels and examine hiring practices to ensure all staff, regardless of channel, can deliver personalized and effective service • Remove internal organizational structures that promote a channel-centric culture • Invest in the technology and operational changes necessary to provide data sharing and inventory availability across channels • Invest in the technology and operational changes necessary to be prepared for trends that are sure to have significant impact on today’s retailers like mCommerce and expanded social mediaSUMMARYThe overarching principle to achieving a consistent customer experience across channels is to view thecustomer’s buying experience as a journey based on activities and not a journey based on channel. Thougheach channel poses its own advantages and challenges, it is only one section of the overall path travelled bythe customer. Today’s customer moves seamlessly from the store to their phone to their laptop. They expectno less from the retailer.FOR MORE INFORMATIONRead other Lenati Points of View to learn about useful tools to manage your social presence and implantingmobile in your cross channel strategy.For a more detailed discussion of these concepts or to learn how we can help you put them into practice,contact Martin Mehalchin, Lenati’s Retail Practice Lead, at mmehalchin@lenati.com 1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109 | (800) 848-1449 | www.lenati.com Page 8

Customer Service in a Multi-Channel World

by Lenati on Aug 29, 2011

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Customer Service in a Multi-Channel World — Document Transcript