PAMBAYANG DALUBHASAAN NG MARILAO Education Program

Abangan Norte, Marilao, Bulacan BTLEd Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education

CUSTOMER SERVICE IN RETAIL SALES

Objectives:
1. defines retail customer service and its importance in retailing;
2. explains the core principles of effective retail customer service, and
3. demonstrates practical tips and techniques for providing exceptional customer service.

Introduction
 Despite all the change in which we operate, customer service is one area of retailing that never changes and where
you can still drive for success. Regardless of whether it relates to online platform customer support or behind the
counter in physical stores, the importance of customer service in retail is undeniable.

WHAT IS RETAIL CUSTOMER SERVICE

Retail Customer Service GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE IN RETAIL INDUSTRY
 Retail Customer Service is the interaction that 1. Happy customer bring other customers
happens between a store and its customers (in-  A great customer experience will create word-of-
person or online) mouth advertising, which results in natural growth
In-Person Customer Service that can deliver an expanding and consistent network
 In-Person Customer Service includes the customer of customers.
service employee and the customer interacting in a 2. Customer Loyalty and Retention
brick-and-mortar physical retail location.  Investing in your most loyal shoppers may provide an
 The goal of in-person customer service is to ensure opportunity for significant long-term financial gain,
every customer has a positive shopping experience by particularly when it comes to marketing.
welcoming them, assisting them in finding the 3. Brand Reputation
product that meets their needs, and answering any  When it comes to delivering exceptional customer
questions they may have and more. service, some of the love a brand gets is drafted back
Online Customer Service into the industry-usually, in terms of raving internet
 Online Customer Service is the practice of assisting reviews and social media shout outs you cannot buy.
clients through digital mediums. 4. Customer Advocacy
 Live chat support, email correspondence, social  Satisfied customers become advocates and will
media interactions, and handling online returns or recommend more people to use or join your brand
complaints. through word-of-mouth, online reviews, or social
media.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE RETAIL 5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
 Customer service affects the choice of brand for 96%  Increased customer lifetime value increases the
of shoppers. company’s revenue overall. Customer Lifetime Valve
 If you provide a positive experience, 91% of (CLV) is the total revenue that a company expects to
customers will be more likely to make repeat earn from the customer throughout all business with.
purchase with you. 6. Increased Value
 You can even get more money out of good customer  Through good customer service, companies can
service. A study shows that 86% of consumers would generate greater sales and revenue. Happy customers
pay more a better experience. are more likely to become return visitors, and they
 Consumers may come to your store for one thing and may also refer your brand to other potential
leave empty-handed, or they can leave with an shoppers.
additional item on top of their intended purchase.
With good customer, about 86% of clients will buy EXAMPLES OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE
more. 1. Personalized Experience
 But if you don’t get it right and provide a bad  Set up a personalized customer experience tailoring
customer experience, 96% of customers will leave the customer story goes a long way in terms of level
you. to which you can take your customer service.
2. Product Knowledge

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 PAMBAYANG DALUBHASAAN NG MARILAO Education Program
Abangan Norte, Marilao, Bulacan BTLEd Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education

 Salesperson should be knowledgeable about the  With the right customer service Key Performance
products and services offered, clearly able to answer Indicators (KPIs), you can indentify pain points or
inquiries, and provide a meaningful advice. recurring issues, allowing your retail customers care
team to address the root causes of client issues.
3. Empathy and Manners
 Being nice doesn’t harm, quite the opposite empathy 9. Be proactive in your retail customer support
is about understanding and caring for what the client  Having customer service should not only be offered
needs of fear, good manners, in turn are entering all during the purchasing process but also during on
conversations with politeness and respect. boarding and post-purchase. Retail staff should be
4. Efficient Service able to anticipate clients’ needs, questions, or
 A business can improve the customer-shopping potential issues before they arise, rather than waiting
experience, which is actually customer satisfaction for them to seek help or voice concerns.
with their brand if wait times are shorter and 10. Provide loyalty programs
customers go through the shopping experience  Considering giving the loyal customers different
seamlessly. incentives such as exclusive offers, discounts, or a
point redemption system. Such gestures can
STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE RETAIL CUSTOMER SERVICE encourage clients to return for more purchases.
1. Empower your support team 11. Request customers to feedback
 Provide your support team with access to customer  Reviews can at all times be positive or negative, but it
data and conversation history, enabling them handle is always wise for support representatives to quickly
customer problems faster. respond to all of them to establish good relations
2. Personalize customer experience with their clients.
 Customers like to be treated as individuals and not
numbers. Personalizing customer experience will TIPS FOR EXCELLENCE RETAIL CUSTOMER SERVICE
make them be repeat clients.
3. Have a positive attitude 1. Smile wheen greeting a customer in person and on
 A smile a day saves the day. When retailers express the phone (and yes, they can tell if you are smiling
friendly but professional approach in every customer over the line).
interaction, it will always lighten the mood and make 2. Use age-appropriate greetings, and avoid referring
clients free to speak their mind. to older customer and women as ‘guys’.
4. Provide self-service options 3. Be proactive and ask how you may be of service
 According to Higherlogic, 79% of clients expect 4. Stay visible and available, but don’t hover.
businesses to offer self-service tools to assists them 5. Don’t turn or walk away, start to make a phone call
find solutions to the issues without reaching out for or beneath the counter as a customer as the
support. customer approaches.
5. Leverage technology to improve customer service 6. The live customer standing in front of you takes
 Technology is a common factor in today’s retail precedence over someone who calls on the phone.
customer service. There are many ways retailers can 7. Never judge a book by its cover- all customers
use technology to improve their customer service. deserve attention regardless of the age or
6. Offer omnichannel support appearance.
 Having omnichannel support the retail support staff 8. Leave food and beverages in the break room.
to deliver quick responses to client inquiries. This is 9. A customer doesn’t want to hear about your
because they have access to customers’ previous upcoming break.
conversations history from all channels within one 10. Makes any personal calls when you’re on a break
unified inbox. and out of earshot.
7. Active listening and good communication 11. The correct answer is never ‘I don’t know’ unless
 After listening to the clients, the agents could you add to it, ‘but I can find out for you’.
summarize their statements or ask questions to 12. If a customer wants something that isn’t on
encourage further responses. This will assure the display, go to the stock room and try to find it.
clients that the support agents have understood their 13. If the item isn’t in the stock room, offer to call
issues or concerns and are aiming to add them. another store or order it.
8. Track KPIs

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 PAMBAYANG DALUBHASAAN NG MARILAO Education Program
Abangan Norte, Marilao, Bulacan BTLEd Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education

14. Learn to read body language to see if a customer

could use some help
15. Don’t let chatty customers monopolize your time
if others are waiting.
16. Call for backup support if lines are forming.
17. Be discrete if a customer’s credit card is declined
by asking if there is another method of payment he or
she would like to use.
18. Never discuss customers in front of other
customer (they’ll wonder what you’re saying about
them once he or she leave).
19. Inspect merchandise before bagging it to make
sure it’s not defective or the wrong size.
20. Make sure customers receive everything they’ve
paid for before they leave your store.
21. Smile as you are saying goodbye and encourage
the customer to come again.