I recently had the chance go to bridesmaid dress shopping with my cousin, my other cousin, and my cousin’s friend. Anyway, if you’ve ever had a chance to experience this, you’ll know that a lot of it goes like this…
In an attempt to be organised, we’d made a couple of appointments based on the sample attire on different websites, and on a sunny Saturday afternoon, the 4 of us got in a car and headed into Dublin to the first appointment.
First Store
Despite having made an appointment, there were plenty of people in the store, so the sales assistant was busy with other people. We looked over the rails, but the problem is that we weren’t even sure what we were looking for.
Second Store
As we walk in the door, the sales assistant at the front desk asked us what appointment we were under. Mentioning my cousin’s name, we were beckoned into a larger section of the store where rails of dresses in every colour, like the Power Rangers.
The assistant took my cousin separately, and with a clipboard started asking her what her personal preferences were. After this personal 1-on-1 consultation, the assistant then asked for a volunteer from our group while selecting 3 different dresses from the rail.
So I volunteered.
The second experience was orchestrated to give an amazing customer experience to the bride-to-be, as she would be the one making the final call.
1. The sales assistant took the bride-to-be separately, finding out about her personal preferences before starting the session.
2. Understanding that we didn’t know what we wanted, the assistant then took the 3 bridesmaids and asked them to start trying on what she handed them. This started the elimination process.
3. Bit-by-bit each option was wound down until only 1 dress remained. We ordered three of them, and left feeling elated.
We went from this…
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… to this.
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The Result
Leaving the store, we felt happy that we’d bought dresses.
I’ve worked in retail on-and-off since my teens, and I’m very aware of the customer experience and how that impacts on conversions. The goal is to understand their needs, and to make your customers feel happy. Give them an attentive, engaging customer experience and they’ll want to give you their money.
How do customers feel when they reach you? Do they feel lost or confused? Are the under time pressure?
Getting a better understanding of how your customers feel will give you a better insight into how to deliver better customer service.
In a competitive market, customer service is the swing vote.
