This post is for retailers with physical stores competing with online shopping and technology that threatens their sales.
We've been through a time of chaos, but the pandemic is over. That still doesn't mean you can return to exactly what you did before ... especially if it wasn't working.
It forced businesses to evolve their operations, update their websites, payment capabilities, and more.
We all cope with a world spinning out of control by controlling our environments as much as possible.
Our collection of followers, the pictures we curate to show we’re having a great time, and the people we text are all filtered versions of ourselves.
We like to believe we don’t need anyone. We’re self-sufficient and smart. "I can do it myself and better."
"Many of us, when dealing with the stresses of everyday life, turn to our smartphones to make us feel we are loved."
Research shows the chemical dopamine that is released when we get a text on a smartphone gives us the same feeling as gambling or drinking.
Our focus on getting ahead and staying current means staying connected to social media platforms.
Even with many followers, some people can’t rely on their friends because they know they will blow them off if something better comes.
This has left many employees as well as shoppers adrift with the illusion of connection.
The trouble is that we’re growing more addicted to that dopamine rush of a text message or a thumbs up.
This is why we do more and more of it - we’re all addicted.
So of course, technology is telling retailers to go where shoppers have had to spend more of their time because of the pandemic - on their phones.
And with lockdowns coming and going across the world, it is that human connection that brick-and-mortar retailers can use to combat online retailers and add meaning for many shoppers.
How?
Through your retail sales training and customer service, your way of treating shoppers shows your commitment to the humanness of making a connection.
It may not change the world, but it just might make someone’s life better, even if only for a few minutes. And that’s enough to get them to want to purchase from you.
In those few minutes in your store, someone talked to them, engaged them, and purchased something to make their lives more convenient or meaningful.
Not only did they walk away with something tangible just for them, but they also left with a feeling that makes them want to return soon...to have the same exceptional shopping experience.
Now I know some tout a coming world devoid of physical stores, associates, and malls. Their bleak future is filled with different gloves and glasses to let you immerse yourself in a virtual world while still within your own home.
A virtual world where almost everything is fake, from the assistance you get via Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the 3D-printed products delivered from autonomous vehicles.
A world where brand recommendations have less value than Siri or Alexa.
An always-connected world through our clothing, our cars, and even our bodies.
But that flies in the face of a basic need of shoppers: human connection.
Knowing you’re valued and a contributing member of society by another person is incredibly reaffirming.
An article in the NYT concludes: “It’s up to all of us — doctors, patients, neighborhoods, and communities — to maintain bonds where they’re fading and create ones where they haven’t existed.”
But those connections take time. And every interaction we have in public either confirms or denies our value.
"Now that masks are optional to non-existent, we must double down on our interpersonal skills."
That's why brick-and-mortar stores are so important to our mental health right now...
When we go shopping, beyond an unconscious need to connect with another human being, we also seek someone to remove frustration from our lives.
We’re looking for someone to take over responsibility for an issue, a product, or a service we need and fix it. We like to feel we are in good hands.
That’s why people still go to physical retail stores.
And will for the foreseeable future…
Retail sales build one person at a time. Do it right, and you form a relationship that lasts with your client. Do it wrong, and you miss your chance.
Shoppers are looking for someone to be responsible for their happiness when they drive to your shop. Welcome that challenge!
The reality is you can move almost any store around - yes, even the fixtures - if you’re committed to constantly making your environment more exciting and in tune with your shoppers.
Remember, physical retail exists to answer a shopper's one question, "What's new?" Make sure your store - especially after the pandemic looks and smells fresh.
When you are slammed with revenge-pandemic shoppers, it is easy to tell yourself you don't have to worry about those things. Until one day, you aren't, and you're struggling.
When your marketing includes humor and can position you as the angel to a competitor’s devil, it gives your brand a personality. I did this with one of my first clients - read about this marketing success story.
Consider how you can make jokes about online retailers delivering something late, something the wrong size, and with the hassle of boxing up returns.
All that versus your well-appointed fitting rooms where you put it back for them if a customer doesn’t like it. You have displays with items they can touch, feel, and use - you get the point.
Good relationships, like eating well and getting enough exercise, aren’t just a matter of luck.
And...
"Expecting employees to magically create rewarding interactions with no selling process on your sales floor is delusional."
They are frequently focused on tasks and rarely steer employees to the important goal of developing their rapport-building skills.
You must provide associates the skills to forge deeper ties with people than by tapping a heart emoji on Instagram.
They probably don’t have the soft skills you do, but unless you train them, they’ll be stuck, unable to converse with strangers.
As a result, we as a culture lose too.
These spokes of connection create a community first between two strangers, then within your entire business, and on to your entire community.
Employees must be taught that to claim the mantle of having a vibrant company culture, they must create it.
Look, shoppers are shopping at a rate not seen since the mid-2000s, but you must be brilliant on the basics.
Yes, online shopping will continue to improve, and all sorts of distractions like AI and Virtual Reality technologies will continue to make brick-and-mortar retailers feel out of date.
As if they are as antiquated as the doily your great aunt puts under her mint tea pitcher in the summer – quaint but irrelevant.
And while many stores haven’t changed much since the mid-2000s, physical stores can still be incredibly relevant.
If you own the strength of your physical location and don’t give in to crying the blues with a desperation that seeps into your every email, promotion, and new hire.
Katia Beauchamp, CEO of Birchbox, predicted that customers will increasingly visit stores to get curated experiences from shop representatives.
For brands to meet this demand, they need to have well-trained staff who understand products inside and out and can offer personalized advice.
According to Fast Company, "In Beauchamp's view, the one thing the internet does not provide is human contact."
That's from an online retailer who sees the enormous staying power and opportunity in retail stores.
When you own your power to entice and convert shoppers, you find new ways to do more to bridge online and offline by looking at your customers’ frustrations.
I’m always shocked at the number of pet stores bemoaning how they lose dog food sales to online retailers. They don’t seem to understand that their customers don’t want to lug home a 30-pound bag every few weeks.
If they owned the role that their physical store could be their community’s source for pet food, then when pet owners came in to shop for something smaller, they could build on that opportunity and set up an auto-ship of dog food... and replace the online retailer.
Build your list to truly see all you offer that your online competitors do not.
Then, you need to commit to both training and an effective retraining effort in your stores so you don't become a victim by ignoring your major strength: your physical store, where people make connections.
See also: 10 Non-Negotiables Customers Expect When Visiting a Retail Store
What kind of retail world do you want to create, and what might your role in it be as the pandemic subsides?
It’s time for brick-and-mortar retail stores to own up that they have what customers want after we've survived the pandemic.
They can discover new ways to create an exceptional experience rather than a warehouse of stuff from that place of strength.
And if you need help with how to do that, remember, the Retail Doctor makes house calls. You can contact Bob here.
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