How To Apply Great Customer Service Through Technology
By Fatima D. Lora, Assistant Editor
I recall a tweet from a man I follow: An Apple store associate was enthusiastic about showing him a new mPOS system that allowed shoppers a self-checkout option. The associate kept a smile on his face as he introduced the product to the customer. The man then replied, “You do realize this will replace you,” and the employee’s smile began to fade.
Similarly, when the new Bank of America (BoA) ATM machines were introduced, they also were sophisticated enough to replace many teller activities. You won’t guess how many times the tellers asked if I had tried the service, and when I denied wanting to use it because of security concerns, they kept reassuring me that the service was safe and that many customers were already using it. I was left wondering why the tellers would push a technology that could cost them their positions.
Although I write about technology and am surrounded by it every day, I feel more retailers should invest in it, but also explain its benefits to the consumer and — most importantly — exactly how to use it. Once I gave in to the BoA ATM machines, I realized the importance of teaching consumers about the technology: I’ve seen people wait more than ten minutes behind others that don’t know how to use the machine.
Just because technology works for your company, don’t rule out the need to communicate how consumers can use the solution to speed customer service. Here are a few technology-related customer service tips:
· Introduce the product/service: BoA should have offered a pamphlet or sent an email with details about the machine, its security features, and how to use it to deposit checks.
· Monitor your customers: When faced with a technology question, many consumers prefer human interaction. For example, the BoA machines, as do all ATMs, have surveillance cameras that visually detect when something is suspicious. BoA could use this camera to monitor whether customers are having trouble using the new technology.
· Offer surveys on the product/service: By conducting surveys, retailers can capture customer feedback on their products and services to better meet consumers’ needs.
Additional tips from content on Retail TouchPoints include:
Getting It Right: Customer Service Is Key To Ensuring Loyalty
Start Delivering Amazing Customer Service; Stop Spending Money on Legacy Contact Centers
Seven Keys To Building A Next-Generation Customer Service Platform
Think Mobile Is Not For You? Five Reasons Why It Should Be
By Bob Egner, VP of Product Development, EPiServer 
These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find a retailer who doesn’t understand the value and importance of a mobile strategy. However, despite the fact that mobile has and continues to become a larger part of consumers’ daily lives, many businesses still are hesitant to embrace a mobile strategy and implement a platform that provides customers a consistent user experience across channels.
While it is not hard to find statistics and general soundings that support a move to mobile, there still are misconceptions that mobile is too difficult to implement and not worth the time and/or resources required to do it correctly.
The fact is, over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity of working with a number of retailers as they navigated the mobile process. And in that time, I’ve been able to see dramatic increases in both customer experience and conversion rates as a result of the strategy.
Recently, I worked with the folks at WSOL to come up with a few reasons why now is the best time for retailers to go mobile. Take a look at why it may be the prime time to embrace the mobile revolution:
1. You may not get a second chance; first impressions are powerful and lasting. According to a Google study, 46% of people won’t return to a web site if they had trouble accessing it on a phone. In addition, 57% of people said they wouldn’t recommend the site to peers.
2. A good mobile experience can drive revenue. Another recent Google report found that 67% of mobile users say they are more likely to buy a product or use services offered by a mobile-friendly site.
3. Very soon, most web traffic will be derived from mobile. Analyst firm Gartner predicts that in 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common web access device. (Source: Gartner Research, “Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2013”)
4. Having low mobile traffic may be a sign you’re getting left behind. The difference in traffic before and after mobile optimization can be drastic. For example, Google analytics found that Hearst Publishing saw 30% to 50% increase in mobile traffic across publications after optimizing their design for the small screen.
5. Your customers expect a good mobile experience. Google’s “Reasons To Go Mobile Survey” found that 66% of people say a poor mobile experience can tarnish their opinion of a brand or company they really like.
Bob Egner is VP of Product Management and Global Marketing at EPiServer, a provider of multichannel digital marketing and e-Commerce software. Egner regularly interacts with customers who are working to improve the results of their online and mobile presence and customer engagement.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc., a provider of high-end home goods, today announced the implementation of SuiteCommerce from NetSuite Inc. to aid in international growth plans, according to a company press release.
![Abercrombie & Fitch: Smart Marketing Or Just Selective?By Alicia Fiorletta, Associate EditorAbercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has developed quite a reputation for saying scandalous — and at times callous — things to the press. But this time, he has come under fire for an interview he gave almost seven years ago. This goes to show that nothing dies online. Articles, photos and interviews remain in the “web-o-sphere” for years on end, so any party can reach in and grab it for future use. This is exactly what happened to Jeffries: Grabbing quotes from an article published by Salon.com in 2006, a new book from Robin Lewis, titled: The New Rules of Retail, has caused a stir online. Now, many digital publications are referring back to the Salon article to spotlight Abercrombie & Fitch’s refusal to cater to the “everyday woman.” There even is an online petition on Change.org, encouraging the retailer to extend apparel to “people of all shapes and sizes.” During Jeffries’ reign as CEO (he joined the team in 1992), Abercrombie & Fitch has refused to sell women’s jeans above a size 10. In addition, size XL tops are not available in the women’s section. But he insisted that this is just a part of the Abercrombie brand. “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” Jeffries said in the original interview with Salon.com. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.” Jeffries makes a solid point that to succeed, retailers need to identify target audiences and engage with them appropriately. However, it is important to note that there is a severe double standard for the brand’s merchandising and inventory strategies: men’s t-shirts are available up to size XXL. No doubt, these options are provided to athletic male customers who have bulging muscles to tame. (Abercrombie & Fitch’s target consumers are extremely athletic males.) As someone who used to be overweight, my blood boiled over Jeffries’ remarks. Automatically, my brain went back to the years when I couldn’t buy the clothes I wanted, or was forced to settle for a piece of clothing only because it fit correctly. Once my blood pressure returned to a normal level, though, I couldn’t help but think: Would I feel differently if his approach or explanation were a little more professional and not as blunt? After all, it is every retailer’s goal to attract and acquire target customers, and turn them to loyal buyers. That’s just the business of doing business. This trail of thought inspired me to Google like a madwoman: I wanted to learn more about the Abercrombie & Fitch brand, Jeffries, the scandalous interview, and more importantly, how others were responding to his business and branding perspectives.
I came across a recent discussion on RetailWire, which allowed retail analysts and experts to weigh in on the situation. “Niche marketing” was a common theme among respondents.
“I think it certainly helps Abercrombie & Fitch’s reputation because it’s the reputation the retailer wants to have,” said David Livingston, Principal at DJL Research. “It’s niche marketing. Abercrombie & Fitch is simply going after a certain demographic.”
However, Dick Seesel, Principal at Retailing In Focus, indicated that Jeffries’ comments come from an era when Abercrombie & Fitch was on a high pedestal. The retailer has been facing a series of struggles since the economic downturn, and its overall brand image and stance in the retail space has diminished.
“Abercrombie & Fitch has yet to recover from its pre-recession heights, and it is notable that the quotation attributed to Jeffries dates from Abercrombie’s glory days in 2006,” Seesel stated. “The company made a series of missteps, from its poor value positioning during the recession, to more recent product development missteps. Jeffries’ insistence that the larger teen customer is not for him may be consistent with Abercrombie & Fitch’s brand position, but it is not a good long-term business strategy.”
Other retailers have seen success since introducing plus-sized clothing into their assortments. For example, Hot Topic has improved bottom-line results since launching Torrid, the plus-sized fashion brand. According to Q1 2013 results, Hot Topic net sales for the quarter increased 1.9% year over year to $174.8 million, largely due to robust sales at Torrid stores. “Management believes the success of the company’s Torrid store concepts, through new Torrid branding and vertical product strategies has strengthened the brand’s unit growth opportunity,” a company press release stated. Overall, Torrid stores registered a 10.7% increase in sales from 2012 to 2013.
Additionally, American Eagle (a top competitor to Abercrombie & Fitch), Forever 21 and H&M, all have introduced plus-sized sections to their stores. I would love to see more detailed information on their sales results, and whether offering plus-sized options played a role on any revenue boosts.
In 2006, Jeffries stood by his claim that excluding plus-size options has helped the brand skyrocket to a higher, more coveted status than other brands. By ignoring such a tremendous segment of the U.S. — and even the world — the retailer has seen positive sales results. But in this day and age, where consumers have so many options, I can’t help but question this position. Consumers — especially younger ones — are becoming more adventurous in the ways they dress, and are buying from a greater variety of brands and retailers. There are no rules in the new fashion world, and you certainly don’t have to wear a big “A&F” logo on your shirt to be seen as cool.
Readers, what do you think? Were Jeffries comments simply niche marketing in action, or is his strategy backfiring?
(Image courtesy of NetBase)
Follow Alicia on Twitter: @AliciaFiorletta](http://25.media.tumblr.com/e91de13a22473ddff19bb2f365ded5a4/tumblr_mmt5ozruIx1ro2x8ho1_400.png)
Abercrombie & Fitch: Smart Marketing Or Just Selective?
By Alicia Fiorletta, Associate Editor
Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has developed quite a reputation for saying scandalous — and at times callous — things to the press. But this time, he has come under fire for an interview he gave almost seven years ago.
This goes to show that nothing dies online. Articles, photos and interviews remain in the “web-o-sphere” for years on end, so any party can reach in and grab it for future use.
This is exactly what happened to Jeffries: Grabbing quotes from an article published by Salon.com in 2006, a new book from Robin Lewis, titled: The New Rules of Retail, has caused a stir online. Now, many digital publications are referring back to the Salon article to spotlight Abercrombie & Fitch’s refusal to cater to the “everyday woman.” There even is an online petition on Change.org, encouraging the retailer to extend apparel to “people of all shapes and sizes.”
During Jeffries’ reign as CEO (he joined the team in 1992), Abercrombie & Fitch has refused to sell women’s jeans above a size 10. In addition, size XL tops are not available in the women’s section. But he insisted that this is just a part of the Abercrombie brand.
“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” Jeffries said in the original interview with Salon.com. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.”
Jeffries makes a solid point that to succeed, retailers need to identify target audiences and engage with them appropriately. However, it is important to note that there is a severe double standard for the brand’s merchandising and inventory strategies: men’s t-shirts are available up to size XXL. No doubt, these options are provided to athletic male customers who have bulging muscles to tame. (Abercrombie & Fitch’s target consumers are extremely athletic males.)
As someone who used to be overweight, my blood boiled over Jeffries’ remarks. Automatically, my brain went back to the years when I couldn’t buy the clothes I wanted, or was forced to settle for a piece of clothing only because it fit correctly.
Once my blood pressure returned to a normal level, though, I couldn’t help but think: Would I feel differently if his approach or explanation were a little more professional and not as blunt? After all, it is every retailer’s goal to attract and acquire target customers, and turn them to loyal buyers. That’s just the business of doing business.
This trail of thought inspired me to Google like a madwoman: I wanted to learn more about the Abercrombie & Fitch brand, Jeffries, the scandalous interview, and more importantly, how others were responding to his business and branding perspectives.
I came across a recent discussion on RetailWire, which allowed retail analysts and experts to weigh in on the situation. “Niche marketing” was a common theme among respondents.
“I think it certainly helps Abercrombie & Fitch’s reputation because it’s the reputation the retailer wants to have,” said David Livingston, Principal at DJL Research. “It’s niche marketing. Abercrombie & Fitch is simply going after a certain demographic.”
However, Dick Seesel, Principal at Retailing In Focus, indicated that Jeffries’ comments come from an era when Abercrombie & Fitch was on a high pedestal. The retailer has been facing a series of struggles since the economic downturn, and its overall brand image and stance in the retail space has diminished.
“Abercrombie & Fitch has yet to recover from its pre-recession heights, and it is notable that the quotation attributed to Jeffries dates from Abercrombie’s glory days in 2006,” Seesel stated. “The company made a series of missteps, from its poor value positioning during the recession, to more recent product development missteps. Jeffries’ insistence that the larger teen customer is not for him may be consistent with Abercrombie & Fitch’s brand position, but it is not a good long-term business strategy.”
Other retailers have seen success since introducing plus-sized clothing into their assortments. For example, Hot Topic has improved bottom-line results since launching Torrid, the plus-sized fashion brand. According to Q1 2013 results, Hot Topic net sales for the quarter increased 1.9% year over year to $174.8 million, largely due to robust sales at Torrid stores.
“Management believes the success of the company’s Torrid store concepts, through new Torrid branding and vertical product strategies has strengthened the brand’s unit growth opportunity,” a company press release stated. Overall, Torrid stores registered a 10.7% increase in sales from 2012 to 2013.
Additionally, American Eagle (a top competitor to Abercrombie & Fitch), Forever 21 and H&M, all have introduced plus-sized sections to their stores. I would love to see more detailed information on their sales results, and whether offering plus-sized options played a role on any revenue boosts.
In 2006, Jeffries stood by his claim that excluding plus-size options has helped the brand skyrocket to a higher, more coveted status than other brands. By ignoring such a tremendous segment of the U.S. — and even the world — the retailer has seen positive sales results. But in this day and age, where consumers have so many options, I can’t help but question this position.
Consumers — especially younger ones — are becoming more adventurous in the ways they dress, and are buying from a greater variety of brands and retailers. There are no rules in the new fashion world, and you certainly don’t have to wear a big “A&F” logo on your shirt to be seen as cool.
Readers, what do you think? Were Jeffries comments simply niche marketing in action, or is his strategy backfiring?
(Image courtesy of NetBase)
Follow Alicia on Twitter: @AliciaFiorletta
By Nick Sprau, VP of sales and marketing at Metafile Information Systems
The holiday shopping season may be long gone, but with numerous special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and graduation season occurring year-round, retailers regularly anticipate the boost increased sales from gift giving will contribute to the bottom line.
While these seasonal sales provide a great increase in revenue, the success of peak selling seasons relies heavily on the effectiveness of the internal financial process and the accounting department’s ability to handle the increased number of invoices and financial data. Customer demand and consistently moving inventory can place a significant strain on AP and AR departments and supply chain as they manage the financial and logistical implications of increased sales.
The heavy flow of invoices makes AP/AR automation essential to coming out on top. It is imperative your staff has the ability to quickly capture, analyze and react to data in order to increase sales and influence how your business can save money in the long term, while also adding order and full visibility to the overall financial process. Equipping your financial department with the right technology will enable them to successfully conquer the busy period and best manage resources.
For large retailers with multiple locations, managing the influx of information from affiliates and suppliers can cause untimely delays in productivity and sacrifices the AP department’s ability to process invoices and provide key insights in purchasing trends. However, AP/AR automation through technology solutions not only helps in identifying trends, but also can prevent being blindsided by errors that often accompany manually processing invoices. Web-based solutions allow accounting departments and other key stakeholders to receive electronic versions of paper invoices with equal ease from locations across town or those across the globe.
Technology has provided a solution that is helping retailers master efficient invoice processing and offers the ability to scale during seasonal upswings. While automated accounting technology may not be top of mind for many retailers, it’s vital to maintaining healthy workflows, and positions multi-location, decentralized organizations for success throughout the year.
Nick Sprau is VP of sales and marketing at Metafile Information Systems, a paperless ERP solutions provider for accounts payable, accounts receivable and human resources document management and workflow technology.