No one can argue with Apple's success when it comes to delighting its
customers, and although it's never a good idea for any retailer to 100
percent copy another brand's strategy there are several things that
retailers can learn from the electronics retailer. Mike Wittenstein
outlined a few of them Monday in his presentation called "The
Apple-ization of Retail" at the Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit in Chicago.
Here are highlights of the strategies:
Use a blueprint: All employees, whether they
interact with customers or run things in the back of the store, must be
on the same page. They must have the same goal, which is to deliver the
best possible customer experience.
Check people in, not out: Apple greets its customers
as they enter the store and provides product information based on their
need as opposed to trying to make a huge sale. Instead of trying to
sell every customer the latest, most expensive tablet, Apple employees
will delve into what the shopper's intended use is. For example, is he
just using it to surf the Internet or does he want to watch movies?
And this is done before the shopper is checking out, not while he is
paying, which is what most retailers do. Starting a dialogue at the end
of the customer experience is pointless, because at that point the
retailer can't offer any help.
Reduce the customer's effort: Apple has a "smart
button" near each product that customers can push when they need help.
They don't have to wait for someone to approach them, or seek out an
employee when they need help.
Don't sell; let them buy: Apple has done such a
great job of making customers feel like it cares about their needs that
when customers are ready to buy they buy Apple. Sales associates don't
have to be pushy or try to make hard sales.
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