Are they customers or fans — and are fans the future?

 Joe Watson is a produce retail expert and columnist.
Joe Watson is a produce retail expert and columnist.
(Photo: Courtesy of Joe Watson)

From my very first supermarket, the repeat customers were a key component to that store’s success and business growth. It was those consumers who would come back again and again to buy their provisions.

In the process, relationships were developed. The store owner knew the families who shopped with them and understood what that customer — in fact, what every customer — needed. It was how retailing was done and how consumer loyalty was built over the decades and generations.

Even in my career, which began more than 40 years ago, one of the very first things I was trained to do was to take care of the customer. I was told to greet them, take them to the item they were looking for, and if I couldn’t help them, to find someone who could. It was instilled in me to never walk away from a customer — or worse, ignore them.

By the time I left retail, I had the pleasure to work with many amazing people who were customer-centric and understood our company culture: Customer service is job No. 1 for everyone, from the CEO to the porter.

Has customer service been outsourced?

Every retailer knows one of their biggest points of differentiation is customer engagement. And in the digital age, retailers have employed all sorts of technology with algorithms to help them understand customer habits and purchase trends. They use this knowledge to get more items in the customer’s basket. Sounds like a winning plan, doesn’t it? But what has been lost?

In the process of investing in technology to improve business performance, one piece may have been overlooked: The human connection among management, clerks, associates and the very shoppers that retailers need to make their business run. Some may say it is all generational, that millennials and Gen Z consumers like less human engagement and more digital engagement.

Data shows there is some validity to that. But is it sustainable for retailers to build an engagement strategy that can result in investing less time or money into the in-person experience?

Fans or customers

In the digital age, businesses are chasing how many “fans” they have on the various social platforms, podcasts, websites, etc., as digital footprints are expanded to reach current fans and attract more fans. Businesses are indeed influencers, just like individuals and celebrities are today.

As a business builds up a robust “fan base,” what they do with those fans is not always as easy as it may seem. Retailers still have to strategize how to keep those online fans engaged and what messaging, content, videos, etc. will keep them coming back for more. Sure, having more information about the fan is good, but when a business is only connecting with the fans they know, they might be missing the ones they don’t know.

Customers are still the cornerstone

When you step back and think about the customer, it is by far the most important thing retailers do: To build the customer base and earn their loyalty. That’s the draw, no matter how great the building is, amazing the product selection is, large the display is, great the value is, or fancy the dine-in facility is. What matters most is the customer engagement experience.

Retailers that place a high value on training staff on how to engage the customer and how to meet their expectations are those that always rise to the top of those “best in class” lists. These retailers, in turn, have the greatest customer loyalty.

Customer service in the produce department

In my retail days, I used to reinforce with my team that making a connection with the customer was not optional. The produce staff had to keep their heads on a swivel, looking for that customer who appears to be searching to no avail or maybe even is confused.

There is never a wrong time to ask a customer, “How can I help you?”.

Too many times, a clerk will shy away from a customer, afraid of being asked a question they might not be able to answer. To that I would say, the customer doesn’t know the answer either. In many cases, both clerk and customer can learn at the same time. Believe it or not, a customer will almost always appreciate the effort. The produce department sets the standard for the entire store, and that starts with customer service.

Fans become customers

As many retailers improve efforts to increase their fan base, converting those fans into customers will be top of mind. Fans are promoters and can exponentially impact the following for your business, and not surprisingly, that is the easy part. The critical work comes from executing this — ensuring that the growing number of fans are also customers, become customers and stay loyal customers.

That’s the goal of all retailers: To earn more customers.


This column is part of a series by Joe Watson, who spent 30-plus years as the director of produce for Rouses Markets and was named Produce Retailer of the Year and honored as one of The Packer 25, both in 2014. Joe now serves as a vice president of retail, foodservice and wholesale for International Fresh Produce Association.

 

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