How to Provide Excellent Customer Service in the Retail Industry

By Ankan Bose

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Providing effective and timely customer service is critical for any industry and the same holds true for the retail industry as well. Since, without effective and timely customer services a business is sure to lose a lot of customers.
So why do you need customer services that are efficient in handling customer queries?
To begin with, let's just say that you have just bought a product from one of the major retail outlets and later on have some issues with the product, and you visit the store to get a replacement. Now, the outlet has two options:
· They listen to your query and provide a solution.
· They come up with excuses and refuse to replace your product.
As you can see, that the first option is pretty effective in retaining you as a customer; whereas the second option will leave you disappointed and it is unlikely that you would ever want to visit that store again. That's the reason why the retail industry needs to have excellent customer services in place to maintain its position and reputation in the market.
Now, coming back to the main question, "How to provide excellent customer service in the retail industry?"
There are a few essential points to keep in mind here. Let's look at some of the more important ones...
# Training the In-store demonstrators or customer care associates
It is the most important point. Since, they are the ones who are going to deal with customers in the first place. Therefore, it becomes highly important that they are able to address any questions that the customers' might have and provide them with an answer.
Also, not every customer is knowledgeable enough and often at times turns to these customer care associates to help them choose a product and come with a final decision while buying a product.
# Grievance desk
At times, the customers might end up being misguided or mistreated by the in-store associates. That is why there should always be a grievance desk, where the customer can go and register his/her issues. Doing so, sends out a message that the store in question cares for its customers and they are more than willing to help, should an issue crop up.
# Listing phone numbers and other details of the higher-ups
Listing the phone numbers and other details such as official email ID's etc. of the higher-ups in the store can prove to be a good step in providing effective customer services in the retail industry. This becomes important as the customer needs to know whom to contact in case his issues remain unresolved or he has some suggestions or complaints regarding either the products or the staff.
The retail industry is a very competitive industry. And over the years, it has become clear that the outlets that generate the maximum sales are the ones that are able to provide a positive overall experience to the customers'. Having the latest products or stuff that is in vogue definitely helps in generating sales. But in the end, it is the level of customer care that the store has decides whether the customer returns back to the store in the future or not.

Channelplay Is a leading retail marketing agency and field marketing service provider and offers its services to major retail stores in India. The company features an exhaustive list of services, including retail intelligence, visual merchandising, product training, audit services along with a range of other services. Please visit http://www.channelplay.in to know more about how they can help you with their services.

Logo Mats and Branding Campaigns

By Elizabeth H Ira

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Floor mats are more than just a place to wipe your shoes. Today, commercial floor mats are easily customized with logos, slogans, and other images to help a business communicate with prospective customers. Moreover, customizing a mat with a logo design does not compromise overall functionality. Logo mats are made using the same materials as ordinary floor mats and are equally effective in controlling dirt, moisture, and other debris. In general, there are three ways a business can use logo mats to their advantage.
The first way in which a business can use commercial mats with logos is to create trust with prospects. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, and it requires only that the business print custom mats with their slogan, logo, or brand message on the surface. Once the mats are created, they can be placed at the major points of entry at the storefront or main place of business. This elevates consumer trust in two important ways. First, mats create a good first impression because they keep entryways clean and safe. By using floor mats in entryways, a business garners consumer confidence by demonstrating that visitor safety and facility cleanliness are a top priority. Second, logo mats provide a visual cue that reminds guests of the brand image of the business. Assuming your business has taken proactive steps towards reinforcing a positive brand image with the public, this visual cue can be a powerful way to remind prospective customers why your products or services are superior to that of the leading competitor.
General brand-building purposes are another way businesses may leverage logo mats. For businesses with an under-developed brand image, logo mats are a good opportunity to increase exposure for specific logo designs, slogans, or selling propositions. Facility guests are sure to take notice, and they will link the visual images with the experience they had with the company. This can be a tricky endeavor for businesses that do not have a brand, however, as coordinating text with imagery and color is a challenge that requires a bit of aesthetics.
Finally, logo mats are a great compliment to individual marketing campaigns. These high-quality products are not costly to produce, they are reusable, and they keep employees safe during a variety of different promotional activities. Street-level product demonstrations, conventions, and in-store point of sales displays are just a few examples of the real-world promotional events that are made safer with commercial matting. Branding efforts are furthered when these mats are customized with logos, slogans, and carefully crafted campaign messages. In this way, logo mats can communicate specific campaign messages to prospective dealers, customers, and stakeholders through the use of visual designs.
Today's consumer is bombarded with thousands of marketing messages each day. It is nearly impossible to watch television, surf the Internet, or visit a local store without interacting with an advertisement. This creates a lot of "noise" for the consumer, and soon marketing messages blend together. The dilution of messages lessens the impact of each, and businesses must now find new opportunities to market themselves to prospective customers. Logo mats are a creative solution to this problem, offering a variety of benefits that extend beyond simply keeping floor spaces tidy.

Custom logo mats are an essential part of a well-rounded and coordinated branding campaign. Whether used in-store or on the road, logo mats play a subtle but powerful role in improving brand exposure and affinity. Order logo mats online at www.eaglemat.com and receive complimentary image upload, proofing, and free shipping.

NASA UFO Astronaut Sightings

By Duncan F Smith

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Ever since astronauts have been going into space they've observed strange lights floating about up there, some close some far away, lights which often make direction changes and right angle turns, and ever since astronauts have been going into space and seeing strange lights their superiors have told them not to talk about what they are seeing, "don't talk about the cool interesting lights Aldrin, just concentrate on repairing boring circuit board 357.2, slowly". So whats the big deal? If we, the people of earth were told by NASA "yes, there are about a hundred alien orb CCTV camera type things in our atmosphere which occasionally keep an eye on our shuttles and space station" would we really all fall to our knees and start crying and praying, or run out side with pillows over our heads and stop going to work? It's highly doubtful, even in the 1950's such a reaction would have probably only occurred in people with a more extreme personality, but after fifty odd years of hollywood conditioning about intelligent aliens (much of it negative for some reason) I imagine we could collectively cope with the news.
So who's being seeing what? Firstly we have Major Gordon Cooper who was the last American astronaut to go into space on a solo mission, in 1963 while on an Earth orbiting flight mission he reported seeing a "glowing green object quickly approaching his capsule", the UFO was also picked up by the ground station's radar equipment which confirmed his sighting. In a later interview which can be viewed on YouTube titled "NASA astronaut Major Gordon Cooper talks about UFOs while in the military" he talks about an incident in 1951 where he witnessed hundreds of UFOs fly in formation above him while he was piloting a sabre jet over western Germany. Major Cooper reported this sighting to his superiors and the response they finally came back with was that "they were probably high altitude sea pods" which of course makes all kinds of sense.
Next up is Donald Slayton, an astronaut with the Mercury Seven group, which was the only astronaut group to fly all of NASA's manned orbital spacecraft, including Gemini, Mercury, Apollo and the Space Shuttle. While testing a fighter jet in the skies above Minneapolis he spotted an object at about 10,000 feet, ahead of him which he first thought was a kite, he quickly realised no kites would fly this high, Slayton reported "As I got closer It looked like a weather balloon, gray and about three feet in diameter. As soon as I got behind the darn thing it did not look like a balloon anymore, It looked like a saucer, a disk. About the same time, I Realized That It was suddenly going away from me, and there I was running at about 300 miles per hour. I tracked it for a little way, and then all of a sudden the damn thing just Took off, it pulled about a 45 degree climbing turn and accelerated and just flat disappeared." I for one don't believe that any sea pod could achieve these types of maneuvers at speeds greater than 300 miles per hour!

There are of course many other Nasa astronauts who have reported UFO sightings both on and off missions, it's with the testimony of level headed witnesses like these that we may be able to finally answer the question " are aliens real?" once and for all.

A Guide to Choosing the Right Promotional Merchandise

By K Lam

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What does this mean? Improved brand familiarity, plenty of repeat custom and more business for you.
Why you need it:

• Advertising - a promotional pen, shirt or calendar is a business card with a purpose. Choose the right merchandise and you could have thousands of potential customers hanging your name, web domain and slogan on their wall, drinking their morning coffee from it - even wearing it to bed!


• Brand reinforcement - unlike a newspaper ad or pop up, your logo on a pen will be seen time and time again - whenever you take a number, sign a cheque, fill in a survey, or see your child doing their homework - as well as having a fantastic pass-along rate. If your company pen makes its way into the homes and businesses of your potential customers, your name will soon be imprinted on more than just stationary!


• Strengthen business/customer relations - corporate merchandise can make a fantastic 'thank you' gift to your existing clientele, encouraging customer loyalty and referrals.


• Draw attention - original and useful corporate giveaways can create a real buzz around your stand at a trade show or expo.

Which merchandise is best?
It's important to choose promotional merchandise which is unique, appropriate to your line of business and useful to the customer. For example, an accountancy firm might choose to brand a calculator, an IT company may opt for a USB stick and a grocery store may like to invest in some quality cotton bags, which people will reuse and in doing so will advertise your brand to even more potential customers.
You might also like to think about where your merchandise will be used to improve your chances of securing business. If you're a stationary company, a headed notepad is a great idea because whenever your client makes a note to stock up on files/staples/notepads(!), your name will serve as a nice reminder at just the right time.
Think about your clientele. If your market is at the higher-end of the spectrum, you might want to think about branding more expensive items such as high-quality clothing. One effective method of raising your own image is to add your logo to an already branded item - for example, a Waterman pen or Regatta jacket. You might like to combine your order - a cheaper item in bulk for distribution to the masses and several dozen luxury items for those extra special customers.
There's no doubting the effectiveness of promotional pens for that in-bulk corporate giveaway. Although inexpensive, these are a fantastic way of ensuring your name gets plenty of airing in public. With just enough room to include your important message and contact details, this is a business card which keeps on working (well, until the ink runs out anyway).
The quality of your merchandise is an important consideration as it will reflect the quality of your own products. Get it wrong and buy cheap products which break or fade easily and this may have negative connotations for your brand.
Indeed, your merchandise will reflect a message of what your company is all about, so don't be frightened of being creative or original in your approach. Try to choose an item which people will not only use, but something they will appreciate. A recent brand of baby milk powder sent a high-quality teddy to every customer that called their helpline. By choosing a gift which would appeal to babies, not only will the brand be reinforced each time a parent hunts for it or attempts to prize it from their child for a wash, it also reflects that the company cares - not just about their custom, but also about the happiness of their baby.
The right corporate merchandise reflects so much of what you do - but it also sends the message that you are willing to give a little in return for customer loyalty and in the hope of new business. From key fobs and lighters to jackets and keepsakes, make the right choice and your promotional merchandise could keep giving back for years to come.

K Lam works with customers to promote their business through the use of promotional merchandise available from Complete Merchandise. The range includes promotional pens, branded mugs, corporate umbrellas, mints, printed paper cups, company USB memory sticks, executive gifts or giveaways for conferences and exhibitions,

Seven Basic Rules for Negotiating in Sales

By Kees Scheffel

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Negotiating is very often a part of the sales process. At the same time, many sales people try to avoid negotiating for various reasons. That is too bad, because a well performed negotiation can add value to the deal.
Before getting into more detail about the do's and don'ts in the negotiation process, allow me to stipulate a few things:
B2B versus B2C
There are quite some differences when it comes to negotiations between the B2B and B2C market. In the B2C market we often talk about one-time sales and negotiations boil down to the price very fast. This post is written with the B2B market in mind.
Bargaining or haggling
Although bargaining is a form of negotiating, in the B2B market it is often the result of poor salesmanship. Apparently the sales rep has not been able to convince the customer of the value and now has to lower the price to get the deal.
No matter how you put it, lowering your price just because the customer asks you to makes you unreliable and not trustworthy. What I see happening a lot is something like this:
Sales rep: The total cost is $100.00.
Customer: That is way too much! Your competitor is a lot cheaper.
Sales rep: I can give you a 10% discount.
Customer: A 20% discount sounds much better.
Sales rep: I can go to 15%. That is the best I can do.
After that there can be a closed deal, more haggling, a customer that wants to think it over or a lost deal.
The essence here is what the customer thinks about this sales rep. What would have happened if he had said 'yes' initially. He would have paid at least 15% too much. Just asking for a discount saved him at least $15.00. In other words, the sales rep tried to rip off the customer in the first place! Most purchasers in the B2B market will label the sales rep/organization as unreliable and it is not a great start for a long lasting relationship.
Some Basic Rules in Negotiations

1. Determine your boundaries One of the most important aspects of a negotiation is the preparation. Negotiating is often an emotional process and we tend to get carried away. It is a lot like attending an auction: we want a certain item so bad that we keep on bidding and we end up paying way too much because our emotions took over. Determine how far you are willing to go. What will be your starting point, what is the minimum you have to have. What conditions have to be met and what can you possibly give away. Once you have set your boundaries, make sure that you stick to them during the actual negotiations!
2. Commitment Maybe the most common mistake is starting negotiations without commitment. Negotiating should be the final stage. In fact, the two parties should have agreed on doing business together. There are just some details to be smoothed out. Suppose you want to buy a house. You look at a number of houses and in the end you have narrowed it down to the one you want. Then you start negotiations about the price and other conditions. Once you agree on that, the deal is done. You don't say to the seller: "OK, we agree on all terms and conditions, now let me think about it". As a sales rep, you have to make absolutely sure that the terms and conditions you are negotiating about are the only obstacles left. In other words, as soon as you agreed on those, the deal is closed. Don't end up with a customer that wants to think about it a bit more. In most cases like that you just have been used by the customer to put pressure on one of your competitors.
3. Only negotiate with decision makers It has no use to negotiate with people that cannot make the decision. Every 'deal' you work out with somebody that has to ask permission afterwards to his superior is bound to fail. That superior most likely wants to prove that he is 'superior' and will send your negotiation partner back with extra demands. The same goes for you as well. If you don't have decision making authority, you should not enter a negotiation. You will make a bad impression if you have to ask your 'boss' permission for every move you make and you will lose momentum and credibility.
4. Always ask something in return A very important rule and what sets true negotiating apart from bargaining, is that you always ask something in return when you give something up. The reason for this is significant in many ways:
   • It proves that your price and conditions were right to start with. As we saw before, just giving something away because it was asked for, makes clear that your initial price and conditions were too high/demanding.
   • It influences the customer's aspiration level. Your response to a request for a discount or better conditions gives the customer some insight in how far he can go. As soon as he notices that you are willing to move, but at a cost, he will be more cautious.
   • It gives you the opportunity to end up with a better deal. You can ask for additional volume, products, services, hours, whatever.
   • It shows that you are not a push-over. It is important for customers to know that their sales rep is a strong person. After all, once there is a relationship, the customer expects the sales rep to defend his interests and solve his problems in the future. Being a firm negotiator builds tremendous rapport.
   Even if the customer wants something that is well within the limits of the boundaries you have set in your preparation, you still should ask something in return. It doesn't necessarily have to be of an equal value but it has to make some sense at least.
5. Be firm on the matter but gentle with the person Business negotiations are about the business, nothing more, nothing less. A skilled negotiator can be very firm about what he wants while maintaining a good and friendly relationship with his customer. It is very important to stay focused on the matter and to stay away from personal emotions. After all, once the deal is done, you want a strong relationship with your customer for various reason like follow-ups, referrals, repeat sales, etc.
6. Maintain your price OK, that's in many cases easier said then done. But the essence is that you are better off giving extra product/service for free or less while maintaining the base price then by giving a discount. A discounted price will haunt you for all the years to come. Once given away it is hard, if not impossible, to take it back in following deals.
7. You've come to a deal? Stick to it! Once you have negotiated a deal, you have to follow up on it. Even if the deal turns out to be not that great, too bad. You become totally unreliable if you try to weasel yourself out of a bad deal. See it as the price for a valuable lesson learned.

There are many more aspects to negotiations. All kinds of strategies can be thought out, depending on the industry, the importance of the deal, the Decision Making Unit(s) involved, etc. The way you communicate has a huge impact as well. But these ground rules are basic in every negotiation, no matter the subject, no matter the amount of money involved.
Happy negotiating!
PS. If you subscribe to this blog (and why wouldn't you, it's free), you will get a link to download my White Paper on Field Coaching for Sales Managers.

Succinct Inc. is an Ontario based organization specialized in tailor-made training programs for sales and management. Succinct also provides Online Assessments that can be a tremendous help for all HR practitioners while hiring new employees or making the right choices in an employee's development. We have customers all over the world and working with all these different cultures has enriched our programs tremendously.
For more information: Succint Inc
For a more personal view on things, please visit my blog at Excellence in Communication
Kees Scheffel.

The Devaluation of Knowledge

By Henry M. Piironen

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In traditional schools, you're penalized for making a mistake. But that won't work in the new information culture, in the digital world we live in today. -Daniel Greenberg
When we are still in the education system, the knowledge we have learned is evaluated by tests. If we give right answers in the tests, we receive points. And if we give wrong answers, we receive penalties, reflected in the sum total of our correct answers.
What the youth should understand is that this is a method of not only giving them knowledge, but also to develop our abilities in critical thinking and evaluating knowledge. These two skills are especially in value in the modern information culture. Why? We must be able to validate or disqualify the sources of knowledge we face in our adult life. Whether in the internet or in the popular culture of book- and entertainment industry. Any why is this critical? Because knowledge has experienced an extreme devaluation.
The information given in the digital world cannot always be trusted. They may be hunches. They may be personal opinions presented as facts. They may be political propaganda to turn the public opinion to support an agenda. And inside this reality of devaluated knowledge, without critical thinking skills, learning can produce awareness that has no foundations in the real world.
The quote in the beginning of this article is meant as a warning by the educator Daniel A. Greenberg. Formulating incorrect, i.e. non-real-world knowledge is not penalized. On the contrary, knowledge is valuated by the popularity of it. Whether it is true or not does not matter. And we are all a part of this problem of the devaluation of knowledge.
We as humanity create the information reality we exist in. We are responsible of its creation and what we have created. Greed, the thirst to be recognized publicly, and other mediocre vanities are a part of the deterioration of humanity's highest ideals. And we, by publicly recognizing and awarding this behavior, are the fuel of this train of thought.
The devaluation of knowledge is a symptom of yet something more significant. As a culture, as a species, we are in danger of becoming adrift in the continuum. Our highest ideals are placed into entertainment, visual- and auditory stimulus, material wellbeing as a symbol of success as a human being, and into celebrity status.
The devaluation of knowledge and the decrease on the appreciation of intelligent and critical thinking are decelerating the development of humanity. This can be even more dangerous than disharmony between nations.

Henry M. Piironen is an Author, Poet, Philosopher, Scientist and the Founder of http://booklounge.org/, a free online library. It provides you with thousands of titles from genres of fiction, philosophy, psychology, Christianity, Sacred Texts from over 40 religions and more. Read. Connect. Share. Now.

How To Effectively Use The Roll Up Or Pull Up Banners?

By Jack Lavis

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During Special Events:
It is always better to use the roll up or pull up banners during the busy season. This is because during such times giving individual attention is not possible. With these banners it is possible to let the prospects know what your products are about and how to get the best out of them. By outlining the important feature of the items you are selling it is possible to keep the audience interested inspite of the rush.
Avoid Overuse:
The roll up banners is a powerful medium to showcase your products. It is important to avoid using them unnecessary. When these advertising banners get used on a regular basis they do more harm compared to good. These are so attractive that the focus gets shifted from the actual item which is being sold. This is not something the manufacturers would ultimately like. So it is necessary to decide when the time is ripe to let the power of pull up banners unleash.
Convey the Right Messages:
Instead of using marketing messages which seem like direct selling propositions it is ideal to use subtle lines which are both ingenious and humorous. While direct marketing lines may turn off many customers, interesting comments can work wonders and bring prospects to the store. Clever lines have a propensity to stay in the minds of people and get them revved up to buy the product.
Banners inside stores:
Roll up banner or pull up banners are also used inside the shops to inform the people about various items inside the stores. In other words these extremely useful banners can be employed to give clarification to the various customers who enter. They are like a beacon amidst the overflowing stocks which provide the exact information which the shoppers are looking for and guide them through.
Save Manpower:
With the clever use of the pull up banners, it is possible to do away with extra staff. Now you do not need to employ people for explaining things to the customers or answering their often asked queries. It can be effectively done with the help of the informative displays which clears all the doubts and indicate towards the item one is looking for.
Point towards Sales:
Roll up banners can give a direct pointer towards where the sale is effective inside the store. As a result the customers can simply come inside the shop and find where the good bargains are available. So without wasting any time they can simply go and buy the products they wish for without dallying anywhere else. A good strategist places certain complementary items near the place where the discounts are going on, so that they are sold simply because of their advantageous position.
Give Directions Towards your Store:
The pull up banners has a multipurpose use. They can be used both inside the shops and the outdoors with equal ease. So use these tools to give directions to the prospects towards your store by placing them nearby your complex.

I am on behalf of Easydisplay.co.uk. It is one of the best companies in manufacturing of Roller Banners and Pop Up Displays. I often write for the same.