How to build and retain loyal customers in retail stores?

Many retail formats have come & all are targeting the same customer base. Every format has its own positives & negatives. BIG format have the benefit of economies of scale , hence can give huge discount & provide huge varieties. But the sheer number of footfalls makes it very difficult to provide personalised services.Small formats operating on lower customer base should focus on forging personal relationships. Discounting might prove harmful as the BIG FORMATs will outdo them

The best way to make a good impression to a customer is by calling them by their name. I know its a bit difficult. But gives the feeling that he know me. A very good eg is of a Kirana store who knows once he see you what are your favourites in his store, which brand of oil, soap is bought by you. getting a good relationship means giving them the comfort of coming in the store.

Ajit, see my original posting. In my organisation, we mapped and monitored 9 csf and 8 qa factors that were important to customer satisfaction. I am sure that your business also monitors customer satisfaction index and crm effectiveness similarly.

yes , this works but in a long term sort of way, because everyone likes to feel special and privileged.Especially the big spenders.

Even internationally, in the most luxurious retail spaces of the world like the Galleries Lafayette or Printemps , they have an elite club of people who are treated like royalty...there are exclusive fashion shows and previews held for them and even cocktail evenings etc only for the members....

But you also need to attract first time buyers or sporadic walk-in type customers who might not become a part of these exclusive clubs, there i'm afraid its still the good old '50% off'  that still seems to work miracles!!

That truth is simply not going to change...people always love a sale and they have learnt that if you wait, the sale will happen. This brings me to another point, are the retailers spoiling te customers by having too many sales??

Mr.Yogesh don't you think that promotional schemes or giving discount coupons will not always help in retaining existing customers or attracting new customers.

when you are servicing the custom understand there needs and treat each and every customer as your family member and friends.

if you are maintaining compulsory you will get Loyal customers.

Thank You

Regards

Yogesh Krishna

To give discount coupons and elite memberships are old world ideas good for ht e1990's. Since the evolution of Google we have known that there can be different approaches to the same goal. To reach to the customer and get out of area limitations of the store is the first priority.

We have to replace the concept of 4 Ps - and we have to replace the concept of Place with Everyplace. It is not difficult to reach out to your customers - is it?

Giving discounts and making some elite club of customers is just part of sales - we have to look beyond and look at all the aspects of Customer Experience. Have we given them right thing at the right time - are our customers having their say in what we offer them in our retail store - is it the customer's retail store ?

Good old people are loyalists only to what they create - rest, you 4 Ps people will always create business and never create a Business and never create an Enterprise.

I laugh at today's MNC and Consultancy approach - they know nothing, make much noise - as I see in this discussion as well.

I should never write into toostep forums again - I should be in better company, MNC and Consultant fools waste my time.

Adding to what Sagar said its very important that a customer feels that you are taking care of their needs and you are making sure that they are satisfied with your service.Only then they will also make an attempt to keep visiting your place and slowly a relationship will be developed.

To retain customers it is most important that the products at the store are among the best in terms of quality and cost compared to all other stores.

Today local brands also are upgrading to high quality products and offering it at a lesser rate as compared to a foriegn/major brand, which finally forces the customer to think more and finally he prefers the lesser price one s.

And to bring back customers just offer them a lifetime membership card free of cost and give back the customers a small percentage of discount on all their future visits.

Do remember todays customers even calculate their vehicle fuel cost before reaching a particular store. In that a small percentage of discount can make a huge difference .

You are right Kiran, the processes you mentioned really will be very much helpful in attracting and retailing new customers...........

Shailena - The answer is Yes. The key word is CONTENT. If the customer gets value addition by recieving the communication, then he will welcome it. Without streching this further, I think we could take this offline 1-to-1, or if you like I could send you a whitepaper I wrote, or some links pointing to earlier research on this subject. Thanks for your interaction.

Ajay for a seller every thing he sells adds value and now if the seller keeps communicating the cutomers. Will the customer still welcom e the calls...

Please dont associate communication with spam, While spam is unwelcome and intrusive, Contact management is permission driven and provides value add in terms of relevant and helpful information. Research has shown that customers in fact welcome communications from sellers/ manufacturers as long as the communication adds value.

Furthermore, communication should be maintained on a regular basis, not only when you want to sell something, after all the objective is to create and maintain a relationship with the customer and share the customers mind space, so that he recalls your name when a product / service is required.

Understanding what customer wants before they actually know it will help retain your loyal customers. This can be achieve from the database created. Using that database and coming out with a product that a customer will actually buy will do wonders.

yes

 it will bring the customer back . But they wont retain as Loyal customer.

They will comes only when ever your are offering discount coupons only.and out of 100 discount coupons only 15 to 17 % will Redeemed.

Thank You

Regards

Yogesh Krishna