“Back-to-school” is just around the corner, and the back-to-school season, like all seasonal events or activities, offers an excellent opportunity for retailers to improve or reinforce their price perception.

Now more than ever, retailers are looking for new ways to meet the needs of price-conscious customers, and a family meal deal, or value meal program, is a great way of doing so. This type of program provides shoppers with a menu of foods or a list of ingredients that can be made into a family meal for four, all for less than about $4 per person.

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Mark Twain How management refers to personnel and store activities can bolster a store’s commitment to its employees and to exceptional customer service. For instance, calling part-time employees prime-timers conveys the excellent performance expected of them, the respect due them, and their full membership on the team. Often times the sanitation or janitorial staff is taken for granted, even though their skill set and talent is critical to the stores overall success. Consider a fresh name for those very important employees like the Clean Team or Cleanness Pro’s. Try coupling the word sales with various job functions, like visual sales instead of stock and display and register sales instead of cashier or checker. Deliberately use the word selling interchangeably with customer service to reinforce that they are essentially the same thing. Have some fun with this activity!

We are often asked about our position on loyalty card programs. Some retailers swear by them, and some swear at the mere mention of them. We advise on their advantages and their drawbacks. If you’re considering a loyalty card program, or if you already have one, ponder this personal approach to building customer loyalty.

George Jenkins founded Publix with a spirit of giving in mind. He was once asked, “If you hadn’t given away so much, how much do you think you would be worth today?”

His response, without hesitation: “Probably nothing.”

I have always believed in satisfaction guarantees. I believe companies are wise to stand behind the products and services they provide their customers. Personally, I have always been loyal to companies who take care of me and financially back their work when problems arise with product or service deficiencies. There are five reasons why a guarantee is a powerful tool, both for marketing product and service quality and for achieving it. First, it pushes the entire company to focus on the customers’ definition of good products and services, not an executive’s assumption. Second, it sets clear performance standards, which boost employee performance and morale. Third, it generates reliable data (through payouts) when performance is poor. Fourth, it forces an organization to examine its entire service-delivery system for possible failure points. Last, it builds customer loyalty, sales and market share. What makes a good guarantee? It is unconditional, easy to understand and communicate, meaningful, easy and painless to invoke, and easy and quick to collect on. Unfortunately, fear of customers cheating is a big hurdle for some when considering offering guarantees. Sure, there will be cheaters—maybe 1% of customers who take advantage of a guarantee to get something for nothing. What [...]

Question: What is the most important market segment you should be targeting?

Answer: Your employees. Good companies aim first to make raving fans within their own team. Employees should be excited to tell your stories, sell your products, and explain how you provide value to customers. If your employee culture is authentic and vibrant, your other customers will feel the magnetism of a special place.