Employee focus groups are one of the best ways to foster a sense of ownership and generate marketing ideas, as well as to reduce employee theft and turnover. Focus groups give employees at all levels an opportunity to provide input about how their jobs are structured. Surprisingly, a properly guided group will more than likely generate policies and procedures nearly identical to those of management. The difference? Employee ideas will meet with less resistance and be more effective because they are their ideas. The same is true for marketing ideas, with an additional advantage. Employee ideas for marketing and promotion will come with fewer of the that’s too different to try labels attached. The ideas may need to be tempered by the realities of budget, and perhaps law, but employee promotional ideas will almost always be the most fun. Focus groups are also effective team-building tools. Employees learn that they are both capable of and expected to solve problems together. Complaints are not allowed to fester unsolved. Rather, employee complaints lead to employee solutions, which increases job satisfaction. Additionally, focus groups reduce employee theft by creating such a strong sense of ownership that employees don’t want to jeopardize “their operation” [...]

“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!

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 [...]

Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future. Skilled leaders accomplish great things and inspire others to grow in responsibility 
and skills. The quotes listed below emphasize the importance of perseverance, service,
 and reliability. Leaders give their best in whatever job they’re doing. Any of us
 can take on leadership roles and qualities just by doing our jobs in a dependable
 way and encouraging others to share in and help us in attaining a worthwhile vision.

Offering exceptional customer service is indeed a powerful way to differentiate your store in the marketplace. How do you distinguish yourself as a leader in service excellence?

Most retail businesses in America believe they offer good customer service, but in reality the opposite is probably more accurate. Why? With the daily demands of performing repetitive tasks in a highly productive environment, employees are often oblivious to customers and their needs. Customer service is typically given lip service by managers, who view training and developing employees to provide an exceptional customer experience as a low priority in a cost-controlling, low-margin industry. Ironically, it is just such an investment in employee training and development that can increase sales exponentially. While operational efficiencies are essential to superior corporate performance, they should not hinder the company’s ability to gain a customer service advantage.

Creating a store culture of exceptional customer service requires a strong commitment to service at all levels of the company, beginning at the top. It requires executives to think about marketing and operational processes in new ways. In order to be truly effective, however, the store environment must be one in which management integrates and demonstrates exceptional customer service.

With Wal Marts, COSTCO, Trader Joes and Limited Assortment formats, the tougher the price competition in a market, the more important quality of service is to sustainable success. Why? Because without differentiated quality, without a superior total experience to offer customers, a company has few, if any, non-pricing options when key competitors cut their prices.

I’m an ardent proponent of product and service guarantees. A guarantee is a promise or assurance that a company will stand behind the quality of products it sells or services it performs. Guarantees build trust and loyalty with consumers. In a sense, a guarantee is a company’s commitment to the well-being of its customers. Wow, what an intriguing approach to serving the customer. Imagine a conscious intention by company leaders to enhance the well-being* of a customer. Is that possible?