Jeweller - December Issue 2017

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
core competencies: selling, being a
merchant and coaching.
In a small footprint retail store everyone
contributes, and the store manager must
be the most visible person to customers.
Retailers should be very wary of the store
manager who does not want to be on the
shop floor. Store managers should be one
of the best sales people within the store day
after day and week after week.
In order to maximise sales, they need to
understand how to utilise the real estate in
their store to best present the products they
are selling and they also need to be great
coaches as they are responsible for a team
of people and the working environment
that they create for them.
GREAT REGIONAL MANAGERS
The very best regional managers are those
who are the best at the same things that a
great store manager is great at: selling, being
a merchant and coaching.
If they are not great at these key
competence areas then how do they, or
could they, set the right example for the
store manager and the team to follow?
How can they coach a store manager to be
a better salesperson if they themselves are
not a great salesperson?
In addition to these three core
competencies, a great regional manager
needs to have strong competence in the
areas of business acumen, leadership and
negotiation and influence. They are, after
all, responsible for a number of stores, and
there is a much higher level of profit and loss
accountability, stakeholder management
and leadership.
A great regional manager also needs to be
present, genuine and effective.
What does it mean to be effective? This
is important as the way that a regional
manager uses their time has a big impact on
how empowered a store manager feels.
A regional manager’s number one priority
is the store manager; the centre of their
focus is the store manager, while the
team members in the retail store are the
responsibility of the store manager.
Many regional managers don’t understand
this concept, which can degrade
empowerment for staff members.
It is the regional manager’s role to coach
the store manager to manage their own
team and this should include training on the
recruitment of store teams.
The very best regional managers work
with the store manager in such areas and
decisions, empowering them to choose their
own people.
Some regional managers don’t understand
the difference between coaching and doing.
The regional manager does not run the
store, the store manager does.
So, jewellers who have empowered great
store managers and regional managers have
some of the critical ingredients to a great
customer experience.
LOSE THE ‘WAY OF SELLING’
For a great customer experience, retailers
don’t need the overused ‘five step’ sales
structure. In fact, retailers don’t need
a selling process or a physical mystery
shopping process, which is archaic because
it is not real!
They need to empower store managers to
look after their customers. The definition
of a great customer experience is individual
to every store. Let the team be the best
version of themselves, making sure that they
understand it is okay to do so.
A customer recalls a great experience
because a team member was genuine in
their approach, not because a team member
asked an open-ended question.
Empowerment, however, must be
supported by knowledge otherwise it
is irresponsible. It is the storeowner’s
responsibility to provide the knowledge
– great store managers and great regional
managers need to be developed.
GREAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Let’s summarise the philosophy of a great
customer experience:
• A great customer experience is the
responsibility of the entire organisation.
Retailers who want to engage with
customers need to engage with their
team, because, as previously mentioned,
what the customer is saying is directly
related to how employees feel about
Quality
Findings
for Jewellers
ALL our components are
• Guaranteed
• Easy to work with
• Made from premium metals
Happy Festive Season!
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