Pay Close Attention to Each Customer’s Needs

CARQUEST drove past Pep Boys in the latest Market Force Information survey of 4,600 auto parts store shoppers. CARQUEST earned a composite score of 4.55 against the Pep Boys score of 4.20.
     Okay, that’s not a monumental difference. In fact, in the survey, most of the respondents expressed satisfaction with their shopping experience. However, almost 80% of the respondents said they were likely to drive past a competitor’s store to shop at their preferred auto parts retailer, so the difference between 4.20 and 4.55 corresponds to big dollars.
     At the foundation of the difference in ratings was the extent to which the frontline store staff—the ones serving customers face-to-face—accurately and promptly identified each customer’s needs and desires. It is what researchers at University of Mannheim and University of Bochum call Customer Need Knowledge (CNK).
     Based on their statistical analyses of information gathered from customers, employees, and store managers, the researchers found that when the CNK of employees in a store is higher, customers tend to be more satisfied and to say they’ve gotten better value from their purchases. An employee with high CNK pays close attention to each customer they’re with and is concerned with the problems of that customer.
     The research findings also suggest two ways to increase the CNK of your store’s employees:

• Manage employee turnover. Retailing has higher employee turnover than most other types of business. Some turnover in any organization is good. By bringing in new ideas, turnover heads off inbreeding and stagnation. Turnover can disrupt CNK, though. In the research findings, one of the top two facilitators of CNK was the customer having dealt with the employee over a period of time. Longer-term employees get more opportunity to learn what a store’s target markets are like and will like. 
• Recognize and correct for the ways in which your target markets are different from your sales staff. The research found that CNK is less when there’s a large age discrepancy between the salesperson and that salesperson’s typical customers. This argues for hiring employees who are similar in age and other characteristics to your typical customers. You’ll want to be sure those employees also can learn retailing skills and that you obey antidiscrimination employment law. Working at it from the other direction, use the characteristics of your talented employees to help you attract customers like them. This expands the scope of your typical customers. 

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Staff Your Store for Customer Need Knowledge