Making The Store As Smart As The Customer Guest Series Part 1

Allen Buchholz, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Frank Mayer & Associates, Inc.

Only half of consumers believe the store is better than the store website for obtaining merchandise.*

A powerful way to improve the customer experience at retail is to prepare the sales associate to be at least as smart as the customer. In today's environment of Internet-created consumer experts, shoppers expect it. In truth, the shopping trip that starts on the Internet and continues in a bricks and mortar store or dealership can place the customer in a position of having superior knowledge to sales associates.

Information in the hands of retail personnel is power to satisfy. This knowledge is accomplished with training and access, and retailers need to take stock of their digital arsenal.

*Reimagining the Retail Store: The Shopper's Perspective (Leo Burnett, 2011)