The Connexion between Brand & Consumers
A few days ago I wrote about how the store was now the beginning and not the end goal. If the store's first mission is not to sell but to create and reinforce a deep lasting relationship with customers, it means that store employees now have a whole new dimension.
We often complain (at least in France, but you know us ;-) that store staff is not polite, not helpful and altogether disagreeable... At most retail companies, the shop assistant is not considered to be a meaningful mission. It is often a default choice of career, and since the pay is not very good and the job is hard, it has a high turnover and weak social recognition. Store staff is often not valued by companies. They are trained to be efficient in-store managing and shelves filling. Yet shop assistants probably are the only human interaction a customer will ever have with a brand or a retailer. If stores are like embassies, shop assistants are brand ambassadors.
If your job is undervalued, your contribution to success is minimized, and your pay so small you can barely survive... How can you be expected to do your job to the best of your capacities? How can you invest your time and energy in your job? How are you supposed to stay loyal and get involved in the long term? Would you smile when customers enter the store? Would you be willing to help them?
It is not about qualification, it is not even about performance... Shop assistants should be rewarded for their soft skills, for the way they create relationships with customers.
What is better than being valued and recognized, what feels better than to be important?
As a shopper, you like when the sales lady remembers you, your purchases, and your tastes, you like that she welcomes you with a smile and says that she thought about you when she received an item she's sure you will love.
As a salesperson, you like being called by a customer who remembers you gave her excellent advice 3 weeks ago, you like it when your work and ideas are valued when your best personal qualities are highlighted and used to enhance the store experience.
Sales staff's creativity and positive energy are not used in most stores. Yet, they are the only ones in daily contact with the brand's customers, they are the only ones who can pass on information from the brand to shoppers, and from consumers to the brand. They are an essential interface, still often undervalued and underused. They should be the HR priority of brands and retailers because they do the groundwork, they embody the brand personality, they are the first step to the translation of the brand strategy.
