Service, Service, Service

We recently attended WHFA's Annual Conference held in Palm Springs. It was an enjoyable and informative few days, giving us a good opportunity to hear several presentations regarding the state of the retail furniture industry. A clear theme that was addressed in many of these talks was the concern that, as a whole, the retail furniture industry could do better at serving customers. Data was shared that indicates the industry as a whole falls somewhere in the lower half of all retail industries for customer service. The industry is better than some, but not as good as many other industries in regards to providing valuable service to our customers.

Provide better service

Why should we care about this data? Does it really matter that we rank lower than other industries in service? It absolutely matters, which is why it was such a hot topic at the conference. The reality is that retailers have struggled to maintain revenues at the same level as seen in previous years. We know this, because we live with it every day. One can summarize the situation by saying that the furniture retail landscape (the economy, the competitive arena, customers) has evolved over the last 5-10 years, yet furniture retailers (as a whole) are doing many of the same things they have been doing for decades. With all of the options a consumer has today, most retailers across industries are beginning to recognize the absolute necessity of providing excellent service in order to maintain or increase revenues.

Become service-minded

So how do we better serve customers? It begins with a change in how we think about our work and our goals. Traditionally, sales managers and store owners have focused more on their inventories than on their customers. In this mindset, the goal of the sales force is to move the inventory – to keep it fresh. This is old school thinking. It doesn't bring results in today's marketplace. The focus must be on the customer – specifically on becoming the customer's trusted source for home furnishings expertise and products.

Once managers and owners make a commitment to a service-orientation, the biggest challenge is to get sales associates who understand and practice service-oriented selling. The quickest solution is to find and hire these people. We know, however, that they are not easy to find. Sometimes you can find them working in other retail industries.

Have a training plan

A critical element to improving service is to develop your current sales associates' skill and practice through effective training programs. This was emphasized again and again by several of the speakers at the WHFA conference. Retailers, who may have done little if any training in the past, need to commit to providing consistent, effective training to their sales staff. It's just one of those realities of the current retail landscape. The retail stores that survive, even thrive in today's marketplace share the common denominator of consistent, effective training.

Serve to survive

You have likely heard the saying that “location is everything" in retail. The thought behind the "Location, Location, Location" catchphrase is that you can't sell to a customer who doesn't walk through your door. While changing the location of your store is usually not an option, every retailer can provide increased levels of service to customers. Today's successful retailers have replaced their "location is everything" thinking with a new motto of "Service, Service, Service." Furniture retail store owners and managers need to adopt the same mindset if they expect to compete in today's marketplace and continue to survive.