Customer Service – The Key to Battling E-Commerce

By David Salisbury, VP of Sales and Marketing, Star Cloud Services.

Brick-and-mortar stores, both big and small, are continuously battling against e-commerce in an attempt to drive and retain in-store traffic. While bigger stores have the budget to execute lofty ad campaigns or combine both in-store and online sales, SMB retailers do not necessarily have the same luxuries, as they are often limited by smaller budgets and staff sizes. However, by prioritizing customer service, SMB retailers have the power to redirect shoppers from e-commerce back into their stores, and doing so doesn’t require an extensive budget.

Even in today’s heightened era of technology and multi-device shoppers, certain age-old concepts are still valuable, and good customer service tops that list. A new survey conducted by Accenture shows even in today’s digital age, human interaction remains crucial for customer satisfaction.

The Benefits of Good Customer Service

One of the biggest draws of e-commerce is its convenience. Consumers today actively search for convenience and simplicity not only when determining what they purchase, but also from where. But convenience is only part of the equation. Add in the fact that online retailers can “remember” shoppers and customize results by their interests and that’s reason enough for many consumers to abandon their traditional shopping trips for a one-two-click purchase. So, how can SMB retailers survive? By providing shoppers with an even better customer experience in-store than they have online.

A recent Forbes article noted a shopper’s discontentment when sales associates at a bookstore she frequents didn’t bother to greet her or acknowledge her presence, “I can’t believe that Amazon knows who I am, and my local retailer doesn’t,” the customer is quoted as saying in the article. Although this incident might seem trivial to some, in actuality it represents the fundamental issue retailers need to resolve. If shoppers can get everything they need online – and often all from a single place – they need a reason to make the effort of actually visiting a retailer’s store. That something could be as simple as great customer service, including being greeted upon entering the store, or being provided with assistance instead of requesting it.

Customer service can make or break the relationship between consumer and retailer. Make a good impression on shoppers and it’ll encourage them to come back again. Leave a bad impression and it could mean a loss of their business for good. Only 27 percent of shoppers stated they would give a store a second chance after having a negative customer experience. This is reason enough for retailers not to undermine the power of customer service and the impact – both positive and negative – it could have on their sales and overall reputation.

Star Micronics subsidiary, Star Cloud Services was built to bring IoT solutions to retailers by enabling the more than six million Star Micronics POS printers in stores today to become cloud-connected devices. Star Cloud Services has the unique ability to transform shopping receipts into valuable digital transaction data. With that data, retailers gain deeper insights that help them better engage, activate and retain shoppers.