Increase Your Sales this Holiday
by Evan Rubin, Vice President KWI-CRM
Remind your clients who you are this holiday season. As the holiday season approaches make sure you, the retailer, stand out. How should you stand out? Have a contingency plan in place to handle whatever comes your way. Superior customer service is one way to be the retailer that the client remembers when they are planning and conducting their holiday shopping routine.
Email Segmentation: Set-up email segmentation to send targeted emails to your customers that are specific to their shopping behavior and/or remind them of retail locations in their neighborhood.
Be Creative: Your marketing team should always have creative strategies ready to go for any last minute communication to the client. If sweater sales are down, turn to that pre-planned creative strategy and send an email blast to customers promoting the variety of sweaters available or send a reminder to shop your e-commerce site from the comfort of their home in inclement weather.
Always Say Thank You: As the year draws to a close, remember to thank your customers for remaining loyal shoppers. Send customers a thank you offer to bring them back for the New Year or simply acknowledge their purchases.
Holiday Prep: Ready for Anything!
by Mario Morante, CFI, The Zellman Group, Inc.
The holiday season is here again. The most wonderful time of the year when retailers go into the black is also a time when shrink and fraud skyrocket. Are you taking the right steps to prepare your business for the holiday rush? Here are a few seasonal tips to keep the sales coming in and the shoplifters out:
Train Employees: Having a well-trained team is the starting point for your successful holiday season, and one simple action is essential: Make sure employees greet and say goodbye to everyone who visits your store. Shoplifters hate customer service: The more attention you give, the less opportunity they have to steal.
Anticipate Crowds: Long lines can encourage the opportunist shoplifter. Using Mobile POS devices throughout your store will both deter shoplifters and offer greater convenience to your honest customers. You can give employees tablets and ask them to maintain a presence near items that are popular. If shelf stock runs out, your associates can save the sale using Omni-Channel fulfillment techniques.
Deploy Strategic Promotions: Staggering the times of various promotions can help control the crowds. Special promotions and events spaced a few hours apart can reduce stampedes of shoppers. Out-of-control crowds are not only an invitation to shoplift, but can also lead to injuries, loss, and vandalism.
Have Backups: Create a list of on-call employees you can bring in when shopper traffic becomes unexpectedly heavy.
Don't Rush/Stay Calm: Help your staff stay focused by reminding them that the busiest time of year will not last forever. Rushing sales and refunds increases the risk of error. Encourage employees to take their time and follow store procedures. Remind them to ask questions or get the manager involved if a transaction seems problematic.
Post and follow this checklist to help your team keep a level head in any customer situation.
1. Greet each customer entering the store. By letting shoppers know you are aware of their presence, you may have already deterred the potential shoplifter!
2. Always take the time to enter the correct SKU at the POS. This will help reduce inventory errors during busy periods.
3. If a credit card is not signed, ask for identification. If the card is signed, ensure the signature on the card matches the customer's signature on the merchant copy of receipt. This simple action helps protect both your customers and your company!
4. If a credit card won't swipe and must be manually keyed, always take an imprint. Provide the customer with a copy and retain one for your records. This action will take only a few extra seconds and could potentially save your employer big bucks.
5. Be sure to check all bills $20 and up for a watermark and the plastic security strip. Counterfeit artists will try to take advantage of the busy season and pass fake bills as real. Don't let them fool you!
6. Conduct bag and coat checks as employees leave for breaks and end their shifts for the day. Holiday season hires may not have the same integrity as your regular team. Be vigilant with preventative measures to deter internal theft.
7. Conduct garbage checks and use only clear trash bags. Be sure to break down boxes as well. These actions will deter internal theft and ensure merchandise is recovered before the trash is discarded.
8. Know your product! Shelves and racks should be fully stocked and organized. Damaged items should be removed from the sales floor, with completed damage ticket attached, to ensure damaged items are not confused with salable merchandise. Organized merchandise enables your team to stay focused on the sales floor.
Retailers can prepare many other ways for the holiday season. Get ahead of the rush and start planning now.
It's Money, Honey: Cash Handling During the Holidays
by Mario Morante, CFI, The Zellman Group, Inc.
'Tis the season to be jolly…and alert! Research shows that consumers are starting their holiday shopping early this year. This can mean an increase in sales across all channels, higher customer traffic, and a greater opportunity for error.
In an effort to provide excellent customer service and reduce customer wait time, employees may be tempted to rush through certain processes. In reality, hastily executed transactions are often error-prone, leading to customer complaints, longer lines, and a diminished shopper experience.
Encourage your staff to keep the following tips in mind when completing cash transactions at the wrap desk:
- Count the cash to verify the customer's payment amount before opening the register. New bills may stick together and hurried customers may hand over wrong bills.
- Always use counterfeit detection when accepting bills of $20 or higher, checking for the appropriate watermark and plastic strip on each bill.
- Ensure that the amount and tender type are accurately entered into the POS for each transaction.
- Place the customer's money on top of the register while making change. Keeping the customer's cash separate will eliminate disputes from short-change artists. Check the register to verify the amount of change to be returned.
- Count back the change to the customer. This practice will not only verify the correct amount for both you and the customer, but will also catch any errors that might have occurred.
- Place the bill in the correct bin and close the register drawer once the transaction is complete.
- When the lines are long, remind your team to take time when handling cash to ensure that the daily deposit is as accurate as possible. Feel free to contact The Zellman Group for a full list of counterfeit-detection best practices.
Merchant Services Emergency? Quick Tip
by Christine Colasanto, Operations Manager, KWIMS
The unthinkable has happened and your store's network is down, right in the middle of the holiday shopping surge. Don't panic. Revert to manual authorizations, essential for your financial security: Call your merchant provider's toll-free support number, follow the prompts for support, and be sure to have your Merchant ID handy. The credit card will go out for authorization and you will be provided with an authorization number. Input the authorization number you receive into the POS to complete the transaction. Be sure to take an imprint of the card using the manual imprinter as an added precaution. Provide a copy to the customer and keep one for your company. Following these steps will help avoid costly chargebacks.
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