There is a hot new buzzword in retail sales management that you will not find in a dictionary. The word everyone is talking about is "clienteling". I am partial to the definition created by Red Prairie Software in promotional material they publish.
cli · en · tel · ing [klahy-uhn-tel-ing]
noun
1. A system to manage customers engagement business processes for bringing customers into your store, providing an exceptional in-store shopping experience and keeping your customers coming back for more.
example: Sales increased after we began using clienteling to improve the customer experience in our stores .
Another definition offered by G3 Communications in a 2011 webinar
Clienteling
- One-to-one personalized service
- Optimized Store Performance
- Data and user functionality available in the right place, at the right time
- Capturing business specific customer information
Clienteling is hot because of the ease of making smart device applications that are integrated into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software systems. In my opinion, when you strip out the tech and software, clienteling is just exceptional customer service. This model has been around longer than electronic or computerized point of sale systems. The example I like to mention is of a local hardware store where I grow up in the suburbs of Milwaukee. There was a store in Elm Grove, Wisconsin called Elliott's Ace Hardware. My father and grandmother took me there for supplies every time a fix-it project was happening. The inside of the store looked much like every other hardware store in the 1970's. It had narrow aisles with shelves filled to the brim of stuff. At least that's how it looked to me as an eight year old. What set Elliott's Ace Hardware apart from other hardware stores were their employees. Many of which could remember the names of customers like my grandmother and father. They could also remember that they had worked on a bathroom renovation and asked how it turned out.
If a customer could not find something amidst the "stuff" you only had to ask and the employee would walk you to the shelf and ask you if this is what you needed. In fact many of the employees had enough experience that if you told them for example. "I need that plastic thingamajig for my blank," they could find it. They would also give you helpful hints on how to install something. They would up sell by making sure a customer had the right tools. They always knew the best glues, materials and coatings so that you did not have to do a job twice. If you came in for one single screw you could get one without having to buy one hundred. They almost always had everything you needed without having to special order it.
I remember all the adults talking when the big box stores started moving into the area. People got excited about the variety and low prices that came with a big box store. In some cases this caused small shops that could not compete on price or service to close down. There are people in the area I grow up in that preach about how the big box stores are killing small towns. But guess what, Elliott's Ace Hardware is still there, in fact they have added four more stores. The stores also seem to have four and five-star reviews on sites like Yelp. The customers like those in my family are customers are now customers for life. This store is the first place we think of when we think about hardware supplies. And will drive past four other hardware stores on a trip to Elliott's Ace Hardware making it a destination store. The keys to the success of this company have been what I would call, "Analog Clienting," because there was no digital framework to measure it or record it.
Let's look at their clienting success even without digital tech based on the definition we started with from G3 Communications:
One-to-one personalized service
The hardware store staff tended to know customers by name
Optimized Store Performance
The stores typically had items customers wanted in stock in the quantities customers expected. Store hours and staff availability were consistent with what a customer expectations would be. Associates had the knowledge and foresight to up sell accessories, tools and supplies that would make projects move more quickly at installation while at the same time last for years.
Data and user functionality available in the right place, at the right time
The store staff had long tenure while also well-trained. The staffing hours seemed right in that customers did not face long wait times to speak to an associate.
Capturing business specific customer information
The long tenured staff was able to keep customers coming back consistently and knew the customers history about projects and past sales.
Of course many big box stores, as well as small mom and pop shops have trouble providing this level of service on a consistent basis due to a variety of factors. Sometimes it's due to the quality of the hiring pool in the area or that they hire transitional employees that do not stay long. Sometimes the volume of customers walking into a store keeps you from knowing every single customer. Perhaps a store is new to the area and has not had the time to get to know the neighborhood or customer pool.
Regardless, based on my history as a customer and my years in retail and hospitality the foundation to clienting whether analog or digital is exceptional customer service. So first building block to analog or digital clienteling is greeting a customer to let them know that you appreciate their business and that staff at your store is there to help them. Adding a mobile Point of Sale System that can manage this process when integrated to CRM software is the new way to manage the clienting process. In my follow-up article we will delve into this further.