Both manufacturers and retailers benefit from a well-trained retail staff. A thoughtful conversation between a customer and a retail sales professional improves client satisfaction, increases sales and creates both brand and retail loyalty. So how do manufacturers help ensure that in-store conversations effectively position the strengths of their product line? Most brands invest in training programs to provide retail sales teams with specific product knowledge. Of course, there are many decisions to make as you implement training. Should you add more brand reps? Host regional conferences? Create webinars? And what’s the incentive for store associates to effectively learn your lingo? Read More >
Topics: Retail Insights
When It Comes to Retail Sales Education You Have Options
May 14, 2013 – 3:00 am | Product Knowledge, Retail Insights 
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How to Provide Unforgettable Customer Service
May 9, 2013 – 3:00 am | Customer Experiences, Industry Trends, Retail Insights 0 Comments
Your chances of selling a product or service to a new customer are 1 in 16. Selling to a current customer increases your odds dramatically – 1 in 2. And if that customer is a happy customer, they will not only purchase more, they will tell others to purchase from you as well. The key driver to all of it – great customer service. This infographic, courtesy of the National Business Research Institute, highlights the importance of customer service as well as tips for retailers to provide an “unforgettable customer service” experience. [Click to enlarge.]
Survey Results: Store Associates Share Knowledge On and Off the Sales Floor
May 7, 2013 – 3:00 am | Industry Trends, Product Knowledge, Retail Insights 0 Comments
eXperticity recently commissioned a study to learn more about the people we work with every day − retail sales professionals. Here are some key takeaways: They like their jobs. Over 32% of the store associates polled plan on staying in retail sales over 10 years and 35% plan on staying at least 1-4 years. It’s not just about making more money as many sales associates don’t earn commission. They want to learn more to help make their lives more enriching as 90% are using their product knowledge at least weekly for personal use. Their product knowledge helps sell more on Read More >
What do the country’s top bike retailers have in common?
April 30, 2013 – 3:00 am | News & Events, Product Knowledge, Retail Insights 0 Comments
Each year, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, the leading publication for everything in the bike biz, releases its Top 100 and Gold Star Retailers list. The list salutes top retailers nominated by their peers for excellence in categories such as professionalism, sales, community involvement and customer service. Beyond being the best at what they do, these retailers also have one other key attribute in common – 57 of the 58 nominees participate on our 3point5.com platform! To learn more about 3point5.com and how to get your store added to the list of top retailers next year, visit eXperticity.com today.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The Impact of Customer Service
April 25, 2013 – 3:00 am | Customer Experiences, Retail Insights 0 Comments
We all know that customer service — good or bad — will have a lasting effect. Take a look at this infographic to read the latest stats on the impact of the customer experience. [Click image to enlarge.]
Build a Better Web Story: Strengthen Brand Connections to the Sales Floor
April 4, 2013 – 3:00 am | Best Practices, Engagement, Member Experiences, Retail Insights, Team/Member Engagement 0 Comments
Back in my newspaper journalism days, I was taught to pay close attention to how the words actually looked on the page. Turns out readers tend to zone out when faced with similarly sized paragraphs, so writers are taught to vary their cadence – a longer sentence here, a shorter, punchier one there – add in a graphic “explainer,” or divide copy into more easily digestible chunks using a series of punchy sub-headlines. In constructing retail sales training sites, eXperticity leverages the same concept in a broader sense. The result: Our clients take full advantage of the different ways the Read More >
The Power of Experts in 120 Seconds
February 21, 2013 – 3:00 am | Customer Experiences, Product Knowledge, Retail Insights 0 Comments
At this year’s Winter Outdoor Retailer, a few brave souls in our marketing department canvassed the showroom floor asking exhibitors, “What value does a trained retail sales expert bring to your company?” And brands didn’t disappoint. The answers were clear that highly trained retail sales professionals help differentiate a brand’s product, highlight its new features, and ultimately better sell that product to the consumer. As one brand put it, “A trained sales staff is worth their weight in gold.” Take a look for yourself and see what Winter OR had to say about the power of experts! The Power of Read More >
Macy’s Demonstrates the Power of Expert Salespeople
February 14, 2013 – 6:00 am | Best Practices, Customer Experiences, Product Knowledge, Retail Insights 0 Comments
Despite an inherently challenging fourth quarter for retailers that included the effects of Hurricane Sandy and unease over the pending fiscal cliff, some chains still moved profits upward. One of those was Macy’s, which exceeded expectations by posting a 5.5 percent increase in sales. Here’s how the retailer pulled it off. In a recent article from Businessweek, Macy’s attributes its success to the store’s associates, who have benefited from additional training and new mobile technology that has improved the in-store experience for shoppers. Cheryl Berinato, Macy’s director of consumer insights and strategy, echoed the importance of the in-store shopping experience Read More >
Sales Associate Knowledge Increases Sales
February 6, 2013 – 3:00 am | Best Practices, Industry Trends, Product Knowledge, Retail Insights 1 Comment
How can retailers and brands better drive sales of products on retail sales floors? This is a key question that retailers and brands ask themselves each day. Especially with the impact of showrooming and e-commerce on physical store sales. One way to improve physical store sales is to provide sales associates with product knowledge. According to research conducted by Marshall Fisher of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, “employee knowledge and customer perception of product availability have by far the strongest impact on customers’ overall store visit satisfaction rating.” Additionally, Fisher states that “the overwhelming importance of sales Read More >
Can’t Touch This: Personal Service Truly Matters
January 31, 2013 – 3:00 am | Customer Experiences, Engagement, Product Knowledge, Retail Insights 1 Comment
As the author of many bike training sites on 3point5.com, I am exposed regularly to a drool-inducing peloton of the latest, greatest cycling technologies, accessories and product lines. Yet when it comes time to purchase — whether it be extra tubes, cleats or Christmas presents — I’m willing to drive 9.46 miles across Salt Lake City to Millcreek Bicycles, where I bought my beloved Seven (Duo 29er) and Gunnar (Roadie) bikes. No, I can’t get a better price, and they don’t always have exactly the product I need (and it’s true that I’m often there anyway getting my bikes serviced by trusted Read More >
