The recession period has prompted many Americans to spend their money more responsibly and, as HyperQuality CEO and CRM Buyer columnist Chris Coles wrote (March 15), companies must deliver good customer service while managing the cost of delivery. "As we see shoots of (economic) recovery, we are reminded that no company can cost-cut its way to excellence; without some focus on the customer, eventually service starts to dwindle, products are shoddy and the company is no longer competitive,” he wrote.

"Those that persevere through both economic booms and busts incorporate a long-term view of quality and cost measures into their strategic business functions."

Coles says the post-recession customer norm is frugality, citing a study by AlixPartners, which found that Americans will spend about 86 percent of their pre-downturn levels. He argues that today's consumer is spending more moderately, shopping for high-quality products and services, and resisting the temptation to splurge needlessly.

His message of balancing customer service and retail profitability is a similar to the message of an article we ran last month, which urged salespeople to help customers rather than focusing on their sales stats (see Don't be a Vulture). As with any customer-oriented behavior, any effort to improve their retail experience - even if it comes at a marginal cost, is worth the long-term revenue of customer loyalty and referrals. Just as the old business saying goes, "You need to spend money to make money," retailers (especially during the post-recession recovery period) need to invest in customer service in order to close sales.

Coles suggests the following steps in ensuring a proper balance of quality customer service and solid financial results:

• Evaluation: Use quality assessment programs to determine the balancing point between "sufficient customer service" and the costs to provide that service.
• Observation: Take an objective look at your customer touchpoints, such as sales, support and customer service.
• Quantification: Establish hard metrics around each aspect of the customer experience, to measure quality and cost.
• Training: Identify common scenarios that pose as customer satisfaction hurdles and enable salespeople to make cheap, easy adjustments to their scripts, so that customers are automatically offered the best value possible.
• Execution: "As managers, it is critical that we find that sweet spot between customer satisfaction and affordability that will drive customer loyalty -- and top-line growth -- in the new economy."

iQmetrix’s RQ4 software helps managers make sure their salespeople are meeting set objectives. Staff can measure their customer service and performance, according to company priorities and business targets. The RQ4 Store Dashboard presents an in-depth analysis of each store’s performance, in real-time. Managers can view quantifiable data such as customer activities, inventory, employee performance, sales statistics and sales contests. Also, RQ4’s user-friendly interface makes training a breeze and its intuitive design allows staff to serve customers faster and with greater confidence, thereby improving the customer experience.

With RQ4, you’ll get affordable, exceptional results and ultimately happier customers. That’s the balance every retailer is looking for.

- newsletter@iQmetrix.com

* To read more about Improving Customer Experience and Retail Operations, check out the following articles from iQmetrix News & Views:

Workforce Optimization Frees Up Managerial Time: Survey

Brand Experience and Engagement Drive Great Customer Experience: Study

In Recession, Consumers Still Focus on Customer Experience (Not Cost)  

New VMI Program Helps Dealers Maximize Margins

Increase Profits with Real-time Inventory Management

Recession Forces Big Chains to Restrategize