Creating the right customer experience is essential for modern retailers in the technology field. Ensuring that all the bells and whistles are in place to attract shoppers and to retain your existing customer base can help you stand out from your competition.

An article published in the Harvard Business Review* highlights some of the ways in which to reach customers more effectively and enhance their experience in your stores.

Know Your Customers

Performing some in-house market research helps you discover some unexpected truths about your most loyal customers. Simply categorizing these individuals into various demographics has proven less than useful in the tech field. 

Interests and expertise levels tend to be of greater importance for categorizing tech customers than age, gender, or income level. By abandoning the outdated demographic model and considering these factors instead, you can achieve a greater understanding of the needs and priorities of your most valued customers.

You can derive some important insights simply by asking your customers about their in-store experiences. Some of the most useful questions deal with the reasons why they choose your store to shop in and what you and your employees can do to make shopping and purchasing even simpler and easier for them. 

In some cases, you can encourage shoppers to visit your website and take part in an online survey. Point-of-sale surveys can also be useful for some customers. By training your sales staff to collect research on your customers, you can enhance the experience for shoppers who come to your store.

Blur the Lines

If your brick-and-mortar stores also have an online presence, allowing customers to buy online and pick up in your stores can often make it easier and faster for them to manage their shopping needs. This can result in greater loyalty to your retail stores and increased satisfaction with the services and products you offer. 

By blurring the line and creating a seamless experience between online sales and in-store purchases, you can make a positive impact on Internet-savvy customers.

Incorporate Social Media Tactics

The impact of social media—both positive and negative— on brands cannot be denied nor ignored. Incorporating social media into your marketing strategy helps your brand make the leap from a commercial connection to a personal one. By reaching out to consumers and maintaining an online presence through Facebook*, Instagram*, Twitter* and other social media platforms, you make connections that can build your brand and begin a dialogue between your company and your customers. 

Monitoring social media for mentions of your company and your stores is also a good idea. This can help you address any issues that arise quickly and effectively to protect your corporate reputation.

Provide Accurate Information

Especially in the tech field, delivering accurate information and providing the right recommendations can set your stores apart from the competition. Providing your sales staff with the in-depth product training needed to ensure accuracy can help them to deliver the best possible solutions for your customers. 

At a minimum, shelving cables and accessories with the products for which they are intended can provide added convenience for sales associates and for customers alike.

By encouraging your associates to learn more about your inventory of products, you can make a positive impression on consumers who shop in your store. Incentives can provide valuable motivation for your sales team, allowing you to achieve greater productivity and profitability. 

By making sure that your sales staff members have the tools and knowledge needed to succeed, the result will be great customers experiences and increased sales.

Encourage your sales associates to participate in the Intel® Retail Edge Program to acquire valuable information about a wide range of Intel® products and sales tips to use when interacting with customers. They will be better equipped to provide expert guidance for your customers and to establish your stores as a leading source for new technologies. 

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn*. To see the original article, click here.

References:

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

©Intel Corporation 2017. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Retail Edge Program, and Intel Retail Edge Live are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.