The Reason Humans Shop with Nicole Reyhle

April 24, 2021

 

Summary

Our special guest, Nicole Reyhle shares her expertise with our audience, focusing specifically on the elements of the in-person shopping experience that keep the customer engaged and how retailers, big and small, can leverage data to better understand their consumers. What draws people to in-person shopping, even in the midst of a pandemic? How can retailers best win loyal, life-long customers? What does an excellent in-person shopping experience look like? 

  • We ask these questions and more of our special guest, Nicole Reyhle, founder and publisher of Retail Minded. Nicole is a frequent guest and contributor to various media outlets that include The Today Show and Forbes and is the author of the book “Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and Marketing Your Retail Business”. She shares her expertise with our audience, focusing specifically on the elements of the in-person shopping experience that keep the customer engaged and how retailers, big and small, can leverage data to better understand their consumers.

Conversation Rundown

[ 02:50-04:08 ] The 3 C’s of a red carpet customer service
Everyone, whether they're shopping low-cost or super high-ticket, wants a red carpet experience if they're spending their hard-earned money. Treat them like stars and give them attention and the royal treatment. As a customer, I want to feel as if I’m uniquely experiencing something specific to whatever brand, retailer, merchant, business I’m supporting. And that's going to look different from everybody because every business has their own representation. Why else would people be lining up outside of stores when they could just shop online?

[ 05:50-06:49 ] How customers attach to your brand
Customer loyalty has never been more important. With so many options out there, how are you going to keep yours coming back? How do you avoid competing purely based on price? It's all about being memorable and easing the transaction by making the entire process as seamless as possible. Branding is also increasingly important. You need to create a sentiment, one of attachment to your brand rather than your product.

[ 07:47-08:52 ] What is shoppertainment?
We've avoided the so-called retail apocalypse for years. Why? According to Nicole, it's because consumers seek shoppertainment. She believes shopping online is a solo experience, and unless that website has been gamified in some way, it's missing an element of entertainment. That entertainment can be found in-store and in-person. Why do you believe that consumers continue to shop in-store despite having an online option?

[ 15:46-17:51 ] How can brands create an online entertaining experience?
Nicole is a big believer in shoppertainment. That is that shopping should be an experience, not a chore. Sephora does a great job at this. They've embedded technologies within their website that allows you to easily see different shades and even try the make-up on virtually. Other retailers have gamified the online experience, allowing browsers to spin a wheel for example to get a discount. What strategies have you found effective to create an exciting experience online?

[ 18:43-20:33 ] Be loyal to your customers
When people talk about loyalty customers, we often mean how can we make customers loyal to a brand. Nicole believes we need to flip the script. Instead, retailers need to be thinking of ways they can be loyal to their customers. If customers feel they are valued and taken care of, they will in turn be loyal to the brand. Customer loyalty is a hot topic right now given the competition in the retail industry

[ 22:35-23:44 ] Shortening the cycle of markdowns
Retailers need to understand that sustainability does not come at the detriment of profitability. Overproduction is counter-productive. You are producing more than you could sell at full price, and luxury retailers in particular will burn the excess. That's absurd to me - burning money every year without trying to come up with a strategy that would allow you to minimize that waste. Pre-orders are just one strategy that allows retailers to be more environmentally conscious as well as protect their margins.

[ 28:44-29:55 ] Measuring customer engagement
So, when you say the metrics - to me it really comes down to the engagement. So, what is the engagement of each of your efforts? Are you losing customers on some things V/S another? Maybe, you're starting to understand your brand voice better when you start to look at these details. So, really look at the engagement of each data point of your customer engagement as well as, of course, any details that lead you to a transaction. At first, I would say, definitely look at the engagement of your top performance drivers. Again, that would probably be email marketing, your general Google analytics, social media, and, your point of sale inventory management.

Meet the Experts

Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is an experienced retail and wholesale professional who has a passion for small businesses. After years of working for respected retailers and wholesalers, Reyhle founded Retail Minded in 2007 to support independent retail businesses throughout the world. Since then, Reyhle has been recognized globally as a Top 10 – including having held the #1 spot – retail thought leader, published her first book. Her goal in establishing Retail Minded is to deliver trusted NEWS, EDUCATION & SUPPORT for independent businesses in an effort for them to reach their own unique goals.

Retail Tips & Tweetables

When you use data to be proactive, it allows you to become more profitable.

Right communication can lead a customer to a transaction.

Treat your customers like stars and give them the royal treatment whether they interact with you virtually or in-person.

Be stronger in customer care so that the customer is willing to feel attached more to you as a brand than just a product.

If a customer has the sentiment that you care for them as a business, then they would be more inclined to want to support you.

Subscribe To Our Podcast