Summer Reset: Staff Training Focus for the Summer Months

The Emporia calendar is a little weird this year. We pushed through to May, and then saw a huge Cinco de Mayo/Dynamic Discs Open/La Grind event, followed by graduations, the Flatland Cruisers Car Show, Division II National Track and Field Championships at ESU, and Unbound Gravel activities. There have been visitors and traffic. In the resulting chaos, we can sometimes forget some important elements for consumer interactions that are important to maximize consumer impacts and encourage loyalty/traffic. It’s time to refocus on customer service training.

For small businesses, customer service is often THE differentiating factor that keeps consumers coming back. Competing solely on the basis of price erodes margins and profitability. Focusing only on product mix can lead to a nice looking underutilized space. Spending all your time promoting a business through social media, but having a business that doesn’t align with the image you portrayed leaves customers confused. Price, products, marketing, advertising, display, hours of operation, and other factors are important, but great customer service is generally one of the most memorable parts of the sale in any type of business environment. Here are a few things you should highlight in your staff training:

1. The Greeting- In most retail, restaurant, or service environments, consumers are motivated to interact. They are coming into your place of business with the expectation of making some sort of transaction. A lack of a greeting, or a lack of enthusiasm/warmth in the greeting process can make an environment feel weird and a customer feel unwanted. Practicing appropriate greetings can help staff form a solid foundation for all other customer interactions. Smile. Make eye contact. Speak clearly. Even if you are busy with something else, acknowledge a customer’s existence in the space.
2. Making Customers the Top Priority- Most people can feel it when they are bothering someone, and the lack of comfort in that sort of awkward situation makes a person want to leave the space. Customers must be the priority for any business. Customers are the reason why businesses exist. Clearly communicating with staff that customers are the top priority, and everything else comes second is critical to effective customer service training.
3. The Conversation- We’ve had a lot of visitors in town, and we will have a lot more over the next few weeks. Train staff to communicate beyond “what can I help you find today?” When you learn more about your customer, you can better serve their needs and create the foundation for business loyalty.
4. Imparting Knowledge- Transactions are easier than ever. People can consume media, purchase products, and order food without ever leaving the comfort of their home. Why should customers spend money with you? Your staff’s ability to impart knowledge and guide customers is often the defining factor for repeat customer traffic. If your staff seems disengaged, your customers will also be disengaged.
5. Closing the Sale- Properly closing the sale means understanding your customers actual needs throughout the process, not just hauling things to the register. If staff understands how they can effectively communicate with customers, they can avoid rushing a client or needlessly lengthening the sales process.
6. Selling What You Sold Them- Most customers want to feel good about a transaction. They work for their money and want to know they made a good decision exchanging their cash for goods or services. Great customer service training includes teaching reinforcing language to staff. Simply letting people know that they will enjoy something can create a positive frame of mind about a business and encourage repeat traffic.
7. Super Service Opportunities- People that excel at customer service are opportunistic. Customers may need help to their car, require additional information about topics unrelated to your business, or they may need something as simple as a picture with their friends. When staff is trained to spot super service opportunities and are rewarded for remaining opportunistic, businesses generate positive word of mouth advertising (still the best kind).

This month we still have First Friday, PDGA Masters World Championships of Disc Golf, Pride activities, the Shrine Bowl, and other community events. We will have guests in town, and we will also have locals that are looking for engagement opportunities. Your business will miss out on sales if your staff isn’t properly trained in customer service.

Set time aside with your staff for training. Lead by example and show staff how to engage customers. Reward great service, and share positive customer feedback with staff. Great customer service is something that most people are capable of if they receive appropriate training and make it a priority. Make the rest of your summer great by prioritizing your customer service training.