The role of the customer: Asset or partner?

Previous Page: Ask For Customer Input, Then Act on it

THE CUSTOMER AS “INDIVIDUAL,” NOT JUST A TRANSACTION

Some marketers really get it when it comes to thinking that their customer is more than a purchaser. A few relatively low-tech examples taken from all channels include:

• Rest rooms for families, with changing tables in both men's and women's rest rooms
• Comfortable chairs for the nonshopping spouse
• No-charge coat and luggage rooms
• Surprise premiums and discounts on birthdays or anniversaries
• Personal or personalized follow-ups — phone calls from personal shoppers, personalized e-mails asking about the customer's recent purchase
• Phone and e-mail reminders for holiday shopping, records of previous gift buying with the names and addresses of the giftees already in place
• Arranging for deliveries within a tight hourly time frame, scheduling deliveries after 5 p.m.
• Specified delivery and dates of gifts or cards
• Specialized convenience services:One Swedish supermarket chain offers working customers who use public transportation and shop at lunch hour the convenience of putting their purchases in a refrigerated locker to be picked up after work
• Changing merchandising based on customer feedback, like Best Buy's recent decision to offer private-label electronics, and many more.

Knowing your customers' habits and preferences, which you have obtained either through qualitative or quantitative research or database analysis, and acting on the information may give you the edge over your competition.

Customers are individuals and their experience of you most often involves the so-called intangibles — how you affect them by your customer service, the ease of ordering from you (online, at POS, or via phone), the channel and frequency you are using to market to them, and the manner in which you recognize them or settle any disputes.

As customers assume more control in the customer-retailer partnership, don't be surprised if those hard assets you thought you once owned suddenly assert themselves, often loudly, when you override their individuality in an effort to cut costs.

Francey Smith (francey@franceysmith.com) is president of retail marketing consultancy Francey Smith & Associates.

ADVERTISER INDEX

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ADVERTISER	PAGE	PHONE	WEBSITE
Dydacomp	5	800-858-3666	www.dydacomp.com/mmm
Endicia	19	800-576-3279	www.endicia.com/mcm
Escalate Retail	C3	888-777-6811	www.escalate.com
FedEx SmartPost	C4	800-GoFedEx	www.fedex.com/us/smartpost
Global Response	12	800-537-8000	www.globalresponse.com
InOrder Enterprise Management System	C2	888-667-7332	www.getinorder.com
MeritDirect	3	914-368-1000	www.MeritDirect.com
NewPage Corporation	15	877-855-7243	www.NewPageCorp.com
NXTbook Media	4	866-268-1219	www.nxtbookmedia.com
Search Engine Strategies 2009	37		www.SearchEngineStrategies.com/sanjose
U.S. Monitor	18	800-767-7967	www.usmonitor.com
U.S. Postal Service	11		www.usps.com
Verso Paper	29	800-258-8852	www.versopaper.com
Walter Karl, Inc.	6	845-620-0700	www.walterkarl.com
Zephyr Media Group	33	847-328-1519	www.zephyr-media.com