Ever wonder how retail workers get their jobs done so efficiently during the holiday season? Check out the effective communication tools they use during the busiest shopping day of the year.
As Halloween comes to a close, it’s time to kick off the holiday season. Some of us begin to make our shopping lists for Thanksgiving dinner while others — like most retailers — are already putting out Christmas decorations and playing Christmas music.
Those who work in retail are beginning to prepare for the busiest shopping time of the year as well as the most stressful shopping day of the year… Black Friday.
The day after Thanksgiving, better known as Black Friday, is admittedly one of the most stressful and potentially lucrative times of the year for retailers. According to About.com News, 20% of retail sales occur between Black Friday and Christmas.
Retailers who are on the receiving end of throngs are markedly different from those waiting until midnight for the holiday mayhem. With important planning and the best communication tools, your business will be successful this holiday season.
With strategic planning, group communication, and effective customer service on the forefront, each customer (and employee) will leave your store happy and wanting to come back for more.
Strategic Planning
Even though Black Friday shopping has declined over the past few years, because of Cyber Monday, people still flock to shopping malls and stores in the early hours of the morning. In anticipation of this, stores begin to staff for Black Friday weeks before it happens. Some stores ask employees for availability at least one month in advance. This gives store managers the ability to have “all hands on deck” for the big event. When Black Friday finally arrives, the store management maps out shifts, overlap, and over time.
You can implement strategic planning in your office as well. Here are a few things to get your strategic planning started right away.
- Plan out what each department should be doing.
- Make a master calendar of when projects should be completed.
- Send updates to your office weekly about projects and company announcements to keep everyone on the same page.
- Schedule monthly meetings with your office to talk about the upcoming months.
- Make a SWOT analysis with your office to figure out what you need to work on.
Besides strategic planning another communication tools retailers use during Black Friday is good group communication.
Group Communication
Group communication is essential for communication tools in any workplace. However, when you put over 200 bargain hunting customers into a small store, communication is key.
There are a lot of issues that arise on Black Friday that managers try to keep workers informed about throughout the day. If the supervisor can’t make it to another employee, they usually have another manager or someone on break relay the message to them. For example, if a coupon expired at a certain time a manager might relay the message to another worker to make those at the register aware of the situation.
Group communication is an easy thing to implement in any workplace. It is important to make sure everyone is on the same page about issues or projects coming up. You can do this by sending out a ving to your office about updates and what they need to know for the upcoming month.
Along with group communication, another one of the great communication tools retailers use is effective customer service.
Effective Customer Service
“The customer is always right” is a saying I think we have all heard dozens of times — and if you work in retail you probably have heard it a million times.
During the holiday season, it’s important to have effective customer service. According to Help Scout, 78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience. You want to keep people coming back to your store and leave with a happy face instead of an angry one.
Effective customer service is also another easy fix. Try using the LAST acronym that most retailers use when dealing with potential buyers and sellers.
Want to add to your great list of communication tools? Try ving today and revitalize how your office communicates!
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