By Adam Blair, Executive Editor
“Did you find everything you’re looking for?”
One of the two suburban supermarkets I shop at has trained its cashiers to ask customers this question just as they are beginning to scan their items, and it’s often struck me as odd and sometimes irrelevant. Generally I say “yes” without much thought, or I toy with the idea of saying something snarky like “I was looking for inner peace, but I settled for a box of doughnuts.”
But what would happen if I said “No, I was looking for X product and I couldn’t find it”? With a line of people behind me, impatiently waiting to have their orders rung up, would the cashier at Supermarket #1 engage me in a dialogue? Direct me to the correct aisle? Or even make a note that such-and-such customer wanted something that wasn’t available? Somehow I kind of doubt it.
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But is the question really irrelevant? At another supermarket I frequent, I often wish someone would ask it. You see, my friend’s mom has an adorable dog that likes this retailer’s private label brand of rawhide chew bones. Like many pampered New York City pets, Maizie (the dog) turns up her tiny nose at anything else — and she prefers the medium size over the mini and jumbo sizes.
The problem is that Supermarket #2 doesn’t have any stores in NYC, so I’ll often pick up a bag or three when I’m there. (They’re not available via the store’s e-Commerce site either.) But here’s another problem: The last few times I went to this store, they were out of the correct size. In two visits that were several weeks apart, there were a disconcerting number of empty pegs in the dog treats area (and remember that this is the supermarket’s own brand). You would think the merchandisers and store manager would make an effort to avoid visible out-of-stocks in this prime retail real estate. It’s great for the retailer that the private label brand has engendered such loyalty, but that loyalty is wasted if the item consistently is unavailable.
Here’s the real kicker: I’m a member of this retailer’s loyalty program, so they should know that this is a regular (if only occasional) purchase of mine. Perhaps it throws them off that I don’t buy any other pet foods or supplies. Of course, I could make the extra effort to send an email, or to stop by the customer service desk the next time I’m in the store. But will I remember? The chances are exponentially greater that I would, if only a cashier would ask me, “Did you find everything you were looking for?”
A recent CMO Council survey indicated that nearly half of North American and European consumers will abandon a brand if they continuously encounter a “poor, impersonal or frustrating customer experience across channels of engagement.” One of the key solutions retailers have for this rather alarming willingness to defect is personalization. Some digging into loyalty card data and personal outreach could fill me with warm feelings toward Supermarket #2.
To be fair, retailers also need to focus their resources where they will have the biggest impact, and the CMO Council survey recognizes this fact. “Today, the differentiator isn’t whether we are able to individualize an experience, but rather having the insight and intelligence to know where, when and how a customer expects to be greeted with value and relevance,” said Liz Miller, SVP of Marketing at the CMO Council in a statement. “Consumers don’t need personalization every moment. But what this research amplifies is the requirement to get relevant, personalized experiences right for an audience of one in their micro-moment of need.”
The face-to-face connection and a simple question, asked sincerely could satisfy my “micro-moment of need,” and also make a little dog a lot happier.
