Retail Observer

April 2019

The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings

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RETAILOBSERVER.COM APRIL 2019 64 I n the year 534 A.D., the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian developed the Justinian Code — a comprehensive set of laws that would serve the Western civilization for centuries to come. One of its provisions was a declaration that provided for a store at each major crossroad of the Byzantine Empire. This store would enable people to buy their necessities without them traveling long distances. As far as we know, this may have been the first convenience store chain. In 1924, "Uncle Johnny" Jefferson Green ran the Southland Ice Dock in Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX where people would come to stock up on blocks of ice to refrigerate their food at home. Since the Ice Dock was open 16 hours a day, seven days a week (much later than the local grocery stores), Uncle Johnny thought, "Why not sell milk, bread and eggs in addition to ice?" The Southland Ice Company saw potential in Uncle Johnny's idea and merged operations at various locations under the extended schedule of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. In 1946, those operations became 7-Eleven stores. In today's fast-paced world, customers are looking for convenience. In most cases, it's not about the price as much as it is about the convenience. Case in point; in many hotel rooms there are mini bars with snacks and drinks. They are overpriced, but instead of the hotel guest going to the lobby store for a bottle of water that costs $1.50, they choose to draw from the mini bar a bottle of water that costs them $4.00. Today, Americans are choosing convenience. So my question to you is, "How convenient do you make it for your customers to deal with your company?" Understanding what friction already exists in your customer's life is a good start. Take the Jones family, for instance. Both mom and dad have full time jobs. Their daily schedule includes going to work, taking the kids to cheer practice or soccer, and then perhaps a scout meeting. After grocery shopping, making dinner, cleaning up, and getting ready for bed, they set an alarm to do it all over again the next day. (Sound familiar?) How inconvenient is it when their washing machine or dryer breaks down? Do you really think that that customer is concerned about the cost of the repair? So while friction is already high when their appliances break down, do you add more friction by making it difficult for them to do business with you? Here are some thoughts on how you can remove some of those frictions and make your customer's day a little easier. How easy are you to find on the internet? When the Jones's were looking for someone to fix their washer they asked Google to find washer repair near them. Did your website appear on the first page? If not, perhaps you can make finding you more convenient by working on your SEOs and key words. Most people are tethered to their cell phones. Has your website been optimized for easy access on a cell phone? Do you have convenient way for the customer to call your shop by just pressing the call button? Mr. Jones leaves for work at 7 a.m. and does not get home until 6 p.m. Mrs. Jones leaves at 8 a.m. and gets home around 5 p.m. Are you adding more friction by limiting your hours of availability? Do you make your customer's day by offering to arrive when it is convenient for them so they won't need to miss a day of work? Is your service van fully stocked so that you can complete the service on the first trip? Are you keeping up with your education? Are you attending manufacturer training or training at one of the many service conventions throughout the country? Repeat calls to find the problem are not convenient to the customer. Think of what can you do today to help make it just a little easier for your customer to do business with you and make the Jones family feel that "they would have to be complete fools to do business with anyone else, regardless of the price." Convenience is the key word. If you are not making it easy for your customer to do business with you, your competition will. CAPTURING THE BUSINESS OF CONVENIENCE GENERATION S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T RO Ralph Wolff, Industry Relations, PSA

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