Many store owners have security cameras in their stores to catch and deter would be thieves; but I think if that’s all the cameras are being used for, the owners are passing up more than the potential value of lost goods.
One of my favourite book recommendations is Paco Underhill’s Why We Buy. Paco has made himself the ultimate voyeuristic career. Starting out discovering how people experience public spaces, and how municipalities could better design public spaces for maximum use, he brought his knowledge to the retail world helping us better know how people experience their shopping environments, simply by watching them.
Customers Don’t Go Down the Aisle Cheek to Cheek
He brings to light, but really we’ve all experienced this, what he calls the Butt Brush Test. Which describes the moment when you have two people browsing opposing shelves in an aisle. Slowly they side step closer and closer to each other. Until eventually… they bump into each other, or brush butts, depending on how wide your aisle is. Research tells us that after this occurs, generally, both people leave without picking up any item.
His book will teach you a number of things about store signage, why baskets should be placed throughout your store rather than just at the entrance, but possibly the best advice is to simply watch your customers experience your space. Roll back the security tape and see what you can learn.
Stop Guessing, Watch Your Customer Experience In Action
You’ll witness your highest traffic zones and which others aren’t, which items should be moved to more accessible shelves, where people wander aimlessly and could use some directional signage. Following customers from one item to the next might offer ideas for promotional pairing.
Simply watching how your customers experience your company’s environment can help you better know how to serve them. And it doesn’t only work for retail environments. You can watch how customers use your office waiting area. Do they watch the tv? Read the magazines? Would phone charging outlets and coffee service be a better amenity? Can customers easily find your washrooms, or do they wander aimlessly into potentially security risk areas?
Was Software The Customer Experience Answer?
But, what about online retailers or SAAS companies? Customer experience is very much a known concern in the software and online world. Analytics software allows you to track users journeys throughout your websites. Seeing which pages they go to, how much time they spend on a page. Which buttons they use, links they click. You’ll be able to witness when they’re lost, providing you opportunities to help them find what they’re looking for quicker.
Intuit has been watching their customers experience their products for years with their Follow-Me-Home program in which they watch customers simply use their programs – in their own environment. This allows them to identify which areas customers find useful, which are never visited, and when they have frustration not finding what they’re looking for. Which helps them improve future iterations.
The Value of Your Customer Service Experience
Statistics say that 81% of businesses feel that Customer Experience is a competitive differentiator. 45% of businesses expect that Customer Experience will be a business priority in the next five years. 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better experience. And 92% of Customers would abandon a company completely after a series of negative experiences.
Ultimately, the National Retail Foundation reports that theft accounted for roughly 1.6% of all sales last year. Improving Customer Experience increases revenues 2-7% and profitability 1-2%.
While security cameras may save you from losses to theft, they could be helping you gain so much more in customer experience intelligence, and potentially much more value in the way of increased customer satisfaction and sales… simply by watching.