The primary responsibility of any retailer is to ensure that customers are happy. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell how shoppers feel about your store simply by watching them as they browse the items in your display cases. There are other ways to measure customer satisfaction, however. Here are a few ideas:
1. Social media monitoring
You may think of social media as a way to get out information about your products and sales, but it's also a free customer satisfaction measurement tool. By doing searches for your business's name on sites like Facebook, Yelp and Twitter, you can see whether your customers are boasting about how excellent your service is or lodging complaints about your company. In terms of social media, monitoring isn't enough – either you or a social media expert on your team should be thanking customers for their praise and offering to help shoppers who had a less than satisfactory experience.
2. In-store observations
While many customers won't feel comfortable voicing their complaints directly to a member of staff, it's important to keep an eye on shoppers in-store to make sure they are happy. You can do this without being obtrusive by reminding your store managers, cashiers and lower-level employees to be watchful when manning the floor. If they see a customer frowning at a messy display table, for instance, they can take note and bring up cleanliness and organization at the next staff meeting.
3. Anonymity is crucial
Customers are much more likely to give honest feedback if they are able to do so anonymously. The easiest way to solicit feedback without asking for names or personal information is by placing a comment box at the register or amongst your jewelry displays, or you can provide customers with a link to an online anonymous survey. If you have the capabilities, you can even place this survey on your website, though you'll want to remind customers that it's completely anonymous.
4. Secret shoppers
There are certain services that offer what's known as "secret shopping." Essentially, this type of program employs a person to visit a store and pretend to be a normal, everyday shopper. In reality, they are taking note of their experience from the moment they walk in to the second they leave. Their feedback can be collected and sent to a manager or store owner to be analyzed, giving you a glimpse into the eyes of a shopper.
