What do you do if customer needs in retail marketing are not being met?
Understanding that customer needs are the cornerstone of retail success is paramount. When these needs aren't met, it's not just a single sale that's lost – it's potentially a lifetime of sales. As someone involved in retail marketing, your role is to bridge the gap between what customers want and what your business offers. This means constantly evaluating and adapting your strategies to ensure alignment with consumer desires and expectations.
Regularly collecting customer feedback is essential. If needs are unmet, you must identify where the disconnect lies. This might involve surveys, comment cards, or direct conversations. Listen intently to what customers are saying about your products, services, and overall shopping experience. Acknowledge their concerns and use this information to pinpoint areas for improvement. Remember, every piece of feedback is valuable for shaping a better customer experience.
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Luna Tajik
CEO | Uniting Diverse Industries under One Vision of Global Success
People tend to share their feelings more openly with peers than with businesses directly. In ancient times, leaders often employed indirect methods to gather feedback. Just as kings would disguise themselves and mingle among the common people to hear their grievances & concerns firsthand, modern businesses can adopt similar indirect strategies to tap into the authentic sentiments of their customers. Utilizing indirect feedback methods like social media listening, customer journey mapping, competitor analysis, and frontline employee feedback provides valuable insights into customer preferences. By combining these approaches with direct methods like surveys, businesses continuously improve to better meet customer expectations.
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Ivan L.
SVP Client Success Financial Services & Retail
Action is the best answer! Firstly, you need to clarify customer's needs and get a feedback. Active interaction with your client and a real desire not to listent, but to hear him is, in my opinion, are the most fundamental thing. Then you can go straight to your Marketing Strategy, its analysis and mapping out the customer's journey from awareness to purchase. What's else? Personalize your marketing messages, create a seamless omnichannel experience and valuable content as well as prioritize customer experience at every touchpoint.
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GODWIN A. ADENIYI
Sales manager| Marketing strategist| Project manager| Data & Business Analyst | Content writer| Content creator| Passionate about Innovation and Leadership
When customer needs in retail marketing are not being met, it's essential to reassess the current strategies and make necessary adjustments. This may involve conducting market research to better understand customer preferences, gathering feedback directly from customers through surveys or reviews, analyzing sales data to identify trends and areas for improvement, and then implementing changes to product offerings, marketing tactics, or customer service processes to better align with customer needs.
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Joseph Lakew
Sales Account Manager | CO-Founder at Kese Events | Senior Sales Executive | Business Development Specialist | Start-Up Business | Sales Management | Event Manager | Marketing Management
1. Gather feedback: Start by actively seeking feedback from customers through surveys, reviews, and direct channels. 2. Analyze data: Utilize data analytics tools to analyze customer behavior and trends. 3. Reassess offerings: Review your product or service offerings to ensure they align with customer needs. 4. Enhance customer service: Invest in training and empowering your staff to deliver exceptional customer service. 5. Optimize strategies: Evaluate your marketing efforts to ensure they effectively communicate your value proposition. 6. Experience & Adaptation: Leverage customer data to personalize the shopping experience and offer relevant recommendations or promotions and Continuously monitor customer feedback.
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J K ARORA
Helping Entrepreneurs Upscale Their Business & Reduce Cost to 25% | Mentored 5k + Entrepreneurs | Founder @Cargo Movers | Customs Broker | MBA, IIFT | WCA | Toastmaster | 5 am 🥇GOLD | BNI2016 | Mentor | Sportsman 5x.
1) Reasses customer requirement , take feedback , positively, discuss with team, be open to suggestions 2) we all here to serve customers & I listen to customer issue very clamly , infact some times back a customer has raised some issue & our team come with innovative idea which has boosted our Co sales, who knows the opportunities while solving customer concern
Data analysis can reveal patterns in customer behavior that indicate their needs. Look at sales figures, website traffic, and engagement metrics to understand what's popular and what's not. If certain products are consistently ignored or certain services aren't being used, ask yourself why. Is it a matter of visibility, or is there a mismatch between what you offer and what your customers actually want? Data can often tell a story that customers themselves might not articulate.
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Mina yazdanipour
Researcher, Market Researcher
finding the reason base on unhappy customers. We have to see which of these reasons go back to our 4p wrong procedures. For example, was our pricing policy wrong? After analyzing these issues and finding the cause of dissatisfaction, that item should be corrected and communicate should be provided effectively. And honestly, in the redistribution of products, we should solve the weakness of dissatisfaction, and we should definitely conduct a survey through the voice of the customer and get feedback from customers in order to turn the problem of the organization into a strength.
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Simon Peter
Senior Manager Retail Marketing; Zambia & Kenya at Cellulant | Growth Marketing | Customer Development | Fintech | Strategic Partnerships | Retail Marketing Ops | Generative AI
Data analysis can reveal patterns in customer behavior that indicate their needs. Look at sales figures, website traffic, and engagement metrics to understand what's popular and what's not. If certain products are consistently ignored or certain services aren't being used, ask yourself why. Is it a matter of visibility, or is there a mismatch between what you offer and what your customers actually want? Data can often tell a story that customers themselves might not articulate.
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Naomi Tucker, MBA
Innovative Leadership & Marketing Consultant | Agile, Scrum Master, Campaign Creator | Your Brand's Storyteller
Unlocking Insights: Harnessing the Power of Data 📊 In the realm of business, data analysis is a key to understanding customer needs. By examining sales figures, website traffic, and engagement metrics, we unveil patterns that illuminate preferences. If certain products or services go unnoticed, we delve deeper, questioning visibility or alignment with customer desires. Data narrates a story, revealing nuances beyond customer articulation. Let's listen attentively to its tale and adapt accordingly for enriched customer experiences. 🌟
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Guilherme Vieira
Especialista de Publicidade e Trade Marketing com Enfoque em Business Intelligence
In today's data-driven world, businesses possess a treasure trove of information that holds the key to understanding customer needs and preferences. Among the myriad tools available for gaining such insights, data analysis stands out as a powerful method for uncovering patterns in customer behavior and identifying areas for improvement. By harnessing the wealth of data at your disposal—from sales figures and website traffic to engagement metrics—you can gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience and what falls short.
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Udit Udit
Digital Marketer, Web Designer, Ads expert, Developer, PHP, CSS, Sass, Less, Wordpress Expert
In today's data-driven landscape, businesses have a wealth of information at their fingertips, and data analysis is instrumental in unlocking insights into customer needs. Simon Peter, Guilherme Vieira, and Naomi Tucker all emphasize the significance of examining various metrics such as sales figures, website traffic, and engagement metrics to uncover patterns in customer behavior. By delving into this data, businesses can identify what resonates with their audience and what needs improvement. Additionally, data analysis can reveal nuances beyond what customers articulate, as mentioned by Naomi Tucker. By listening attentively to the story that data tells, businesses can adapt their strategies to create enriched customer experiences.
If your analysis shows that customer needs have evolved, it's time to update your offerings. This could mean adding new products, tweaking existing ones, or even discontinuing items that no longer serve your market. Your goal should be to keep your inventory fresh and relevant, ensuring that it resonates with current consumer trends and preferences. Staying adaptable and responsive to change is key in retail marketing.
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Guilherme Vieira
Especialista de Publicidade e Trade Marketing com Enfoque em Business Intelligence
In the fast-paced world of retail, staying ahead of the curve is essential for success. As consumer preferences evolve and market dynamics shift, businesses must continually adapt their offerings to meet the changing needs of their audience. One of the most effective ways to do this is through regular updates to your product lineup. Whether it's introducing new products, refining existing ones, or discontinuing items that no longer resonate with your market, keeping your offerings fresh and relevant is crucial for staying competitive in today's retail landscape.
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Logiya Sundar
Performance Marketing Strategist | Gen AI | Specializing in Social Media Growth & PPC Optimization | Driving Engagement & Sales for Brands Online
If your analysis reveals that customer needs have evolved, it's crucial to update your offerings accordingly. Consider adding new products, adjusting existing ones, or discontinuing items that no longer align with market demands. Keep your inventory fresh and relevant to resonate with current consumer trends and preferences. Remaining adaptable and responsive to change is essential in retail marketing to stay competitive and meet evolving customer expectations.
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Rohit Bhargava
Keynote Speaker | Trend Curator | Non-Obvious Company Founder | Best-Selling Author | Listener | INC Magazine Columnist
Maintain agility in your retail marketing approach by staying responsive to changing consumer preferences. Embrace a mindset of continuous improvement, adjusting your product assortment to match evolving market dynamics. By remaining adaptable, you position yourself to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.
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Houston Golden
I’LL MAKE YOU A LINKEDIN INFLUENCER. 🔥 𝗕𝗔𝗠𝗙.𝗰𝗼𝗺 🔥 LinkedIn’s Golden Child. Half billion views. Forbes Top 12 Innovators. Author of The LinkedIn Bible. My kids say I’m hilarious.
Implement a flexible approach to product development that allows for rapid iteration and adaptation based on evolving customer needs and market trends. By continuously refining and innovating your offerings, you can stay ahead of competitors and maintain relevance in a dynamic marketplace.
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SAMIR AL SHALABI
Administrative manager
In order to be able to maintain your position in the market and achieve successful and rapid sales, you must work on choosing the product that you will put on the market based on the desires and aspirations of consumers and take the initiative in directing your interests to new products that satisfy their desires and meet their aspirations. This means good stock and a new product.
Your staff are the front line of your retail operation. They interact with customers daily and are instrumental in meeting their needs. Providing comprehensive training on product knowledge, customer service skills, and problem-solving techniques will empower them to address customer concerns effectively. When your team understands how to meet and exceed customer expectations, they contribute significantly to customer satisfaction and retention.
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Sakshi K S
Conjuring niche-specific copy spells that boost your brand's online allure!
Retail staff is the front face of your business. They must be highly hospitable and must genuinely care for customers. Training them with soft skills, tone of speech, and how to influence customers with kindness is crucial. The kinder the staff - the higher the possibility of purchase. Staff must not only think about their personal goals and the retailer's goals but also care for the needs of the customers. This is the most vital way to increase brand loyalty and repurchase from the same retailer.
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Suzanne Olson
CEO at Brilliant Workplaces | Helping brand marketers with proven systems for generating sales and creating loyal customers | Top 25 CX Professional Globally (CX Magazine) | CCXP | Former retailer and brewery owner.
Training can be challenging in retail, because if they are off the sales floor in a class or on the computer, they aren't serving customers or making sales. My best advice: - Look at the training modules and content blocks - Break these into micro lessons that can be taught in pre-shift huddles - Reinforce these microlessons in daily communications or leader messaging. This will ensure that the new information will be "lived" and isn't a one and done training class.
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Naomi Tucker, MBA
Innovative Leadership & Marketing Consultant | Agile, Scrum Master, Campaign Creator | Your Brand's Storyteller
Empower Your Frontline: Investing in Staff Training 🛠️ In retail, your staff are the face of your operation. They engage with customers daily, shaping their experience. Comprehensive training on product knowledge, customer service, and problem-solving equips them to address concerns adeptly. When armed with these skills, they not only meet but exceed expectations, fostering satisfaction and loyalty. Let's invest in our team, empowering them to elevate the customer journey. 🌟
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Zafeer SHAMSUDEEN
Speaker | Commercial Strategist | Management Consultant | FMCG Sales Expert - GCC | Mentor | Empowering & Transforming Talents | Believes in Integrity | Honesty | Empathy | Humility | Positivity |
Having well-trained staff is crucial for the success of any retail operation. These frontline employees are the face of the business and play a vital role in shaping the customer experience. By investing in comprehensive training programs that cover product knowledge, customer service skills, and problem-solving techniques, retailers can empower their team to address customer concerns effectively. Product knowledge training is essential as it enables staff to confidently answer customer questions, make informed recommendations, and provide detailed information about the merchandise being sold. This not only builds trust with customers but also helps drive sales by showcasing a deep understanding of the products offered.
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Callum Morrison SFHEA
In retail, the brand ambassador, the oil that greases the sale, the customer interaction is probably not the logo on the goods, but the staff. The differentiator in any retail business is the staff interaction. Therefore, hiring staff that are willing to be trained, is paramount to success. There are hundreds of retailers of clothes, of other goods, of foods and drinks, and therefore, training to sell in a particular way is a differentiating style. Style in as much as what to do, why, where, when, which, how and to whom, are the key elements of training - which need constant reinforcement. Adding to the differentiated approach as a process to the staff manual, ensures, it can be taugh, retaught, and improved - all to assure sales.
The shopping experience is as important as the products themselves. If customers feel neglected or frustrated, they're less likely to return. Enhance the retail environment by ensuring it's welcoming, easy to navigate, and conducive to shopping. This might include store layout changes, improving signage, or streamlining the checkout process. A positive shopping experience can turn an unsatisfied customer into a loyal one.
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Naomi Tucker, MBA
Innovative Leadership & Marketing Consultant | Agile, Scrum Master, Campaign Creator | Your Brand's Storyteller
Elevate Every Visit: Crafting Memorable Shopping Experiences 🛍️ In retail, the shopping journey is as vital as the products themselves. A neglected or frustrating experience can deter return visits. Enhance your retail environment, making it welcoming, intuitive to navigate, and conducive to shopping. From store layout adjustments to streamlined checkouts, every detail matters. A positive experience transforms the unsatisfied into loyal patrons. Let's create moments that linger, fostering lasting connections with our customers. 🌟
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Kike Sanchis Alonso
Digital marketing and strategy specialist "Artificial Intelligence Marketing"
Mejorar la experiencia Optimiza la experiencia de compra en todos los canales. Esto incluye la experiencia en la tienda física, el sitio web, y la interacción móvil. Mejoras como un checkout más rápido, mejor navegación en el sitio web, y una experiencia más personalizada pueden hacer una gran diferencia.
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Jonathan Doctor
Third Generation PGA Professional Sales Director - CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT
An owner is not just in business to sell. They have a dream. A vision. They don't just want customers. You are earning a place in a community. Your vision for your business is not just about the product, but how the product affects PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. Do the candles you are making and selling make people happy? Are they being used in everyones favorite yoga studio? Are they on tables at a small french bistro? Are they being sold by students so the school band can go to the Macy's parade? This is the power of your vision, and the atmosphere of your space should reflect the vision more than the sale.
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Muneeb Anwar
Operations Manager at Hasoob Technology (Zowar) | Intl. Business & HRM Student at Ulster University
We prioritize creating a welcoming and easy shopping environment. Improvements like layout changes and better signage enhance the experience. Our goal is to turn unsatisfied customers into loyal ones through positive interactions.
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Ashima Bhatia
Assistant manager / Internal Auditor
A customer focus is critical for business development. It’s important to utilize analytical insights, market experience, and customer inputs to decide what products or services to make, what benefits they will offer to customers, and whether customers will value the benefits – at least enough to make it commercially viable.
Taking action is the final step in addressing unmet customer needs. Implement the changes you've identified as necessary based on feedback and data analysis. Monitor the impact of these changes closely to ensure they're having the desired effect. It's important to be patient; some changes may yield immediate results, while others might take time to reflect in sales and customer satisfaction levels.
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Harvinder Singh
✨🏅272 X Linkedin Top Voice 🏅✨|| 8% in Top Generative AI & Top Product Analysis Voice || Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Voice || 10% in Top Business Transformation Voice ||
1. Identify Customer Needs: Analyze feedback and data to pinpoint gaps. 2. Develop Solutions: Tailor strategies like Nike's complaint resolution process. 3. Train Staff: Equip employees like Caprese's attentive agents for active listening. 4. Implement Changes: Act on insights, like Amazon's inventory software adoption. 5. Monitor Impact: Track results, as Nike did with follow-ups for customer satisfaction.
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Kike Sanchis Alonso
Digital marketing and strategy specialist "Artificial Intelligence Marketing"
Implementar cambios Una vez identificados los cambios necesarios, implémentalos de manera eficiente. Usa la tecnología para automatizar procesos donde sea posible y asegúrate de que todos los cambios se realicen pensando en mejorar la experiencia del cliente. Monitorea los efectos de estos cambios para asegurarte de que estén teniendo el impacto deseado.
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Naomi Tucker, MBA
Innovative Leadership & Marketing Consultant | Agile, Scrum Master, Campaign Creator | Your Brand's Storyteller
Driving Transformation: Bringing Change to Life 🚀 With insights in hand, it's time for action. Implement the changes pinpointed through feedback and data analysis. Monitor closely, ensuring they yield the desired impact. Patience is key; while some changes deliver immediate results, others require time to manifest in sales and satisfaction levels. Let's embrace progress, fostering a culture of adaptation and improvement. 🌟
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Holly F.
Founder, DIMMI DIMMI I International Fashion Business Management
Implement change! If your current retail marketing efforts, targeted towards your core consumer, are not contributing to measurable results, you are likely experiencing customer alienation- including loss of engagement & sales. It is time to re-strategize your retail marketing based on your own company's core demographics + spending, shopping habits.
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Luiz Machado
Senior Field Marketing Manager
You need to test in real life. Roll out the identified changes in a phased manner, allowing for adjustments and feedback collection along the way. Communicate the changes clearly to customers through marketing campaigns, in-store signage, and website updates.
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Anirban Basu
specialist - business analytics, RTM, distribution, modern retail | consultant - competency and performance structures | turnaround strategist | mentor | faculty | author | L&D@Nestlé AOA | founder@boilingpoint212
1. First, understand the retailer's business objectives, what are the obstacles to attain those business objectives? 2. Second, what are his or her personal needs (e.g. ego, want to look good in his or her organization etc.)? 3. Once the business objectives & personal needs are identified, align your #4P (Product Assortment, Price, Promotion & Place) to the customers business needs. Align your KPIs with the retailer's KPIs. This is the most difficult step 4. Once mutually agreed upon, undertake in-store execution of 4Ps flawlessly. The execution will certainly be owned, supported by the retailer also as he or she is completely aligned to the plan. 5. If you can deliver the business objectives, you will satisfy his or her personal needs also
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TARIQ EL YASSOURI
Group Director. MIT Certified. Ex-Maserati, Ex-Mercedes-Benz.
Remember, each piece of feedback provides valuable insights that can guide you in shaping a better overall customer experience. By prioritizing customer feedback and acting on it effectively, you can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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Anubhav Srivastava
Entrepreneur | Brand Strategist | Development
I think the marketing is a replica of the efforts put-in by the retail store or the retail chain to showcase their Differentiated Product Value which the consumer is going to continue adopting therefore it is essential that the change in the line of products, the offerings and the delivery services, and so on should be brought into existence if the retails are not giving the kind of ROI they are supposed to! Unlike the D2C brands which possibly have other ways to promote and can value add in so many ways, the Retail Brands have to get into a head on fight with the rest of the retail stores and the value is generally driven by variety of services and discounting offers, therefore the change in the product offerings is crucial!
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Mandeep Vats
Most important is feedback if the product is already in the market and not meeting needs. We should always go back to product management team and try to understand the "Persona"/ target segment they selected for finalizing features of the product. It is worthwhile to re evaluate the Market research and the data sources used for product features. Product not meeting needs in retail could be because of "mis matched" need of customer vs what is offered. There can be more factors like "messaging" in marketing collaterals, customer education.
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Emma Linaker
Fractional CMO/CCO | Growth Strategist | Ex-Google & Ogilvy | 25+ Years in Marketing | Digital Transformation Expert | Middle East & Asia Specialist | Crisis & Reputation Expert | Speaker
1. You need to do a Competitor’s Analysis to understand what they are doing well in meeting customer needs. This can provide valuable benchmarking insights. It would also help you identify gaps in your strategy and opportunities for improvement. 2. Also, Meeting customer needs is an ongoing process. Regularly monitoring feedback, analyzing data, and making necessary adjustments ensures you stay responsive to evolving customer preferences and market trends.