7 Reasons Why Communication Is Important in Retail

Milton Herman

8 minute read

Summary

Discover why good internal communication is so important for Retail:

1. Improve Customer Satisfaction

Even if they don’t complain to you directly, most unhappy customers will leave your retail store or online platform and never return after just one bad experience. Satisfied customers, on the other hand, will be more likely to purchase repeatedly from you.

So, how can good communication lead to improved customer satisfaction?

Nearly three-quarters of customers say that friendly customer service representatives can make them like a brand more. Clearly, effective communication impacts customers deeply. To improve this type of communication, work with your team to establish the proper ways of handling customer interactions. Focus on:

Answering customer questions in the store and online
Listening to and acting on customer complaints
Leveraging positive customer feedback to improve brand reputation

2. Deepen Trust in Your Brand

As a result of consistent customer satisfaction, brand trust is also enhanced, leading to repeat purchases and new customer referrals. Poor brand trust and reputation, on the other hand, can turn potential customers away. After all, if customers cannot trust the quality of your products or services, they will not spend their time or money supporting you.

Retail customer service is all about communication and understanding, so interacting and connecting with your customers will go a long way in establishing trust. Even something as simple as welcoming them when they walk in the door can establish a trustworthy bond. Give your employees the necessary confidence to provide better customer service, by providing mobile access to all internal communication channels.

Frontline Worker with a Mobile Intranet App

3. Optimize Frontline Employee Engagement

Store employees are usually the face of retail brands and as such, they need to maintain a good impression on your customer. When frontline employees are engaged, they are motivated to do their best work and are more committed to seeing their organization succeed. But on the other hand, if your employees are disengaged or indifferent, they can harm your brand image and reputation.

So, how can good communication lead to optimized employee engagement?

Bad communication can destroy frontline employee morale because they may feel disconnected or left out of important decisions. Choosing easy-to-use, united methods of communication, like a social intranet, can help your store employees feel more appreciated and involved. Make sure to use features like social communities, mobile resource centers, and profiled information sharing and notification, to boost the engagement of your employees no matter where they are.

4. Boost Employee Retention

When an organization loses an employee, it costs the organization, on average, 33% of that employee’s annual salary. In contrast, employee retention saves money and creates a valuable corporate culture of loyalty.

Associates are often overlooked and are the first concerned by high turnover rates. Looping them into the corporate culture and strategy will help them feel like part of a larger team. A strong, positive corporate culture that includes methods of communication like upward feedback, employee recognition and clear onboarding processes encourages employee retention.

Internal Communications – Measurement to Mastery

Enhance your internal communication strategy and learn the impact of communication done right.

5. Strengthen Respect Between Employees and Management

In a work environment that doesn’t prioritize teamwork or respect, employees will be more likely to quit their jobs, which can cost an organization thousands of dollars in easily avoidable employee departures.

Establishing trust between employees and senior management is very important – without multi-level communication, productivity slows down, problems go unaddressed and the work environment is less collaborative. A good way to start building trust is by establishing a strong channel of communication between retail stores and head offices to encourage upward feedback.

Additionally, employees at any level will benefit from friendly, frequent communication throughout the day. Using your employee communication platform to send interactive surveys and create comment boards, can facilitate that kind of communication.

6. Maximize Productivity

According to Forbes, employees who feel heard are nearly five times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work. Additionally, 97% of employees believe that communication has an impact on everyday tasks.

So, how can good communication lead to maximized productivity?

While there are many ways to facilitate effective communication, the most important thing is that employees stay connected throughout the day in order to collaborate and solve problems efficiently. Features like instant messaging tools, shared community calendars, and mobile document access can provide the needed flexibility to frontline employees at work. The easy and mobile access to all collaboration tools will maximize the time spent looking for information and give more room for a cohesive and productive employee collaboration.

7. Increase Revenue and Reduce Costs

Increased profit is a key goal for every business in existence. Business decisions, strategies and technologies all center around achieving that goal.

From the above-mentioned benefits, we can see that superior customer satisfaction and brand loyalty lead to more purchases, while employee engagement and retention can prevent costly employee departures and lost productivity hours. In fact, disengaged employees cost US companies up to $550 billion each year. Now imagine what your organization could achieve combining the positive outcome from improved employee and customer satisfaction!

Another simple, yet highly effective way to increase profits is to stop wasting money on unnecessary business costs. Travel costs and frequent on-site visits cost organizations billions of dollars annually. You don’t need to go out-of-town to collaborate with your field employees. In many cases, effective communication via email, chat, or video calls between employees and headquarters can completely eliminate the need for frequent in-person meetings. A strong digital workplace provides the necessary remote communication tools to ensure that all employees are aligned and at the same time reduced significantly organizational costs.

You Can Improve Retail Communication. To improve retail communication, start with your employees. When provided with opportunities for open and effective communication, they become more engaged and satisfied, and feel more valuable to your organization. In turn, they’ll be more invested in the success of your business, therefore resulting in happier customers and more prospects.

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