Well, hot spots have to be exploited. In the previous article of
, looking at the self-salvation of brands in the era of "new retail" from "The Birth of an Actor" (Part 1), it was mentioned that retail returns to its essence, and this essence is human relationships.
people are sales staff, and love is customer relationship. So today in this article we will talk about customer relations.
Following London and New York, Cartier's new RÉSONANCES DE CARTIER high-end jewelry series will present a wonderful high-end jewelry symphony at Fosun Art Center, a new art and cultural landmark on the Bund in Shanghai from 19th to 27th. With rare gems as notes and rich creativity as the score, more than 400 high-end jewelry pieces, including the RÉSONANCES DE CARTIER series, compose a movement full of songs of life under Cartier’s master baton.
The high-end jewelry exhibition of luxury brands is definitely the most direct test of customer relationships, and this kind of test has become more and more frequent in recent years.
Take Cartier as an example. This French brand set up its first counter in Shanghai in 1992. After 25 years of intensive cultivation in the Chinese market, it has become the most successful in China (I personally think that no one is the most successful). A high-end watch and jewelry brand, it is also the well-deserved "eldest son" cash cow of Li Feng Group. Its main way to "generate relationships" with customers is in addition to direct sales or dealers (such as Bailijian) stores all over the country, which is every year 1-2 top global or regional jewelry exhibitions.
Cartier’s latest high-end jewelry exhibition in Shanghai was the Cartier Magicien series high-end jewelry exhibition at No. 1 on the Bund in Shanghai a year ago (November 2016). During this period, there will still be jewelry exhibitions in other countries. For example, in April 2017, the Etourdissant-themed jewelry exhibition was held at the Paris Museum of Fine Arts in Singapore.
The jewelry exhibition is not simply an "exhibition" where flowers bloom and the moon blooms. She is a campaign - a battle to harvest wealth. She is an event - a sales figure assigned to each store. Even the selling event on each sales head.
Based on the author's experience in the industry, jewelry exhibitions are a disaster for most front-line sales staff. Except for a few senior sales staff in each store who have big customers, the vast majority of sales staff want to work in the industry. It is almost impossible to sell high-end jewelry in a few days with a unit price that is dozens or even hundreds of times that of the daily sales in the store. is an almost impossible task for . In fact, often before the jewelry exhibition, the exhibits have been previewed in advance by the sales staff who have the resources of large customers through various methods to target customers with purchasing power. The customers who are finally included on the invitation list are more or less interested in purchasing. , so rather than saying it is a jewelry exhibition, it is better to say that is a celebration moment accompanied by jewelry, food, celebrities, and beautiful scenery.
Without hard work, there is no harvest.
Cartier is already a veteran of jewelry exhibitions. It is the most luxurious in terms of specifications and processes. It is easy to handle the jewelry feast to generate a sales figure of over 100 million. is not difficult for such a brand, or how can we say that it is the competition? What about the most successful brand that rivals can't match? This relies on its decades of brand penetration, year after year customer cultivation and the daily accumulation of thousands of employees. 80% of 's sales are created by 20% of its employees. This theory is reflected in the jewelry exhibition. Most vividly.
is so famous that we are prepared for danger in times of peace.
After all, today’s China is not the China she first met back then. With consumption upgrading, more and more middle-class consumer groups have emerged, coupled with the rise of younger consumer groups who have grown up in the Internet era, "the older generation "How can luxury brands continue to "maintain relationships" with consumers in this "new retail" era and win in the future?
There are many theories and many opinions, but there is always one thing that cannot be avoided, and that is - digitization.
The following article from BOF titled "Digitising The Sales Associate" explains this aspect.
For one New England woman, an avid shopper in Boston and Manhattan, her friendships with sales associates at luxury boutiques and upscale department stores go back as far as 20 years. “I have relationships with people that are insane,” she says, remembering one longstanding sales associate from a major department store — known for having the best Chanel at the best prices — who would open for business early on Saturday mornings for her most loyal shoppers.
For one New England woman who shops in Boston and Manhattan, her friendships with sales associates at luxury specialty stores and upscale department stores date back 20 years. “I had relationships with incredible people,” she said, recalling a longtime sales associate at a major department store—who had the best Chanel at the best prices—who would shop for her on Saturday mornings. The most loyal customers are open for business.
Some sales associates get her first access to new deliveries and sales. Some hold items until later in the season when discounts deepen, or alert her when something is returned and immediately jumps to a major discount. “They send you pictures, 15 to 20 at a time, saying 'This is available on sale,'" she explains. Now her Millennial daughter, living in California, is developing her own personal relationships with sales associates on both coasts of the country. "They know what I want and what my style is," she says. They also help her score designer pieces at discounts.
Some sales assistants may let her receive new product notifications as soon as possible, and some salespeople will "sleep" certain products until they notify her when discounts are available, or Notify her when a sale is coming just before a sale. “They send you 15 to 20 pictures at a time and say, ‘This is on sale,’” she explains. Now, her 2000-year-old daughter lives in California and is building her own private network with sales partners across the country. relation. "They knew what I wanted and what my style was," she said.
Clienteling, or the art of developing long-term relationships with key customers based on data about their preferences, behaviors and past purchases, is nothing new, as this mother-daughter duo demonstrate. But as the shopping habits of digitally savvy Millennials — and those who have adopted a Millennial mindset — have evolved, so too have sales associates.
As this mother-daughter duo demonstrates, the art of building long-term relationships with key accounts is nothing new—customer preferences, behaviors, and past purchases. But as the shopping habits of millennials in the digital age - and those who have adopted a millennial mindset - have changed, so have sales consultants.
Facing a wave of online competition, traditional brick-and-mortar boutiques and department stores are fighting back by digitizing the powerful relationships that often exist between seasoned sales associates and their best customers. Of course, sales associates have long used services like text message — and increasingly WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat — to engage with customers. But now stores are equipping them with specialized training and clienteling software designed to optimize their efforts.
Faced with a wave of online competition, traditional brick-and-mortar stores and department stores are fighting back by going digital, The relationship often exists between experienced salespeople and their best customers. Of course, sales associates have long used text messaging — and increasingly WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat — to engage with customers. But now, stores are equipping them with specialized training and customer service software to optimize their work.
"Everyone has to think differently now, and the style advisor is the same thing," says Saks Fifth Avenue president Marc Metrick, referring to the New York-based luxury department store's approximately 4,500 sales associates, which it calls "style advisors."
Marc, President of Saks Fifth Avenue "Everyone has a different idea now, and so do sales consultants," Metrick said, referring to the roughly 4,500 sales associates at New York's luxury department stores who call them "fashion consultants."
"I can spend all day long on tech to try to compete with Amazon and I'll lose," he says. "Or I can spend all my money on marketing and packaging and try to go after Net-a-Porter, and it would be a tough fight. But what I want to do is take my core competency, which is my style advisors and the relationships they build with their core customers, and I want to extend that into the digital space.” Indeed, Saks now encourages its sales associates to become “mini-marketers” across all platforms.
“I could spend all day competing with Amazon on technology and I would definitely lose,” he said. “Or I could spend all my money on marketing and On packaging, trying to catch up to Net-a-Porter, it's going to be an uphill battle. " But what I want to do is bring my core competencies, which is my sales consultants and the relationships they build with their core customers. , I want to extend it into the digital space. In fact, Saks now encourages its sales associates to become "mini marketers" across all platforms.
At New York luxury fashion and beauty boutique Fivestory, founder Claire Olshan decided to boost her investment in her sales staff two years ago, replacing three sales associates with personnel with higher experience levels (the team now numbers five including the manager). “You have to interview a lot of people and find the special ones," she says. "We hit our customers now digitally multiple times a day whether that [is through] our mailers or our Instagram," says Olshan. "They then will respond to their sales person with a screenshot or something and say, 'I just saw this' or 'Can you hold this for me?' or 'Can you send this to my house?'"
Claire Orr, founder of Fivestory, a luxury fashion and beauty boutique in New York Claire Olshan decided two years ago to invest more in her sales staff, replacing three sales associates with people with higher experience levels (the team currently numbers five, including managers). “You have to interview a lot of people to find that special person,” she said. “ Our clients are now communicating digitally several times a day, whether it’s through email or Instagram.” “Then they’ll use screenshots,” she said. or something to respond to their salesperson and say 'I just saw this' or 'Can you pick this up for me?'" or "Can you deliver this to my house?"
In 2016, Fivestory also invested in software from NetSuite to track customers and the sales associates' message conversations in one database. "We have more information at our fingertips to understand the customer more, whereas before we had to fill in the gaps," she says, adding that her associates can now maintain more relationships with more clients as a result.
In 2016, Fivestory also invested in NetSuite software, which tracks messaging conversations between customers and sales associates in a database. "We have more information that allows us to understand our customers better than before we had to fill in the gaps," she said, adding that her colleagues can now maintain more relationships with more customers.
At Saks, too, a partnership with retail technology platform Salesfloor, launched almost two years ago, has made its style advisors more efficient. The software connects online shoppers on desktop and mobile with style advisors in their area and at their nearest stores. It's a way to build human relationships with online shoppers, particularly Millennials, who are “not used to being clientele,” says Metrick, and aren't always aware of the benefits of forging relationships with sales associates.
At Saks, a partnership with retail technology platform Salesfloor launched two years ago to make its sales consultants more efficient. The software connects online shoppers on desktop and mobile with sales advisors and nearest stores in their area. It's a way to build relationships, especially among millennials, who "are not used to being customers," Metrick said, nor do they know the benefits of building relationships with sales partners.
The results are promising: about 10 percent of online shoppers who interact with associates through Salesfloor end up making a purchase, much higher than Saks.com's overall conversion rate of approximately 1.7 percent. (The website gets about 150 million visitors per year.) Average order values are about double the website's average of just under $500. And for online shoppers who interact with these style advisors through Salesfloor, who can address fit and sizing, the return rate can be half that of Saks's online purchases. (Metrick declined to share the overall return rate, but it can be as high as 30 to 40 percent for e-commerce.)
The results are promising: : About 10% of all online purchases of users interact with colleagues through Salesfloor, which is much higher than Saks.com’s overall conversion rate (approximately 1.7%). (The site receives approximately 150 million visits per year.) The average order value is roughly double the site's average price of less than $500. For online shoppers who interact with these sales consultants through Salesfloor, response times can be half as fast as online shopping at Saks. (Metrick declined to share overall returns, but e-commerce could be as high as 30% - 40%.)
Responding to requests from the sales staff, the company also recently launched an internal app called Saks Connect, which allows sales associates to view an item's availability across store and online inventory and pull together an order for a client from different sources. As a result, the percentage of Saks Fifth Avenue transactions captured on its clientele system, which is a profile of shoppers and their purchase history, rose to approximately 80 percent from 60 percent. “Eventually that can go into our recommendation engine and help our styling advisors formulate specific recommendations for that client," said Metrick.
In response to requests from sales associates, the company also recently launched an internal app called "Saks Connect" that allows sales associates to communicate in stores and online View the sales status of items in the catalog and place orders for customers from various sources. As a result, Saks Fifth Avenue's transactions as a percentage of its customer system, an important characteristic of shoppers and their purchasing history, rose from 60% to 80%. "Ultimately, this can feed into our recommendation engine and help our styling consultants develop specific recommendations for clients," Metrick said.
“This is about the style advisor being as smart and as capable as they possibly can… I don’t invest in gimmicky technology,” he adds. “The people that work in my stores, they are my technology. They are my differentiator ."
It's about empowering sales consultants to be as smart as they can be...I don't invest in gimmick technology," he added. "The people who work in my store, they are my technology. is the core competitiveness that differentiates me from my competitors."
MTR view
At this moment, in the new space full of rhythmic beauty on the Bund, perhaps Cartier's sales staff are drinking and talking with the distinguished guests staying at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel about trying on those priceless and beautiful gems, but I think that while the brand is confident about winning this jewelry show, it may also be thinking about how to make the distribution outside the jewelry show venue. Thousands of sales staff in Cartier stores across the country will build better and more lasting relationships with a wider range of customers every day in the future.
This is also an era of "new retail", which is an indispensable task for every brand. Avoided topics
Part of the original English text of this article comes from BOF, written by MTR and Terry. Compiled and written by Tian.
Terry Tian:
MTR chief marketing officer, new retail expert, with 10 years of experience in luxury retail management operations and key account maintenance, and has served top luxury brands such as Hermes, LVMH, Tiffany, and Chanel.
