With the weakened state of our economy, there are several retailers that are turning to "conversion"(percentage of people that enter the store that make a purchase) as a primary statistical measure. Some are even initiating disciplinary action on Managers not reaching company standards. I have heard conversion goals as high as 20%. This can all be very scary. I was told early in my retail career to never make excuses to the state of my business, but instead offer what is happening to improve it. Unfortunately, "People are just not coming in" is becoming a VERY popular statement. It is only natural for a retailer to find the focus that can eliminate that excuse.
I once ran a store that was a high-volume store that had fallen from its former glory to a middle volume. When I took over that store, the overwhelming notion from the staff was that customer traffic just wasn't what it used to be. I put a greeter in the front of the store and told him to physically count the people that walked in during his shift. He was amazed that close to 100 people walked in during his morning shift. The problem in that store wasn't the traffic, it was the complacency of the staff dealing with their down-time. I began to ask everyone on my team what was a fair percentage of customers we would actually make a sale to. I was amazed when I got numbers as high as 50 or 60%. They told me, "I just can't see 40 people coming in here and not buying anything". Back then, that is exactly the thought process I was trying to provoke. I believe many companies are attempting the same. The idea isn't to create disciplinary action, it is to minimize the complacency and to stress just how important every person that walks through the door truly is in today's economy. Unfortunately, when you have to roll out an "idea" to thousands of employees, that "idea" is almost certain to get lost in translation. Companies are actually losing really great employees because this idea has not been managed effectively.
Personally, I very strongly disagree with conversion being used as a measurable. I still believe the "old-school" average dollar sale, and units per customer (or whatever version you are familiar with) really indicate the quality of your staff. As I said before, I think excuses are not what people want to hear, they want to hear what is being done. If you are a manager working with conversion and you feel it is a struggle, you have two things to look at. First, there are people on your staff that would rather finish what they were doing than acknowledge the customer....walk around the mall, it is mind-boggling just how often you will get ignored in these times. Second, what can you do within your four walls to impact business (merchandise, train, POP marketing, lighting , music, etc.), or even outside your four walls! This is the time to literally think outside the box!!
I once ran a store that was a high-volume store that had fallen from its former glory to a middle volume. When I took over that store, the overwhelming notion from the staff was that customer traffic just wasn't what it used to be. I put a greeter in the front of the store and told him to physically count the people that walked in during his shift. He was amazed that close to 100 people walked in during his morning shift. The problem in that store wasn't the traffic, it was the complacency of the staff dealing with their down-time. I began to ask everyone on my team what was a fair percentage of customers we would actually make a sale to. I was amazed when I got numbers as high as 50 or 60%. They told me, "I just can't see 40 people coming in here and not buying anything". Back then, that is exactly the thought process I was trying to provoke. I believe many companies are attempting the same. The idea isn't to create disciplinary action, it is to minimize the complacency and to stress just how important every person that walks through the door truly is in today's economy. Unfortunately, when you have to roll out an "idea" to thousands of employees, that "idea" is almost certain to get lost in translation. Companies are actually losing really great employees because this idea has not been managed effectively.
Personally, I very strongly disagree with conversion being used as a measurable. I still believe the "old-school" average dollar sale, and units per customer (or whatever version you are familiar with) really indicate the quality of your staff. As I said before, I think excuses are not what people want to hear, they want to hear what is being done. If you are a manager working with conversion and you feel it is a struggle, you have two things to look at. First, there are people on your staff that would rather finish what they were doing than acknowledge the customer....walk around the mall, it is mind-boggling just how often you will get ignored in these times. Second, what can you do within your four walls to impact business (merchandise, train, POP marketing, lighting , music, etc.), or even outside your four walls! This is the time to literally think outside the box!!
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