The Grande Takeaway from a Retail Leadership Tour

Welcome back. I’m assuming you’ve read the Four Large Takeaways. At least I hope you did, because interactions between retailers and shoppers as well as those between retailers and manufacturers are important ones. You are now ready to graduate to the “Grande.” This final observation is of the “Do Not Pass Go” variety. There are a few golden rules in marketing, and this is one:

Listen and do
With apologies to Vincent Van Gogh, it’s symbolic that we all have two ears and one mouth: it’s an indication as to the proportion to which they should be used. For the mathematically challenged, that means we should listen twice as much as we speak. It’s an equation you’d better get, too, because if you’re not listening to customers and acting on what they say, you need to stop reading and start listening. Losing touch with your shoppers will put you into the past tense. Guaranteed.

VOC and CTQs
Six Sigma, the popular quality program used by the likes of GE and Motorola, has a term for “Listen and do.” It’s a formal process to help Green Belts and Black Belts hear the Voice of the Customer (VOC) and then translate that information into Critical to Quality (CTQ) activities that fulfill the shoppers’ wants.  It took me six months and five certification exams to get my Green Belt, but I’m offering you a CliffsNotes version of the program – get the VOC, identify and then accomplish the CTQs, and you’ll be in a better place. And that’s a guarantee.

One real lesson from the streets of NYC
The common denominator in an afternoon of racing between some of the finest retail operations in the world was that anyone successful was doing a great job of listening to their shoppers and then doing something about what they heard. Bold moves, too. Like pulling the plug on the cash registers because shoppers hated waiting in line. C. Wonder in Soho armed salespeople with an iPod Touch, essentially turning their sales staff into mobile cash registers (and then getting a 22% conversion rate on buyers when they historically were doing between 7% and 8%).

What about chain drug giant Duane Reade – how do they behave on Wall Street? Same idea. Busy lunchtime shoppers wanted their shoes shined and their nails done, ergo, more shoppers at Duane Reade. They have a pretty good lunch thing going on there, too.

And what about that really cool mega-store/mega-restaurant in Manhattan called Eataly? Yep. Shoppers raised their voices and asked for simplified checkout and for Eataly to stock their favorite Italian products – from dishes and toys to fine chocolates and risotto, and their wish was granted.

Some online retailers are taking the idea to a whole new level, listening and responding by having shoppers do some of the heavy lifting that has traditionally fallen in the store’s court. Threadless.com gives aspiring designers a chance to have their work seen and potentially produced while Mod Cloth offers a “Be the Buyer” functionality that allows shoppers to vote on which vintage products Mod Cloth should stock and sell. These guys are not only listening, they’re handing shoppers the keys to departments like purchasing, procurement and marketing.

So what’s your process for hearing the VOC, and how are you transferring that knowledge into CTQs? It’s a process that requires both steps, in that order, and must be absent of any assumptions or premature conclusions. Line yourselves up with the people that pay your bills – your shoppers – and watch great things happen. It’s a simple strategy, but hey, the best ones usually are.

- Tom Tholen, contributing author for The Brand Show and chief customer engagement officer at Two West, Inc.

What one thing would you like your favorite retailer to do differently in-store? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.