Friday, January 5, 2007

The One Meeting You Should Have Each Week


It’s no secret to those of you running retail businesses that keeping on top of daily tasks is about as simple as finding a cure for the common cold. It’s easy to see how key actions that can grow your business never seem to get done; they’re often lost in the daily bustle of store visits, customer issues, inventory management, employee concerns and the countless other rigors of your daily work life.

It’s time to turn your attention to something that will help your business keep customers loyal and increase referrals of new customers.

Start talking about them.

No, not behind their backs and not in a negative way. Consider having a regular weekly meeting with all your employees to learn what key customer concerns have come up over the week as well as share success stories. A few tips to make the meeting a hit:

1. Bill the meeting as a way for you to learn from your employees as well as a way for them to help one another better serve your customers.

2. Keep the meeting short and start before the store opens; people tend to have more energy and enthusiasm at this time, and the meeting can encourage a positive frame of mind throughout the day.

3. Show them the love: Supply some doughnuts, coffee, yogurt and fresh fruit. Demonstrate that their input is appreciated.

4. Ask each employee to share on success story and one challenge. Ask them how they handled the challenge and ask the team to help brainstorm other ideas as well.

5. End the meeting on a positive note and provide one key initiative for the week ahead.

Each employee holds valuable information about the customer experience in your store. Thirty minutes once a week can provide a wealth of knowledge to uncover issues you weren’t aware of as well as allow you to build on successes. It will also help you build something your customers are looking for—a community they can trust.

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