May FAQ — What Are the Top 3 Values for Retailers Today?

One Friday each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts about them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.

What do you think are the top three values for retailers today?

This is one of those questions that seems like it would be fun to answer and should be easy — right? But then you begin to think about all the possibilities and contexts that could be applied in determining the answer. There are probably many more than three that could be rated as most important for a retailer in 2021. However, I wanted to look at this from a long-term perspective. What are some of the core values that have a heightened meaning currently but will also endure for the future?

This question was born out of the discussion with Quorso and the manifesto they produced earlier this year. I answered the questions similarly then, but had adjusted slightly (adding value) and expanded on the responses. The one I omitted is nimble, yet I have just completed a series of articles on the benefits that come from adopting an Agile approach to being agile in today’s retail marketplace. Certainly, being nimble and able to quickly pivot (to use a current buzzword) as the world recovers from a more than fifteen month-long pandemic, is a critical element of success right now. In defining the three most important values for retailers, I have incorporated the spirit of flexibility into each. I think it should go without saying that any retailer, or business for that matter, needs to be prepared to shift priorities and processes to accommodate the needs of the moment.

Convenience

Making it easy for customers to connect and shop with your business will almost always be at the top of a list. The adage of location, location, location ties directly to convenience. It is no different today than when that was first uttered. The difference is location means something more than it did then. Convenience is no longer about just where you are located physically. Rather it is about how your customers can engage and interact with your brand anywhere. Convenience today is about building a seamless experience between your online presence, social presence, and any physical locations you have. How quickly and easily can you solve your customer’s problem? That level of convenience will define who succeeds and which retailers remain relevant for the foreseeable future.

As an example of strange convenience — I recall a time recently I needed a pair of shoelaces. I was inside a Target and had just walked the store trying to find these. I made my way back to the front and realized one other place they might be. Instead of walking there, I pulled out my phone, opened the Amazon app, and placed an order for the exact shoelaces I needed to be delivered the next day. (I realize that may be a little sacrilegious coming from a career-long retailer, but convenience is convenience.) That level of frictionless experience is what has allowed Amazon to leapfrog so many others. 

Consistency

Predictability in retail builds trust. Period. Customers need to know what they can expect when shopping or utilizing your services. This is one of the biggest challenges any large retailer faces. Creating that sameness across hundreds, if not thousands of locations, is a monumental task. Having a foundation of standards and processes is a starting point for that consistency. But, it goes beyond the experience in the stores. It must carry through to every way you interact and connect to your customers (and potential customers). Your messaging has to carry through in any print media, social media, your website, and inside the physical locations. Everything matters, and customers will notice those brand inconsistencies. It is why top brands spend so much time and effort crafting the messaging and storyline for implementation across all of their connection points. Predictability, in a subtle way, will make a difference for your customers. They will be attracted to and appreciate the consistency they can come to trust when working with you. 

Value

“I don’t mind throwing money away or wasting time,” said no one in the history of shopping. Everyone wants to believe they have received a fair value for the time, effort, and money they have spent on a product or service. We have all felt the joy of getting something that seemed better than was expected. And, conversely, we’ve all felt the disappointment that comes with something that is poorly made, didn’t last as long as expected or flat out failed to work as promised. 

Value comes in so many forms. It is not just about the tangible items you purchase. Value is driven by the total experience. It comes from interactions with people, with the time invested or saved by having an easy experience while making a purchasing decision. Value is so much more than just price. Ask any luxury brand that question, and they can tell you exactly why they don’t worry about price first. They spend their efforts on building value that is connected to a brand more than on price alone. As long as the offer matches the prices of the brand experience they are promising, they will remain successful. 

Value = (Time + Money + Effort (invested)) – ((realized) products + services + experience)

If you put more time, money, and effort into what you need as compared to the actual product, services, or experience you receive, customers will not see the value in that investment. Too many equations that end in negative value equity will steer those customers away from you and towards someone who can deliver consistently and conveniently. That is how these three core values (convenience, consistency, and value) ultimately connect together. You cannot be satisfied with only one or two of these being in place. They all need to work together and be interconnected to maximize the outcome for success.

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