CUSTOMER SERVICE MATTERS

     Every company needs to provide an excellent customer service to their clients in order to be successful. It is defined as the set of activities and programs that retailers apply to make the shopping experience more rewarding for their customers (McGraw-Hill, 2007). By having a good customer service, it is easy to retain and gain new customers. Retaining customers instead of letting them go to your competitors could increase your profits by 25% to 40%. Companies need to understand what customers expect from them so they can at least meet their customers’ expectations or exceed them.

     Customers evaluate the service quality based on their expectations and experiences. What they expect depend from their prior experiences and the quantity of knowledge that they have about it. It varies by store type, for example; customers assume that a specialty store such as Liz Claiborne will have a better customer service than a discount store such as Target because specialty stores are more expensive.
Also, they measure the quality of a store based on their experiences. They would like to receive unexpected services and this could exceed their expectations. Examples of extra services that a company could offer are to put their telephone number at the top of every webpage, to offer free shipping and free return, to provide guarantees in their products. An example of a company that cares about their customers is Zappos.com, they listen to their customers and if they do not have a product that a customer wants, they will recommend a place where they could find it.

     For companies, it is really hard to measure the customer satisfaction and the customer service that they are offering. One measure that they use is the “Mystery Shopping”. What this means is that companies pay someone to evaluate retailers while masquerading as regular shoppers (McGraw-Hill, 2007). It is an objective way to analyze the customer service because you are finding out how your employees treat your customers by pretending to be one. This study provides information about where the firm is performing well and what areas they need to improve.

     If the customer service of a company is failing, it is important to do a service recovery effort. The steps that companies could follow to solve this are to listen to their customer, then provide a fair solution, and finally they should resolve the problem quickly. People want a result quickly so they can make a difference with their customers. It is true that improving their customer service by providing training to their employees could be expensive but it is worst to lose their customers by having a bad service. Most of dissatisfied customers will never shop there again, and also they will tell other people about their experience at the store.
  What companies should learn about this is that customer service could differentiate their firms and this is a strategic advantage that they should have to be better than your competitors.

Find a Good Location


  In the world of business and marketing it is very important to consider and find a good location for your company in order to create traffic in the store. Throughout this blog I will talk about the different retail locations and how they will help companies to increase their sales.
    On 1950’s people started to build malls in order to locate different stores and facilitate people’s access to them. On 1970’s the Factory Outlet Centers started to appear. On 1980’s appeared the Power Centers which are the Big Box Stores. The lifestyle centers were constructed on the 1990’s and they were good because nowadays people do not have time for walking in a mall (McGraw-Hill, 2007).
    There are many options where a store could be located but in order to be successful they should analyze and decide which option is the best for them. They could be situated on shopping centers which could be strip shopping centers that have big stores that drop people in, shopping malls, outlet malls, lifestyle centers, or superregional which have three or more anchor tenants. They could also locate on the city or town, on free standing sites like outparcels, or in another location (McGraw-Hill, 2007).
    There are advantages and disadvantages that should be considered. Locating in a mall is good because it is a source of entertainment and recreation where people will be protected against the weather and they will be secure. But as it is good, locating in a mall could be bad because there is a lot of competition, the mall rent is high, the mall controls when you are open and close.
By locating in a city or town the store will be located in a nicer place. The problem with this location is that it could be insecure and that the store sales will depend on the traffic of that place. If a company decides to locate their store on a free standing site they could think of an outparcel which is in front of a strip center but it is alone. These locations are very expensive because they attract many people without being in a Shopping Center, an example of an outparcel is Walgreens. There is also the option of locating in an airport which is a great location for a store or inside a store like Subway in Walmart.
    The most expensive stores in the world are located in really expensive streets such as the Fifth Avenue in New York were the cost per square foot is $1500, also Bond Street in London were the cost per square foot is $860, and the Avenue Montaigne in Paris were the cost per square foot is $660.
   Finally before choosing the location for your store it is important to consider a place where your store could have visibility from the street, a site where there is traffic flow, you should choose a place that has parking available, the address should be recognizable so your customers could find it, and very important it should be a location that fits with your target market. In conclusion, the success of a store depends on where it is located.

Big Brands Should Follow the Trends

The world and people are constantly changing; and for this reason companies should adapt their products and services to the trends that are appearing. For creating a product, providing a service, or using advertisements managers should analyze what people is looking for in a product or a service. In order to be successful is important to understand that the world is changing and that big brands must change with it in order to continue flourishing.

Some of the trends that will dominate the world are:

•            People prefer smaller stores with fewer products rather that big stores with a lot of variety. For that reason Walmart is starting to implement smaller scale versions so they can continue satisfying their customers. Also, household sizes are getting smaller, there are a lot of households with just one person, and this is why the food is offered in smaller quantities, not in family size.
•            It is important to create their products based on the local markets. This means that not all products are in all stores. For example some clothing stores could stop selling swimsuits in states that are really cold during the winter like in Michigan, but still selling them in Florida.
•            Uniqueness: People do not want to be treated as everyone else, they want to be and feel unique. Companies should offer more personalized items that could make their customers feel important. Stores should stop selling a lot of the same items because people do not want to have the same things that everyone have.
•            Aging is a factor that companies should consider while selling a product or a service. People in the United States are getting older so they should take this into consideration in order to adjust their products to their customers. Studies show that Baby Boomers are where the real growth is.
•            Technology is improving and increasing throughout the years, this is why companies should understand how it works. It is really changing things; people have access to all information. Big companies should take into account that they should advertise their products and inform their customers about what they offer using social media and Internet. They should know what is appearing and actualize themselves to the newest technology.
•            Nowadays, customers are not just looking for products, they are looking for services. There is an increase on spending on services rather than goods. This means, providing more advice, information. Big brands should offer more services so they could grow and develop loyalty in their customers.  
•            An important trend is that people are becoming more conscious of the planet. Companies should think about the planet and the people in order to be more profitable. People are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products rather than other products. This is the reason why there are more green products, cars are hybrid, and there are recyclable products.

In conclusion, big brands and companies should change with the trends to maintain their position in the market. Brands like Coca Cola, Apple, McDonalds, and others should follow the world trends so they could increase their brand loyalty. The world is changing and companies must adapt to that changes. 

Pepsi-Cola or Coca-Cola? What do you choose?

            Since we were little, we used to go to fast food restaurants, to a market, or even use a vending machine for buying something to drink. The most common beverages that we drink are Pepsi or Coca-Cola. Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola are two big companies that are recognized throughout the world by their flavor and advertisements. Both of these multinational companies sell soft drinks as their principal product. According to Datacraft, these drinks are the soft drinks more consumed by people, and their brands are known as one of the most important companies (2010).  The two soft drinks differ from each other in a lot of aspects, such as their history, their advertisements, and their product’s prices.

            First, the history of each brand is very different from each other. Coca-Cola was created in 1886 by John Pemberton in Atlanta. He started selling that bottle to the people that went to his pharmacy. Later on, in 1888, when the company started to gain more, he died and the brand was sold to Asa Griggs Candler. He was the one who transformed this little brand into a very big business (The Coca Cola Company). While Coca-Cola was growing up, in 1898, Pepsi-Cola was invented. In North Carolina, a pharmacist called Caleb Bradham, created a refreshing drink for selling to their customers. The company started to become a big business in 1903 and they started to bottle this beverage (Pepsi Cola).

            Second, the advertisements that each company uses is different from each other. Both companies are focused on the marketing of their products. Most people base their preferences according to the marketing that each company has, to the amount of advertisements they are exposed to. In one hand, Coca-Cola had always used slogans to call the attention of the people. Their slogan nowadays is “Life Begins Here”. This company has been applying their products in big restaurants like McDonald’s, Movie Theaters, and others. Their propaganda had always been related to something that caught the attention of the multitude, like world cup. They used the “Wavin’ Flag” song that became very popular. On the other hand, Pepsi-Cola also uses slogans in order that the people could remember them. Their motto this year is “Born in the Carolinas”. Their beverages are spread all over the world; they use restaurants too, like KFC. This company focuses on propaganda that calls the attention of the world like using famous soccer players.

            Third, the price of each product is something that has been essential and dissimilar from each other. Coca-Cola has always been a demanded product throughout the world. A two liters bottle of Coca-Cola in America approximately costs $2,50 dollars. Coca-Cola has always been more expensive than Pepsi-Cola. Years ago, Pepsi-Cola was called the soda of poor people because it was more affordable. Nowadays, a two liters bottle of Pepsi-Cola in America approximately costs two dollars. This creates a conflict between them because a lot of customers buy the cheapest one.

After thinking about all these points, which brand is the one that you prefer? It is very important to know the differences between these multinational companies in order to choose the best one. Both companies are very important inside the world’s economy because they are the highly consumed soft beverages by the people. They are very similar in their presentation, their flavor, but they will always be rivals at the moment of selling their products.