• by Kate Newlin , December 29, 2009

One of the great unvarnished truths of 21st century retailing is that we have all this information about our shoppers, and we are clueless about what to do with it. At this point, the consumer's reticence to share personal information probably has less to do with financial security issues and more to do with not believing she can "unsubscribe" from that looming barrage of "today only!" email blasts she knows will flood her inbox if she becomes a "member" of your website.

If Amazon.com could figure out the "customers like you who ordered X also liked Y" algorithm more than 10 years ago, why is my email inbox flooded with offers of great deals on merchandise my nine-year-old and I are unlikely to ever need. We live in a Manhattan apartment. Are we really going to need a lawn mower, leaf blower or outdoor fireplace anytime soon? If I ordered baby clothes eight years ago, how likely am I to still need to place frequent orders?

In Passion Brands, I use "know they know you need them" as one of the "laws of modern retailing." Yet in the emails and introductory chants I encounter when I engage with a retailer, virtually or at the mall, there is little (read no) acknowledgement that today's shoppers are savvy, cynical and often as not frazzled by the time they get to you.

That's the moment where genuine customer service would be a boon. Yet the customer gets a scripted greeting from a preternaturally enthusiastic sales person. (Or the online equivalent, the slow loading, "all about us" website, which takes three screens to tell her that "your search has not been successful"). What to do?

Here are three rules of the (new) fashion retail road:

1. Recruit, train and reward staff based on their obsession, and ability to seed and breed that obsession, with the details, the fine lines, the fabrications and finishes that separate the genuine article from the knock-off or cheap imitation. Then, train those folks to call and check on the purchase once the customer has taken it home. Call and check in after the big event.

In short, establish a personal relationship with the customer during the acquisition of the item -- a relationship that survives beyond the cash register ring all the way through satisfaction (and corrects for dissatisfaction) and brings her back to shop and buy again. And, lets her know she's got a friend in the business -- an advocate who will shop the store for her and adjudicate grievances, quickly and fairly.

2. Take a sheet of paper and put a line down the middle: Head one column, "On-line technological interaction," the other "In-store human interaction." List the things that are better done by a software program and those better done by a human being. Then, make a list of what it would take to win in each column. Really win. Provide the type of customer service, selection and expertise that will make a customer make you her default setting for your type of goods. Make the tough decisions and spend the money now, when it really is a buyer's market.

3. One idea nobody is capitalizing on is alterations. Great stores have the "alteration ladies" on standby; good stores have the ability to bring someone in for the occasion. Be a great store and acknowledge that many women are shopping their closets for basic necessities, like winter coats, while providing a fashion spark through the right, must-have accessory. What if a store offered free alterations of an old garment to bring it up to fashion relevance -- as a gift-with-purchase of a new item of a certain value? That's customer service. And one that keeps store staff gainfully employed during a tough economy.

Start looking at your business from a profit per-square-foot perspective and not sales growth in comp stores vs. a year ago. However the street looks at it, you look at it in a way that authentically grows the business for you, your vendors and your sales people. The street will come around once you've proven that moving goods at deeply discounted prices to raise the revenue line isn't the same as a long-term business strategy. And, you'll have the money to reward and encourage great customer service.