Marketing of Services by Sears Retail Group

Marketing of Services by Sears Retail Group

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  I LEAD SEARSLEAD Abhinav Arya Ajay Sehgal Pankaj Gautam Udai Man Singh Personal Shoppers At Sears : The ELF Initiative
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  Company Profile SearsCanada is a multi-channel retailer. Network includes 187 corporate stores 180 dealer stores 64 home improvement showrooms 1,928 catalogue merchandise pick-up locations 107 Sears Travel offices Nationwide home maintenance, repair & installation network. The Company publishes Canada's most extensive general merchandise catalogue and offers shopping online at www.sears.ca.
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  Case Synopsis This case is intended as an opportunity to discuss the role of service within the retail value proposition Sears have tried to differentiate -- on service more successfully than others. The interrelations between service, satisfaction and customer loyalty.
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  Issues Many secondaryissues arise: The metrics for measuring performance Employee motivation and training Store formats Customer segmentation Customer satisfaction Customer loyalty
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  Objective To examinethe role of service within the retail value proposition. To discuss how retailers can create and sustain a competitive advantage. To discuss how service can affect customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. To discuss metrics that can be used to measure and monitor a retailer's performance.
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  ELF Initiative -2006 Sears adopted a new Vision statement in 2006: "Sears is committed to improving the lives of our customers by providing quality services, products and solutions that earn their trust and build lifetime relationships "Elf" program to offer free, one-on-one personalized shopping assistance to our customers at the busiest time of year. Introduced in Month of Nov Compete with High Brand Stores Re energize shopping Experience Making a “ Wish Station ” at departmental store
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  Objective of ELFInitiative 60 to 70 Percent Christmas Shoppers At shears Shopped During Christmas Season. Survey from Sears Canada Inc. reveals there are distinct differences between male and female shopping habits during the holiday season. According to the survey :- 70 per cent of women are "keeners " who will shop for gifts up to a year before the holidays 40 per cent of men demonstrate "slacker " traits by waiting until two weeks before Christmas to start their holiday purchases.
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  Characteristics of CanadianHoliday Shopping Personalities "The Keener" The Keener loves the holiday season and can't wait to start shopping each year Key Shopping Traits : Starts their holiday shopping several months before most others. Prepares detailed lists in advance - and checks it twice Looks through flyers for special promotions and sales  Over 70 per cent of women report that they love holiday shopping, compared to only 13 per cent of men.
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  "The Gambler” Whilea "Gambler" may have a list for each member of the family, he/she waits until a few weeks before Christmas to start shopping in hopes of scoring great holiday deals.  Key Shopping Traits : Shops somewhat late in the holiday season. May rush from store-to-store in search of the best gifts Looks for last-minute deals when shopping. Approximately 1 in 3 Canadians (34 per cent) begins their holiday shopping one month before Christmas. 
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  " The Slacker" - The Slacker waits until the last few days before the holidays start to head out to the stores: he/she will put off shopping until it is absolutely necessary.  Key Shopping Traits : Shops extremely late in the season Wants a one-stop shop to find all of their gifts Might resort to shopping online for last-minute gifts, especially if all the "good gifts" aren't available in stores so close to the big day.  An estimated 40 per cent of men exhibit "Slacker" behaviors and will wait until 14 days or less before Christmas to start purchasing gifts.  
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  ELF as RevenueGenerator Transactions are double during December then Rest of 11 months. Average Transaction Was low ( Opportunity to increase the same) Redefining the Merchandising business Benefits of Higher consumer spending (Which was missing prior to this) Increasing average sales per hour “ Recharge “ Various Product Categories
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  Outshines Your CompetitorsDetermine what makes what you offer special. Study the customer service ideas on your list and examine their feasibility. Choose one or two of your shiny customer service ideas and implement them. Stay proactive and keep gathering customer service ideas.
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  Competitive Advantage Merchandising Strategy was Fourfold Recharging Destination Business Improving Category Productivity & Profitability Securing Strategic Sourcing Delivering Sears Value Retail Channel “ Click , Call or Come In” ELF was limited to Full Line Departmental Store
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  Evaluation SalesPer Square Foot and Return on Asset Turnover
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  Employee Satisfaction Searsused an “ employee-customer-profit chain ” to analyze aggregated data from800 stores, finding that employee attitudes towards their company and their jobs lead to positive employee behaviors toward customers. Sears found that a 5 percent increase in employee satisfaction drives a 1.3 percent in customer satisfaction. Results in 0.5 percent increase in revenue growth.
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  Contd… customer-employee relationship, depending upon the industry and market segment. At Sears, employee satisfaction accounts for 60 to 80 percent of customer satisfaction.
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  Customer Service Provide customer service that distinguishes your business from your competitors. Solicit and use testimonials from your satisfied customers. Deliver on your customer service promises . Make it easy for your customers to buy your product or service Establish clear return and refund policies that provide customer satisfaction. Develop a dependable supply chain and/or delivery system
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  Performance Management Assistseach person succeed and reach their potential Result in greater/increased customer loyalty Provide a focused, disciplined approach for processes and problem solving Focus the organization on what is important (and aligned with priorities ) Is based on trust
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  Customer Loyalty The basic benefits of using a loyalty program to obtain customer information are summarized below: Shift - Acquire new customers Lift - Increase the spending of existing customers Retention - Improve the natural churn rate of customers Profit mix - Shift spending to higher margin products Sears Choice Rewards - A good partner/coalition network centered around Sears Rewards...
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  Economic Value ofa Loyal Customer
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