shopping bags
 

May 2010

Greetings!
Welcome to the Confero Connector Newsletter! It is delivered free to your e-mail address. This publication offers insight into customer experience measurement best practices and initiatives. You may subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.
In This Issue
Low Hanging Fruit: These Stats Show Opportunities to Best the Competition
Shop the Competition!
Confero Goes Red For Women's' Heart Health!
Low Hanging Fruit: These Stats Show Opportunites to Best the Competition
 
statistics In addition to the business intelligence we gather at our clients' locations, we consistently review important customer service statistics that impact our clients' various industries.  Each month, we will share a few of these interesting statistics with Connector readers.  Here are a few recent eye-opening stats:
 
  1. Boomer women are making more online clothes purchases because they feel "ignored" in the retail store environment, according to a study conducted by VibrantNation.com, an online community for women over 50. "84 percent of respondents find sales people indifferent, inexperienced, invisible, or outright rude, while 32 percent perceive an age bias from younger sales associates who don't pay attention to older consumers. Only 16 percent said that sales associates are well-trained and helpful."


Read the full article here.
Shop the Competition!
 
businesswomanGathering competitive business intelligence is an important step in retaining and gaining new customers.   To help businesses get the information they need, Confero often executes competitor studies on a large scale and over a considerable length of time.  However, there are ways for individual stores to conduct competitive analysis locally and effectively.  One way is to use your existing employees as shoppers.  Here are simple steps to put a competitor evaluation plan into action:
 
  • Distribute mystery shop forms to selected employees from each location.
  • Review the survey questions and discuss why each area is important to the success of your store.
  • Next, employees choose a competitor to visit and evaluate.  The competitor can be one that they hear about frequently from customers, one that has a new offer, or a competitor that is new to the area.  Better yet, if you frequently lose sales to a certain competitor, make their location a priority visit. 
 
Read the full article here.
Confero Goes Red for Women's' Heart Health!

Go Red for Women LogoWomen's heart attacks are not like those shown in the movies. Signs and symptoms are different. Confero participated as a corporate sponsor for the American Heart Association's "Triangle {Region] Goes Red for Women" Luncheon on Friday, May 7th in Raleigh, N.C.   The event's mission was to increase awareness of heart disease, the number one cause of death for women, and to encourage preventative measures that lower the risk of heart disease. 
 
Confero employees, clients, and other participants visited mini-seminars, including a healthy cooking demonstration by a local chef, CPR instruction, and a fitness session, which included ways to incorporate exercise and stretching into a busy work day.   Later, everyone enjoyed a heart-healthy lunch.  It was a great day for a great cause!
 
 
Read the full article here.
All of us at Confero hope you enjoy this newsletter. Feel free to share this information with colleagues and friends. We would appreciate your comments about the articles and suggestions for future issues.  
 
 
eb signature
Elaine Buxton
President & CEO
Confero Customer Experience Research
800-326-3880
 
 
 
The Benefits of Mystery Shopping
podcast
Listen to Elaine Buxton, President and CEO of Confero, discuss the benefits of mystery shopping.  With 24 years of  experience leading a national customer experience measurement firm, Elaine explains the ins and outs of what clients stand to gain from shops, in today's environment and into the future. 
 
 Listen to the podcast here.
 
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
   Send to a Colleague
 
Connector Archive