None of the practices in our series of posts about creating memorable customer experiences will make a difference in your bottom line if you don’t train your employees to implement them. In fact, it could be argued that employee training is the most essential aspect of creating memorable customer experiences. Without fail, all of the stories we shared about people and companies doing it right either online or in store were about employees, not business owners.

Train Retail Employees To Serve The Customers

Every employee who works for you should have an understanding that customer service is their number one priority. It’s not just the job of those in the call center or at the customer service desk. Remember the story about the lady who lost the diamond out of her wedding band at Nordstrom’s? It was people on the security and janitorial teams who helped her find it.

If you’ve ever been to one of the Disney Theme Parks, you’ve experienced a team of employees who knows full well that customer service is their job, regardless of their title.

Train Retail Employees To Look For Opportunities To Be Kind

The world needs more random acts of kindness. From a business perspective, extreme kindness goes viral. Empower your employees to perform acts of kindness for customers or to resolve customer service issues in ways that go above and beyond. This may mean that you designate part of your marketing budget so that every retail employee has an expense account earmarked for making a customer’s day. Once the kindness goes viral, you’ll know it was money well spent.

Train Retail Employees To Be Creative

Whether it’s engaging in an online chat as though you’re on the Star Trek Enterprise or taking pictures of a stuffed giraffe in various poses, your employees should know they are free to be creative in the ways they interact with customers. People know when your interaction with them is scripted. That’s not a memorable experience. Be creative, especially as you consider how to…

Train Retail Employees To Incorporate All Five Senses

As someone in management, you could easily mandate things be done in a store that engages all five senses without explaining the “why” to your employees. However, to do so would be to ignore the creative resources your employees could be. Teach them the “why” and see how they respond.

Train Retail Employees To Maximize The Opportunities Technology Provides

Teach your employees to use an iPad POS so your customers don’t have to wait in line. Offer incentives if your employees use their personal social media accounts to promote something going on in the store. Provide a seminar about mobile wallet technology so they can help customers who struggle to use their new gadgets. The possibilities are endless, but only if your employees are well trained.

Train Retail Employees To Educate Customers

Your sales force should know your product so well that they could teach a seminar on the basics to their family and friends. For more detailed information, they should have a way to research on the spot while they continue assisting a customer. That might look like checking product information on an iPad or scanning a QR code with a smart phone. Ideally, though, your sales team should be educators. The more they understand the product, the more likely they will be able to match a customer with exactly what they’re looking for.

Remember that education starts with you. Teach your employees to create memorable experiences for your customers. They’ll have the greatest impact in the long run.