International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH (Print), ISSN

N 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

IN MANAGEMENT (IJARM)

ISSN 0976 - 6324 (Print) ISSN 0976 - 6332 (Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013, pp. 56-64 IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijarm.asp Journal Impact Factor (2013): 4.7271 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com

IJARM
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A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF RETAIL FRONT LINE SALES PERSONNEL BEHAVIOR ON CUSTOMER BUYING EXPERIENCE IN CONVENIENCE STORES IN ORGANIZED RETAIL IN INDIA
Vijay.R.Kulkarni M.Com, MBA Assistant Professor Sinhagad Institute of Management & Computer Applications Pune, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT The retail business is characterized by high degree of service (experience) throughout the value chain in the retail organization. Needless to state, all things being equal, it is the store staff which is crucial in delivering the value and wow experience to the customers when they visit the stores. This study is about finding out the impact of retail store employees behavior on the customer shopping experience. The study is conducted in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (India) during February, 2013. Convenience Sampling Technique is used. Survey method is used for collecting the data. Structured questionnaire with close and open ended questions is designed and face to face interview are used for collecting the data. The interviews were conducted through intercepts at retail stores in organized retail chains. Due care was taken while framing the questionnaire so as to avoid any ambiguity The sample size for the study is 141 Respondents. Nominal Scale is used for all variables. The findings are 1) Well Groomed, Trained and Efficient store staff have positive impact on customer buying experience. 2) Eagerness to help & guide have positive impact on customer buying experience 3). Effective problem solving by store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience 4). Friendliness and courteous behavior of store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience 5). Satisfaction due to good staff behavior has positive impact on customer buying experience 6). Well groomed, trained & efficient store staff has positive impact on store staff solving customer problems effectively 7) Training, Grooming & efficiency of store staff results in professional attitude of the staff 8). Professional attitude of store staff results in friendly & courteous behavior Keywords: Problem Solving, Professional Attitude, Customer Buying Experience.
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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

1. INTRODUCTION Customer experience in a retail store is a multidimensional phenomenon. Retail store is rightly called the front line of the retail organization since it is here-the retail store-the customers visit and it is where the exchange takes place. It is the retail store where they either get WOW experience or a very frustrating experience. Its the retail store where the customer and the store staff are confronted with each other, exchange takes place, & its where front line sales personnel of the retail organization swing into action. By the very nature of its business, a retail store requires all employees to be highly passionate and service oriented. Since service orientation involves high degree of interaction with customers, it is therefore necessary that employee training, grooming, personally, professionalism, qualities like empathizing with customer, being a good listener, problem solving skills, displaying positive attitude, energy and body language are par excellence so that these inputs and qualities get translated in effective service delivery, delighted customers, sales and finally profitability to the organization. In the light of the highly competitive environment, especially in Indian environment, where the organized retailer is pitted against the neighborhood small kirana stores, consistent delivery of value and satisfaction to the customers is called for, and all things being equal, it is the front line sales personnel of the retail organization who alone can deliver the value and wonderful shopping experience to the customers and prove to be differentiating factor. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Today, retailers are competing on the customer experience. As we have discussed, this experience is more than a purchase decision. It is a journey made up of multiple moments of truth. As our survey results have shown, the workforce has a far-reaching and tangible affect on the customer experience as a whole and the many of the individual moments of truth along the way. To deliver a legendary customer experience, retailers must challenge themselves. They must ask themselves, Where in our workforce strategy do we consider how to deliver our customer experience strategy and how do we provide the agility to incorporate ever-evolving customer insights? In other words, are we doing all we can to facilitate and deliver a legendary customer experience at each store, one customer at a time? The old tenants of a workforce strategy are sound: automation, cost control, speed, scalability but alone they are not enough. It takes more to deliver an experience that satisfies your customers needs, resonates locally, and positively changes their buying behaviors. Ultimately, the customer experience must match the promises you have publically made about what your brand stands for, to the point where the customers feel emotionally invested. As advocates, they can become a powerful marketing force for your brand, telling their friends and family about how their local store and their favorite associate went above and beyond, helping to acquire new customers, and firmly retaining the ones you have. Yes, retailers have to do this cost effectively, and yes, they have to be compliant at all times. But, think about this idea in terms of your brand and how you deploy your people1. Do you know how well your employees are handling problems? A problem that is handled poorly can lead to a truly disengaged customer, but a problem
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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

that is resolved effectively can turn that disgruntled customer into a true advocate of your brand and services. By collecting customer feedback in real-time, you will have the opportunity to follow-up with at-risk customers, helping to enhance your overall problem recovery process and, ultimately, to boost your retention rates.2 The social experience of consumers in the store include interaction with other customers as well as service staff; in management of service staff, Kotler (1991) once suggested that interactive sales are a skill possessed by service staff in making contact with customers. Such includes technical quality and function quality of the service. Simply put, this refers to the professional and technical knowledge as well as the attitude of the service staff. This study demonstrated that management of service staff appearance, professional knowledge, and numbers of employees will all influence customers buying emotion. As a result, besides having regulations about employee dress, employees should also be trained in customer service knowledge as well as professional knowledge about merchandise; service should be guaranteed. Also, encouragement and periodic tests should be used to maintain service quality. Because some service staff has sales target stress, the process of making sales to customers has generally been too hasty, creating pressure on the customer in product selection. In these terms, the psychological understanding of customer service should be improved in service staff. The foundation of attitude can be used to improve the service quality of service staff. 3 Retailers, reluctantly, have a gut feeling that their customers are not getting a consistent in-store brand experience. Most executives are disappointed in the customer interaction capabilities of store teams. At the same time, customer expectations continue to increase as shopping options expand. Most of us can recall at least one positive in-store experience. Apple stores certainly deliver them regularly. The store team focuses on you from the moment you enter the store. There is a governing manager ensuring your connection is made properly. A skilled associate interacts with genuine curiosity, not in a pushy way. You are provided relevant information about the products you are interested in. The experience adds value to the product and the brand. At the end of the day, customer experiences are most influenced by the behaviors of store employees. Over the past 20 years, store managers have been trained, and are expected, to be operators. Today we need more than operational expertise. Using the operational approach, managers need to learn how to systematically coach behaviors that lead to consistent customer experiences. This process approach allows managers to run stores in a more predictable and professional manner that enables store associates to succeed and deliver better results overall.4 Companies are imprinted with either one of the two basic customer service attitudes - a positive attitude or a negative attitude. Where a negative attitude takes hold, the customer does not identify the individual employee as the cause of his bad experience; he blames the entire organization. For example, if he has a bad experience with a shop assistant in a given store, he thinks "the staff is terrible at this store and I won't be coming back."This judgment directly and negatively links to the brand and everyone working for it. This is why it is vital that a positive service attitude is adopted by each and every one of a firm's employees.5 Also suggested in the literature (Kotler 1973, Lovelock et al. 1981)-and corroborated by this study-is the importance of institutional image and the use of tangible cues like physical facilities and personnel appearance to enhance it.. Additional investigation of such issues as the use of employee uniforms, the role of architecture in the marketing mix, and the nature of building of
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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

corporate image would be useful to many service companies. The emphasis placed on selection and training of service firm personnel in the literature, and by respondents in the study, raised provocative issues about marketing organization. Should the marketing department control employee training? Does the entire human resource function belong to marketing? Conversely, would it be more appropriate in certain service firms to consider field managers as the chief marketers and decentralize marketing rather than add functions to a central staff ( Gronroos 1983)? These and other issues touching on employee performance and marketings role in facilitating it are worthy of much additional work.6 3. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY To find out the impact of various aspects of retail frontline sales personnel behavior on customer buying experience 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study is conducted in the city of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Exploratory Research design is used for the purpose of the study. Convenience Sampling Technique is used. Survey method is used for collecting the data. Structured questionnaire with close and open ended questions is designed and face to face interview are used for collecting the data. The interviews were conducted through intercepts at retail stores in organized retail chains. Due care was taken while framing the questionnaire so as to avoid any ambiguity The sample size for the study is 141 Respondents. Nominal Scale is used for all variables. The study is conducted during 01.02.2013 to 28.02.2013. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy Cronbach's Alpha .830 .885

5. DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS For the purpose of the study various statistical tools are used viz. Tables Percentages Mean Standard Deviation Cronbachs Alpha for Scale Reliability, KMO & Barletts Test for Sample Adequacy and Chi Square test

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

6. HYPOTHESIS For the purpose of the study following hypothesis has been formulated: Hoa: Well Groomed, Trained and Efficient store staff do not have positive impact on customer buying experience H1a: Well Groomed, Trained and Efficient store staff have positive impact on customer buying experience. Hob: Eagerness to help & guide does not have positive impact on customer buying experience H1b: Eagerness to help & guide have positive impact on customer buying experience Hoc: Effective problem solving by store staff does not have positive impact on customer buying experience H1c: Effective problem solving by store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience Hod: Display of positive body language by the store staff does not positive impact on the customer buying experience H1d: Display of positive body language by the store staff has positive impact on the customer buying experience Hoe: Friendliness and courteous behavior of store staff does not have positive impact on customer buying experience H1e: Friendliness and courteous behavior of store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience Hof: Satisfaction due to good staff behavior does not have positive impact on customer buying experience H1f: Satisfaction due to good staff behavior does not have positive impact on customer buying experience Hog: Well groomed, trained & efficient store staffs do not solve customer problems effectively H1g: Well groomed, trained & efficient store solve customer problems effectively Hoh: Training, Grooming & efficiency do not result in professional attitude of the staff H1h: Training, Grooming & efficiency results in professional attitude of the staff Hoi: Professional attitude of store staff does not result in friendly & courteous behavior with customers H1i: Professional attitude of store staff results in friendly & courteous behavior with customers

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

7. DATA ANALYSIS Demographic Profile of the Respondents Table 1 Gender Frequency Percentage Male 33 23.4 Female 108 76.6 Total 141 100.0 AGE Frequency Percentage 20-25 25 17.7 26-35 37 26.2 36-45 62 44.0 46-55 14 9.9 56-65 3 2.1 Total 141 100.0 No of Children Frequency Percent 0 30 21.3 1 35 24.8 2 63 44.7 3 10 7.1 5+ 2 1.4 9 1 .7 Total 141 100.0 Qualification Frequency Percent 10+2 23 16.3 Graduate 37 26.2 PG 40 28.4 PG+ 41 29.1 Total 141 100.0 Family Income (PM) Frequency Percent 20-50 79 56.0 51-70 26 18.4 71-90 13 9.2 91-110 13 9.2 110-130 6 4.3 130+ 4 2.8 Total 141 100.0 Source: Survey Data Type of Family Frequency Joint 37 Nuclear 104 Total 141 Members in family Frequency 1-2 16 3-4 77 5-6 41 7-8 6 8+ 1 Total 141 Earning Members Frequency 1 31 2 87 3 19 4 2 5 1 6 1 Total 141 Qualification Frequency Student 25 House wife 7 Employee 68 Professional 41 Total 141 Social Status Frequency Middle 95 Higher Middle 28 Upper Lower 4 Upper Middle 13 Upper Upper 1 Total 141

Percentage 26.2 73.8 100.0 Percent 11.3 54.6 29.1 4.3 .7 100.0 Percent 22.0 61.7 13.5 1.4 .7 .7 100.0 Percent 17.7 5.0 48.2 29.1 100.0 Percent 67.4 19.9 2.8 9.2 .7 100.0

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141 141 141 141 141 Mini mum 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 Maxi mum 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Mean 3.58 3.38 3.60 3.52 3.55 3.43 3.52 3.49 3.65 3.65 4.37 Std. Deviation .950 1.019 .933 .983 .890 .973 .883 1.026 .863 .911 .778 Variance .902 1.038 .871 .965 .792 .946 .780 1.052 .745 .830 .606

Staff are well groomed, trained & efficient Eagerness of Staff to help and guide Staff had Professional attitude Staff wear uniform Staff effective in solving customer problem Staff listen to customer & empathize with customer Staff display positive body language Staff talk to customer with smiling faces Friendliness & courteous behaviour of staff Satisfaction due to good staff behaviour Good staff behaviour result in good shopping experience

Table 3 Results of Chi-Square Analysis Alternative Hypothesis (P =0.05) H1a: Well Groomed, Trained and Efficient store staff have positive impact on customer buying experience H1b: Eagerness to help & guide have positive impact on customer buying experience H1c: Effective problem solving by store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience H1d: Display of positive body language by the store staff has positive impact on the customer buying experience H1e: Friendliness and courteous behaviour of store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience H1f: Satisfaction due to good staff behaviour has positive impact on customer buying experience H1g: Well groomed, trained & efficient store staff have positive impact on store staff solving customer problems effectively H1h: Training, Grooming & efficiency of store staff results in professional attitude of the staff H1i: Professional attitude of store staff results in friendly & courteous behaviour Pearson DF SigniTable Alternate ChiFicance Value Hypo Square (2 sided) thesis 35.851a 16 .003 26.30 Accepted 34.814a 43.972a 28.549a 51.630a 56.738a 59.038a 54.187a 44.587a

16 16 16

.004 .000 .027

26.30 26.30 26.30

Accepted Accepted Accepted

12

.000

21.03

Accepted

16 16

.000 . .000

26.30 26.30

Accepted Accepted

16 12

.000 .000

26.30 21.03

Accepted Accepted

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME 8. FINDINGS 1. Well Groomed, Trained and Efficient store staff have positive impact on customer buying experience. 2. Eagerness to help & guide have positive impact on customer buying experience 3. Effective problem solving by store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience 4. Display of positive body language by the store staff has positive impact on the customer buying experience 5. Friendliness and courteous behavior of store staff has positive impact on customer buying experience 6. Satisfaction due to good staff behavior has positive impact on customer buying experience 7. Well groomed, trained & efficient store staff has positive impact on store staff solving customer problems effectively 8. Training, Grooming & efficiency of store staff results in professional attitude of the staff 9. Professional attitude of store staff results in friendly & courteous behavior 9. DISCUSSION Delivering a customer experience in the stores resulting in loyal customers for the stores is optimal integration of merchandize, stores atmospherics and most critical the people. The study succeeds in confirming retail stores employees behavior has direct bearing on the customer satisfaction. They are the catalysts, who can, by their passionate and professional behavior bring perceptible changes in the consumer behavior. Like the retail organizations need to create a magical buying experience for the customers to buy and be life time customers, so also it calls for creating a work culture in the organization wherein the store employees feel appreciated and motivated and resultantly work in a passionate manner towards the ultimate goal of cultivating customers for life time. For this to happen with store staff on continuous basis, it calls for various measures like rewarding employees for good behavior, activating healthy communication channels laterally and vertically in the organization, bringing in transparency, open door policy, recognition on monthly basis for e.g. employee of the month, etc. These measures will definitely result in creating a vibrant, positive and energetic atmosphere in the store which customers also sense and feel and enjoy shopping in the store. Such motivated store employees by their behavior make the customers feel valued and enhance customers self esteem. The store staff will walk that extra mile in empathizing with the customers, listening to & solving problems which results in positive customer buying experience. The findings of the study clearly demonstrate that there is a direct relationship between training and professional attitude, training & friendly and courteous behavior, & training & problem solving ability etc. This calls on the part of the retail organizations to invest optimally in training on various aspects like listening skills, problem solving skills, attitude, grooming, mannerism etc. One of the potent tool for overall development, particularly in the context of services including retailing, Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), an very effective approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy. This research aptly demonstrates, customer experiences are most influenced by the behaviors of store employees. In Indian scenario, in the light of the escalating competition both from organized and unorganized retailers, motivated, passionate and result oriented employees only can contribute to a great extent in retaining the customers & prove to be a differentiator. The retail organizations therefore need to look at their employees as assets, invest in them, and create healthy work culture and environment which will inevitably result in highly motivated and passionate employees eager to deliver outstanding experience to the customer resulting in loyal and life time customers leading to achievement of organizational goals.
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International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), ISSN 0976 6324 (Print), ISSN 0976 6332 (Online), Volume 4, Issue 1, January- April 2013 IAEME

10. REFERENCES 1. Focusing your workforce on the moment of truth: Deliver a legendary customer experience through your workforce. Focusing Your Workforce On The Moment Of Truth_WhitepaperFINAL_2012_01.pdf-Adobe Reader 2. Kate Feather & Yvone Chun. People Metrics. Enhancing the Customer Experience and Engagement in Retail. PeopleMetrics_Most_Engaged_Customers_Study_Retail.pdf-Adobe Reader 3. Gou-Fong Liaw. The Influence of Multiple Store Environment Cues on Shopping Mood and Patronage Satisfaction. 7th Global Conference on Business & Economics www.gcbe.us/7th_GCBE/data/Gou-Fong Liaw.doc 4. Toni Yacobian. A New Strategic Growth Opportunity. the robinreport.com/a-newstrategic-growth-opportunity/ 5. Beatriz Navarro. Customer experience:A multidimensional vision of experience marketing: Employees / The role of employees in customer experience. http://www.esadealumni.net/ea/alumni_today/description_future_events?id_evanto=237742 6. Valarie A. Zeithaml, A.Parasuraman, & Leonard L. Berry. Problems and Strategies In Services Marketing Journal of Marketing Vol. 49 (Spring 1985), 33-46 http://areas.kenanflagler.unc.edu/marketing/faculty 7. C.R.Kothari, Research Methodology, Methods & Techniques by, Second revised edition, 2010, New Age International (P) Ltd, New Delhi, India. 8. Schiff man & Kanuk, Consumer Behavior, 9th Edition, , Pearson. 9. Anantnarayan & Jayashree Nimagadda. A Hand Book of Research Process - 2009 edition, Macmillan Publishers India Limited, New Delhi, India. 10. S.C.Gupta, Fundamentals of Statistics, sixth revised and enlarged edition, 2010, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai, India. 11. Richard I Levin & David.S. Rubin, Statistics for Management, Seventh edition, Pearson Education. 12. Levy Michael & Weitz Barton (2008), Retailing Management, McGraw Hill. 13. Lamba A J (2003). The Art of Retailing. Tata Mc Graw Hill. 14. Philip Kotler (2002), A framework for Marketing Management, Pearson Education 15. The ICFAI University Press. Customer Experiential Marketing: Concepts & Cases. Hyderabad 16. Vijay.R.Kulkarni, A Factorial Study of Consumer Buying Behavior of Laptops of Post Graduate Students in Pune International Journal of Management (IJM), Volume 4, Issue 2, 2013, pp. 9 - 21, ISSN Print: 0976-6502, ISSN Online: 0976-6510 17. Vijay.R.Kulkarni, A Comparative Study of Customer Experience in Caf Coffee Day Vs Barista, International Journal of Advanced Research in Management (IJARM), Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012, pp. 40-49, ISSN Print: 0976-6324, ISSN Online: 0976-6332 18. Vijay.R.Kulkarni, A Comparative Study of Customer Perceptions of Store Atmospherics of Spencers Vs Reliance Fresh, International Journal of Management (IJM), Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012, pp. 370 - 380, ISSN Print: 0976-6502, ISSN Online: 0976-6510 19. Vijay.R.Kulkarni, A Study of Impact of Merchandise Variety and Assostment on Shopping Experience of Customer Sin Convenience Stores in Organized Retail in India, International Journal of Management (IJM), Volume 4, Issue 1, 2013, pp. 85 - 94, ISSN Print: 0976-6502, ISSN Online: 0976-6510

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