Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013 - 25

Hornbaker says the best part is the cost, so
there should be no excuse for golf enthusiasts to
take a lesson or two at one of their stores. Lessons are $39.99 for a half-hour video lesson with
one of their professionals, $99.99 for a series of
three lessons, and $149.99 for a series of five.
Golf Town continues to lead the way with its
try before you buy philosophy by placing an emphasis on club-fitting. All Golf Town stores are
now equipped with “master fitters,” with each
store having a minimum of two—and some as
many as three—of these certified staff.
“Since January, we’ve spent more than a half
a million dollars in this area by putting in new
launch monitors in all our stores,” he explains.
“Most of the major golf manufacturers out there
use the same software systems to fit pros and
many PGA Tour players.
“If you go into a Golf Town store, part of what
we pride ourselves in is that we want you to feel
like you are on the course,” Hornbaker adds. “We
paint our ceilings blue, it’s not cheap to do, but
we do it because we want the customer to have
that feeling of space and being outdoors. We also
picked green carpeting on purpose.”

Golf Town: an experiential experience.

Training for knowledge

The other big innovation Golf Town launched
last year to enhance its customers in-store experience is something called “Green Jacket Selling,”
our proprietary sales training program.
“This surrounds the question: ‘What is it like to be
a Golf Town customer in one of our stores?’” Hornbaker explains. “If I’m a customer, how do I want
someone to assist me with my golf purchase? Some
of our research included hiring a mystery shopper
to give us an objective look, and we designed our
entire staff training program around that.”
The Green Jacket experience has an online
learning and development system. Each sales
associate is also assigned a mentor.
From virtual reality to tablets to passionate
staff and mentorship programs that help store

GET THE CONVERSATION STARTED: RBC NOT YOUR AVERAGE
BANK EXPERIENCE
BANKS are not traditionally viewed as a retailer that emphasizes an
exciting in-store experience. Most people go to the bank with only a few
things in mind—to pay a bill, make a deposit, make a withdrawal, etc. Once
done, they go on to their next errand. Unlike other retailers, it’s not about
lingering long or browsing. It’s about a transaction, not an experience.
RBC’s new long-term strategy aims to change this perception. Two
years ago, it set out to create a whole new retail experience for its clients.
“Most banks historically have had a traditional office-like environment versus the store-like environment,” comments Alan Depencier,
VP, marketing services and transformation at RBC. “What we tried
to do was to take some bits from the retail-shopping experience
and combine it with the nuances of financial services. We engaged
a third-party agency that was a retail expert that had never worked
in financial services; we partnered with them because we wanted to
think differently than most banks think.”
Depencier says that RBC felt that if the bank could do a better job
of starting conversations with its clients and getting them to open
up, they’d be given the opportunity to offer solutions that might help
them. The end result is more satisfied clients, more sales, and a staff
that’s more engaged.
“We are all about advice and helping our clients. But when you
walked into our branch, the experience didn’t feel that way; it felt very
transaction-oriented and not really client-centric.”
Here are a few of the ways RBC is leveraging technology, along
with their staff’s expertise, to achieve an innovative, award-winning
in-store customer experience.
A Discovery Bar
This provides a comfortable collaborative experience where staff and clients
can view advice videos, play with apps
designed to help clients think about
their needs, and to start important
advice based conversations.
Tablets
RBC’s expert staff use these as a
mobile sales engagement tool to help
clients understand the value of certain
products or features such as a TFSA
account or the power of online banking.

Video conferencing
technology
This tool allows for a live,
real-time connection between people via high-definition video-conferencing
and is designed to nearly
replicate a face-to-face
meeting. This feature allows
clients and staff instant access to additional experts
that traditionally would not
be available in all branches.

staff bring their products to life, the in-store customer experience
continues to evolve and expand. Retailers that recognize the components that contribute to an exceptional one will reap the rewards.
“The future of retailing is definitely exciting stores, but that has
got to be based on great products and great staff,” admits Michael
Medline. “Sports lend itself to an exciting customer experience,
and we are turning it up a notch.”

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Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013

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