Kansas City, Mo. — Service Management Group (SMG), a global customer experience, employee engagement and brand research partner to more than 500 brands, has partnered with leading book retailer Books-A-Million.
Started in 1917 as a corner newsstand in Florence, Ala., Books-A-Million operates 260 stores across 32 states and the District of Columbia. The second largest book retailer in the nation, Books-A-Million is an omni-channel retailer and a one-stop-shop for books, toys, tech and more.
“As we looked to advance our business, it was apparent we needed not only a robust technology platform but also an engaged partner that would take the time to understand our business, our employees and our customers,” says Misty Fontenot, Books-A-Million’s senior vice president of store operations. “Following a long-standing relationship with a customer experience technology provider, what really stood out about SMG was its unique ability to provide both technology and insights.”
Books-A-Million has deployed SMG Associate Voice® to understand the employee lifecycle and experience, including identifying key drivers impacting employee engagement, opportunities to improve training and how managers can help employees reach their full potential. In addition to enhancing the employee experience, Associate Voice captures employee feedback during key retail periods to help Books-A-Million optimize the customer experience.
In conjunction with Associate Voice, Books-A-Million is using SMG VisitView — a location-level customer experience survey — to capture customer feedback via point-of-sale receipts and email invitations. Through the smg360® reporting dashboard and mobile app, support center associates can tap into employee feedback while store managers have location-specific areas for focus and access to real-time customer feedback.
“In combination with our robust technology offering, our dedicated research team is helping Books-A-Million identify key drivers for both employees and customers,” says Ken White, SMG’s chief client officer. “We believe these actionable insights will improve employee engagement and the customer experience, resulting in increased organic growth.”
Books-A-Million, headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is the second largest chain of bookstores in the United States with over 200 stores. For more information, visit www.booksamillion.com.
SMG (Service Management Group) partners with more than 500 brands around the globe to create better customer and employee experiences, which drive loyalty and performance. Strategic solutions include omniCXTM, brand research and employee engagement. For more information, visit www.smg.com.
SOURCE: Service Management Group