Richard Schmitt – Goldner

For the past seven years, Richard Schmitt has been working for Goldner, a German fashion mail-order company which employs more than 500 people and operates in Germany as well as six other European countries. As Managing Director International, Richard’s remit includes customer service-related topics for multiple countries and heads up Goldner’s B2B operations.

The GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS: Bespoke customer focus

Goldner’s USP is ‘the perfect fit’, which is why the organisation consistently dovetails with its customers’ wishes and requirements. In that regard, close customer contact and analyses of customer data help foster a genuinely deep understanding of the customer, explains Richard: “In contrast to many other classic mail-order companies that tend to keep a certain distance, we deliberately seek out personal contact with our customers. Rather than being a call centre, we are good friends who will gladly make time for a chat.” To that end, Goldner extracts valuable insights from customer data: “What are customers keeping and what are they returning? We learn from such data and use it to make better purchase recommendations. At the same time, being able to provide even higher-quality advice is our priority.”

“In contrast to many other classic mail-order companies that tend to keep a certain distance, we deliberately seek out personal contact with our customers.”

The moment of truth: Trying on a PIECE OF CLOTHING

Goldner purposefully focuses on fostering a deep understanding of the customer and a love of fashion. The business specialises in fashion-conscious women aged 50+ and has perfectly tailored its range to this segment. As Richard sees it, the first instance of trying on a garment is thus one of the most important moments of truth: “The decisive moment is when a customer receives her order, tries on a piece of clothing and decides whether or not it meets her expectations.” He adds: “Proportions and needs often change as one ages. We have adopted all our cuts and models accordingly to offer our customers high-quality fashion with a perfect fit. Ideally, Goldner will figure out the nature of the individual problem or the customer’s situation to ensure she will find exactly the right solution thanks to our advice.”

Digitisation: A ChallengE and AN opportunitY

According to Richard, one of his main responsibilities as Managing Director is to increasingly link customer service with key functions within the business: “A solid connection to customer service enables sales, marketing, e-commerce and procurement to receive customer feedback and to have it incorporated into the ongoing development of our products and into the overall shopping experience.”

“It is the customer’s perspective rather than the commercial perspective that should be steering our actions.”

Although Goldner’s target group is currently still very homogeneous and behaves that way too, Richard is fully aware that he and his colleagues will have to prepare for the customers of tomorrow: “One advantage we have is our target group’s continuing homogeneity when it comes to such things as channel utilisation, service requirements, or payment methods. But that will change; the profile of our customers’ needs will change in the future. Our customers will be online more often, use social media more intensively on a daily basis, and expect faster delivery times. Over 50% of our new customers are coming to us through online channels already. As a business, we are preparing for these changes, as it is the customer’s perspective rather than the commercial perspective that should be steering our actions.”

Richard believes that digitisation does not mean the loss of personal contact with one’s customers. On the contrary: “With the aid of increasingly efficient automated solutions, we will be able to reduce the order processing time frame even further. This will give our staff more time to communicate with our customers.”

“In today’s saturated market, an unsatisfied customer will not stay loyal.”

HIGH-QUALITY SERVICE is MAKING ITS COMEBACK

One thing that Richard has been noticing for a while now is the return of high-quality service: “It strikes me that the classic product added value combined with high-quality service is gradually creeping back in. The past couple of decades has been characterised by a high volume of store closures and decreasing contactability. Now, there is a gradual return to keeping in touch with one’s customers and putting them centre stage. As I see it, that is the decisive key to success. And I would encourage people to keep thinking along those lines. In today’s saturated market, an unsatisfied customer will not stay loyal.”