First in the customer experience management industry to help educate and raise awareness of the value of NRFF retail training solutions

First in the customer experience management industry to help educate and raise awareness of the value of NRFF retail training solutions

Empathica, a provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions, announced today that it will be working in collaboration with the NRF Foundation (NRFF) to provide retailers with brand-specific and industry-driven training recommendations based upon feedback captured directly from their customers.

NRF Foundation, the research and education arm of the US National Retail Federation and a non-profit charitable organisation created nearly 30 years ago, offers research, education, training programmes and professional credentials that help to advance the careers of retail associates worldwide.

Improving the customer experience

Through this collaboration with Empathica, retailers will have the opportunity to gain insight into which areas of their customer experience require improvement, measure store and employee performance against a nationally recognised framework of industry standards, developed by NRFF and consider how to integrate world-class skills development tools and credentials into their internal learning programs.

“At Empathica, we are continually striving to equip our clients with the best assets available to transform their business and deliver an exceptional customer experience,” said Dr. Gary Edwards, executive vice president of client services at Empathica. “As the first CEM provider to offer this service to clients, we hope to give retailers an extra competitive edge that will allow them to perform to the highest possible standards.”

Specific NRFF programmes include NRF University Wired (e-learning), which offers interactive online courses ideal for retail and food service associates and managers at all levels and delivered via NRFF’s learning management system. National Professional Certifications in customer service, sales and retail management provide recognised US credentials to employees and managers in a variety of service sector businesses. And a comprehensive set of industry driven skill standards are also provided for employees and managers in retail, food service and customer service focused businesses.

Keeping up with expectations

“It is clear from the insight gained from speaking to 30 million customers each year that their expectations have evolved, and in some cases, outpaced the training resources a retailer may have in-house,” said Edwards. “Our goal is to connect our clients with the NRF Foundation expertise in a personalised way. It will help add value to the effectiveness of their business and also hopefully be a catalyst for re-investment in the development of front-line retail associates.”

This collaboration between NRFF and Empathica is one of many recent initiatives Empathica said it has launched to help retailers continually evolve their CEM programme. The company said it is driving the market in advocate identification and mobilisation, with solutions such as GoRecommend, an application that encourages true advocates to promote positive retail experiences via Facebook.