It is common for many people to have experience working as sales associates in the retail environment.  I also have two years of experience working at the fashion retailers as a sales associate, and it became apparent that I, was not “just a sales associate.”

When I first started working at a clothing retailer, I thought my job was to greet people who entered the store and to simply fold clothes. My belief was that employees did not really make a difference in generating sales; customers will buy what they have come to buy.

However, sales associates play a significant role in the marketing process. They interact with customers most directly and personally, creating value for customers and securing long term relationships necessary for profitable business. For example, when I worked at a shoe retailer, it was surprising to observe the number of customers that promised to return to shop because they appreciated the superior service. When I interacted with customers personally and provided the best service (helping customers with finding the perfect shoes, putting on shoes, obtaining product knowledge and store promotions, and checking their fit, etc.), the response from the customers differed greatly to times where I simply gave the customers their shoes and walked away. With the extra service, numerous customers left comments like: “I love shopping at this store. I came expecting to find one pair of shoes but you were so helpful that I ended up finding three!”, “It was so easy for me to find shoes! I’ll definitely be telling my friends to come here to shop for shoes.”

Evidently, employees contribute greatly in creating a notable (positive or negative) shopping experience for the customers; their services and actions take part in shaping the consumers’ complete view of the company’s brand image.