By the end of 2023, Xinchang Parent-Child Station Maternal and baby store in Shaoxing set a growth target for 2024 to achieve a 30% annual increase. However, during each monthly review, the actual growth rate of Parent-Child Station for the month exceeded 30%.
Although it has been established for 21 years, the continuous “change” is the core issue of this established maternal and baby store.
The person in charge of selection and operations at Parent-Child Station told us that this year, the store will continue to upgrade in multiple aspects including selection, display, service, and marketing.
“Our mindset now is like this: I’ve learned something new again, there are still so many areas where we can grow and break through, we don’t feel at all like this industry, this business, has reached its limit.”
Focusing on Service to Enhance Customer Loyalty
Not long ago, several managers from Parent-Child Station took a trip to the store “Pangdonglai,” and afterward, they implemented the use of “table cards” in every store.
Indeed, the introduction of more than 20 table cards is the most direct impression we get when entering Parent-Child Station.
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The content on these table cards is very detailed: On the product end, they specify how to match products with parenting scenarios, including the right way to switch milk, small tips about body lotion, a timetable for nutritional supplements for pregnant women, etc.; on the service end, they include family letters for moms and dads, store commitment letters, standards for scoring the relationship between sales guides and customers, and so forth.
Parent-Child Station’s management told us that many things from Pangdonglai are hard to replicate, but anything that can be implemented will be practiced as much as possible. “A simple buying and selling relationship in today’s maternal and baby store is very weak. We still hope to enhance customer loyalty by emphasizing service and empowering customers.”
This year, the services that Parent-Child Station is particularly focusing on include not only some detailed service particulars but also the continuous upgrade of existing segments such as baby hydrotherapy centers and maternal health.
Take the baby hydro maintenance segment as an example; even though it is not a segment that can be directly reflected in profitability, Parent-Child Station still places significant emphasis on it.
As early as 2016, Parent-Child Station joined the Shandong Rainbow brand, which was carefully selected by them. Rainbow’s core technique uses traditional skills that align with the philosophy that food and medicine share the same origin, with meridian detoxification. It integrates natural mineral essence and a variety of nutritional components into conditioning water to help babies reach a natural and harmonic bodily state with balanced nutrition and enhanced health.
In creating the entire hydrotherapy center, Parent-Child Station also invested a significant cost. “The door to the hydrotherapy center is a disinfectant air shower door, equipped with a fresh air system that changes the air every 90 minutes. That’s why there is no fog on our glasses, and our water is purified and drinkable.”
Incorporating learning into the company’s DNA
Just like the setting of the table cards is the result of Parent-Child Station management team learning from their visit to Pangdonglai, learning has become part of this company’s DNA over its 21 years of operation.
Parent-Child Station’s staff told us that learning about themes such as employee training, family happiness, colleague relationships, work methods, and customer relations has continued for at least a decade; the cost of learning every year is a significant expense.
However, this long-term commitment to learning has subtly influenced every employee at Parent-Child Station.
For example, sales guides at Parent-Child Station, even if it’s outside working hours, will actively open the store if a customer needs something or deliver goods to customers. For dads who come to the store, sales guides naturally guide them on parenting and how to better share the mother’s childcare tasks.
Of course, for the mothers, Parent-Child Station’s sales guides naturally apply their learned knowledge and gradually become spiritual mentors to moms, helping them resolve negative emotions in parenting and life.
In the face of the challenges brought by the new environment in the mother and baby industry, continuous learning also becomes their courage to face the unknown.
This year, Parent-Child Station established a marketing department, hired customer service to do follow-up calls, and launched a new media operation plan to explore more possibilities for increasing traffic.
Eventually, the company culture precipitated from learning also indirectly reflects on the customer relationships at the store, culminating in performance.
“The industry has indeed changed a lot, but from last December to now, we have been reaping growth of over 30% every month.”