5 Ways to Become a Better Retail Owner by Focusing on Your Customers
FOCUSSING ON THE WHO BEFORE THE WHAT
Stores can get caught up in the race to be the most well known, the most popular, or most successful. And, in doing so they can forget where they came from. They may forget about the years of effort it took to get them where they are right now. Which is why we want to offer a simple reminder---don't forget where you started at and the progress you have made to get where you are today.
Retailers have a mission. To provide an unforgettable experience to the customer. We work with so many stores who forget the power of clienteling. The fact is it will always be easier and cheaper to sell to a prior customer than create a new one. The other great news is—once your customer is buying from you, they are more likely to purchase other items which are suggested cough cough cross-selling.
We would love to teach you some very simple, yet extremely hard to do ways which will help you get your most valued people, your customers, back to your store again.
1) Reach out with a handwritten note or card. The difficulty of this cannot be understated. You will tell yourself “I can do that. That’s easy.” Yet, most of you will not. Which is the reason of why it is so powerful. Too many don’t take advantage of this opportunity.
2) Offer loyalty programs to those valued customers. You will have ROI.
3) Set aside time each week to respond to social media comments, posts, questions on platforms, reviews, or any other mention on any platform no matter how small.
4) Have a CRM program in which your staff over time can input customer details which make it easier to sell in the future.
5) Don’t just focus on the whales. Reach out to each prior customer with a sense of equal importance and believe it. Neglecting past customers on the basis of their purchase is a great way to lose out on many future larger sales. Little sales always add up. There is a funny thing about retail; just when you think it is going to finish as a bad day, you will get busy and make some sales.
