Do your customers feel welcome and at ease when they enter your store and start looking around? How do you show your customer appreciation? It’s something that many companies struggle with, and they might not even realize it. It’s important to work on making those customers feel welcome the moment they step through the door. They shouldn’t feel stressed or underappreciated for a single second.
Open With a Smile
When you start out talking to customers, you should make sure you and your staff always do so with a smile. This is one of the most obvious things to mention, but it’s still surprising how many companies get this wrong. No one wants to be coldly greeted by a miserable sales assistant. It’s never pleasant and it’s never fun. So you should open with a smile and aim to maintain that cheery atmosphere.
Make Your Exterior Clean, Fresh and Welcoming
If you want people to feel at ease, you first need to persuade them to step into your store. If you can’t even get people to walk through the door and explore your business, it’s only going to be a matter of time before someone else comes along and does it better. Make your exteriors look inviting by keeping them clean, fresh and generally welcoming to everyone who might be passing by.
Have Your Customer-Facing Employees Where Lanyards
This might seem like a small touch, but it really can make a difference for a few different reasons. First of all, it’s important because it clearly identifies staff members, and that can be important in a busy store. It also allows your customers to know the names of your staff members. You can read more here about ordering new lanyards for all your staff members. It won’t be long before this change has the impact on your customers you’re looking for.
Be Casual and Conversational
Being casual with the people you meet in the course of your work can make a big difference. People will feel at ease when they’re talked to as a friend rather than another corporate customer. That casual and conversational tone is something that most people prefer if they’re buying from a retailer. You don’t need to take yourself quite so seriously, and that’s something that you should try not to forget. Make conversation and talk to people the same way you’d talk to an old friend.
Don’t Rush Over or Overwhelm Customers
When a customer walks through the doors, they don’t need to be leaped on by a member of staff before they’ve even had the chance to look around. This is simply not what customers want. They usually just want to be left alone to look around. If you later notice that someone seems to be struggling and needs help with something, then you can go over and offer some assistance. And it’s definitely important to be available to answer questions. But you don’t want to immediately overwhelm customers.
Work on the Atmosphere in Your Store
Getting the atmosphere in your store right is one of the things that you will definitely need to work hard on because if the atmosphere is stifling or awkward, people are not going to feel at ease or particularly welcome there. That’s obviously a problem and something that you need to work on. It should be pretty calm and relaxed because that’s what most people are looking for when they’re browsing stores and thinking about making purchases. Everything from lighting to music will have an impact on this atmosphere, so there are lots of changes you can make.
When Speaking to Customers, Give Them Your Full Attention
Whenever you’re having a conversation with someone, it’s only right that the person should have your full attention for the duration of the conversation. If it looks like your focus is somewhere else entirely, it’s not going to be good for your customers and it’s showing the dangers of letting too much onto your plate at once. Take a step back, slow down and give every person you speak to your full attention for a small space of time.
Thank Your Customers
Simply saying thank you is the easiest thing in the world to do, so why you should make sure that when a purchase is made, the customer is thanked and wished a nice day as they depart and carry on with whatever they’re doing next. A simple thank you is a show of gratitude and it’s something every customer will appreciate from you. It doesn’t take much to get this right, so he won’t even have to spend any cash.
Follow Up After the Sale
Your interaction with the customer shouldn’t end the moment you’ve got their money from them. In fact, this is where the process really begins. You want to make sure that the buyer is happy with their purchase, so you could follow this up by sending a general email inquiry and asking for feedback from the layer. This is something that customers tend to appreciate because it proves that you weren’t just out to get their money and run.
If your customers feel welcome and at ease when they’re in your store, they’re going to be more likely to buy from you. That’s what you want to happen, so it’s definitely important to implement some of these ideas and make the right changes to your business. The hard work will be worth it in the end.
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