There is more to growing a business than getting customers in your door. Unless you retain customers once they’ve done business with you, it will always seem to be the status quo. For every customer you serve who doesn’t come back, you’ll need to bring at least a few new shoppers in the door. Why? The answer to that is quite simple. Not everyone who walks through your doors is ready to buy but this is where excellent customer service comes into play.
If you devise strategies to improve customer satisfaction, you can retain many of the customers who buy from you while you continually work to bring more in the door. That’s how you grow a business and that’s where customer satisfaction, or the customer experience, is of vital importance.
1. Begin with a Sincere Greeting
Perhaps the very first thing most customers look for when entering your retail shop is a sincere greeting. Altogether too many consumers become disenchanted with the way they are either ignored or spoken to by a shop’s clerk. Some consumers describe the experience as if they are treated like the employee is doing them a favour for being there. In reality, the opposite is true. Every customer that shops at a retail store is keeping an employee in a job. With that said, make every communication sincere and welcoming. In this way, customers will know they are appreciated and may very well be back when they are in need of products you carry.
2. Go Above and Beyond with Carry-Outs
How many times have you seen a shopper struggling to get a large, bulky, or heavy item to the car? This is more commonplace than you might imagine. If your shop has an inventory of such things as large flat screen TVs or other oversized merchandise, you might want to first invest in roll pallets like those available on the Roll Pallet website. They come in various sizes but something like a Super Jumbo Cage or a Jumbo Half Gate Roll Pallet would serve you well. Also, instead of letting them manage by themselves when carrying out large merchandise, why not have a staff member available to help them to their vehicle?
3. Send Them Off with a Marketing Freebie
Is there a person on earth who doesn’t like freebies? Whether you choose an imprinted key ring, a mouse pad or even a pen with your shop’s name and logo, they will have that as a reminder when they go looking for products you carry. They will fondly remember the way in which they were treated like royalty. Also, if they purchased that large item mentioned above, they will remember you with gratitude for the help they were offered when carrying their purchase to their vehicle.
Any way in which you can make their experience enjoyable and memorable will be a major step toward customer retention. Bear in mind that a continual influx of new customers will get you nowhere unless you can retain the customers who shopped with you. If you want to grow your business, customer satisfaction is at the heart of it. Keep them happy and you will be happy as well – all the way to the bank!
