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Part 1: Creating Bonds with Customers
Making friends and making a sale are more alike than you might realize. Making friends is about building trust and enjoying being around each other. Friends support each other in good times and in bad. They empathize with each other and seek to make each other happy. When you run a boutique, you are looking to do exactly those things.
When someone sees an advertisement or a sign for your store, they quickly determine how they might feel about you. It's like seeing someone's face. Are they scowling, friendly, stern, or dangerous? It only takes a couple of seconds to decide what you think about a person. If they like what they see, they might decide to come in.
When someone enters your boutique, they are taking mental and visual cues to decide what they think. Everything that they see goes into a "pros and cons" mental bank. If the cons start to fill up, they'll probably just leave and forget about you. It's like determining if you are going to let a person rent space in your head. Are they worth caring for? Should I let them in? If so, then you might make an effort to create a deeper bond, so that you feel safe with allowing them to be cared about.
Once someone starts to mentally "let you in" it is time to hook them with your sales team. Don't have someone bombard them at the door. They're busy making assumptions and soaking in what they see. Don't interrupt the process. It only takes a few seconds, after all. Your salesperson should back up the feelings that the shopper is having. It's the social part of creating the relationship. You can be attracted to someone and then when you talk to them and like them, it affirms what you thought you would think. Affirmation is important.
Salespeople should be eager to help and empathize with shoppers needs and concerns, just like a friend. It is important for your sales team to show some personality, as long as that personality is congruent with the image of the store. You don't necessarily want a sullen person that loves to be alone trying to create a social bond with someone out boutique shopping. Choose personalities that attract you to work in your store.
Learn more about the people you meet by catching up with them on facebook, twitter, or other social networking site. Once you've made that first initial bond, you can nurture it by making contact again later. Your boutique can offer a deal or coupon for their social network following. Just ask your customers if they will follow you and they will receive notice of special sales and deals. Once they follow you, you can send them a quick note to thank them for visiting. Be sure to add a personal detail about their visit so that they know they're talking to you and not getting an automated response.
In Part 2 of the series "Creating Bonds with Customers" we will talk about how your boutique set up can influence how open a person is to creating a relationship with you and your staff. <a href="http://www.slstoredisplays.com/cat-36-1-56/Slatwall.htm"title="Slatwall">Slatwall</a> and slatwall panels can help you to open up the space and create an atmosphere that makes them comfortable with their assumptions about you. Learn how to use slatwall accessories and mannequin forms on your slatwall display to gain trust and make a loyal, lifelong customer.
About the Author
About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.