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Is Your Customer Service Costing You Thousands Of Dollars?
Three scenes that are played all over and over again in the business world every day, could cost you thousands of dollars.
The first scene is, the customer just walks in your shop, your staff member walks up to the customer and ask, “Can I help you?” The customer quickly replies with “No thanks I am just browsing.” Then after customer looks around for a few minutes, he or she then walks out without buying anything.
Another lost sale, why? Let’s look at the situation. In most cases the customer has just entered the store and possibly wants to buy something, but the item and also mood of the shop has to satisfy the right triggers. An attendant who comes up to them too quickly will interrupt the shopping experience before it even has began. The experience of finding the ideal item, the hidden gem in the right setting is gone.
So how do you know the difference between the shopper who wants help straight away and the customer who enjoys the experience of shopping and may buy something? The answer is it’s all in the customer’s body language.
The person in a rush will walk and look around quicker for items and assistance. The other shopper who enjoys the experience will move slower and will look around in a relaxed state. Learn how to read body language, you may not get it right every time but with a little bit of observation and practice you can learn to read body language quite well and the benefits of being able to do this can improve your sales dramatically.
The next mistake by the attendant is the dreaded question, “Can I help you?” This is automatically replied by the customer with, “No thanks, I am just browsing.” without even the customer thinking. The customer has been conditioned to use this phrase to fend off over anxious shop attendants. No one likes to be sold, people like to buy. If the customer does want help finding a product later on, they now feel silly as they have turned down the help from the attendant and good chance they will not ask. Some people would rather leave the store then ask. Even more so, with men.
The second scenario is “Are you right there?” This is an even worse question then the first one, as it is more or less telling the customer that they are right and don’t need any help. You are assuming they are right, also it implies that the shop attendant couldn’t be bothered helping the customer.
The solution is to acknowledge the customer (in a perfect world and depending on the size of the store.) within about 20 seconds of entering the store. The attendant upon seeing the client walk into the store, should with a warm smile say, “Hi”, or “Hello.” Or if in Australia, say, “G’day.”(Just joking.) and hold eye contact for a split second. This does two things, one, you are greeting the person, common courtesy,two, it is acknowledging them, to let them know, you are aware that they are in your store.
Tip - This can also help reduce theft as the customer knows they have been personally seen. This is one reason why greeters at Kmart and Wal-Mart are on the entrances.
The attendant could then follow up with, “Feel free to browse, if you are after anything just sing out.” Or “What a lovely day outside. Did you see our new special rack? Feel free to browse and if you are after anything just let me know.” Or "Good afternoon, if you have any questiions, just let me know. In the meantime feel free to look around."
The customer’s then feel he or she has been acknowledged and can then browse and enjoy the shopping experience at their leisure and feel like a welcomed guest invited to stay. Not like a deer that will get pounced on by a lion, so they have to keep their guard up, then quickly exit.
The more at ease the customer is, the longer they will stay, the longer they stay, the more chance they will find something they like and buy it. Shoppers will also feel more comfortable approaching you if they require assistance.
The third and worst situation is the attendant who ignores the customer altogether and doesn’t even acknowledge them. Or the most deadly sin is when two shop attendants are talking to each other, not even about work and they just ignore you.
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Craig Howlett's Blog
Disclaimer - The articles aim to provide general ideas. Neither the authors nor publisher shall take any responsibility for any loss or damages occasioned to any person or organisation acting or refraining from action as a result of this information. As always the advice of a competent legal solicitor, accountant or other professional advice should be sought.
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