My store was a bakery; however, this strategy works in any retail store.
You can’t always keep your store looking the same and expect different results.
We make regular changes to our homes, clothing, hairstyles, and the areas in our environment, often neglecting our business.
I’ll share how to get results without any financial burden.
I call it my “Simple to Successful WOW Factor.”
Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”
When you focus on the appearance of your retail outlet you can expect increased sales.
When you make customers experience great they will repurchase from you 60 per cent more.
To do this, think about your five senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste.
Each of these five senses needs to become standard practice in your business.
First is sight
Look at your store from your customer’s view. We all get store blindness.
How clean is your store, is it neat and tidy, what do your staff look like, are they representing the image you want to portray?
Anything you aren’t selling or isn’t promotional material should not be in your customer’s sight.
Think about the hot spots in your store, can you place products to better catch your customers’ attention?
Think of different and creative ways to merchandise your products, and marketing tools you could use.
Second is touch
It isn’t ideal to think about your customers touching products, but customers enjoy the tactile experience of feeling the product before they purchase.
I am not suggesting you have every product packaged on display for everyone to feel, think about which product won’t damage when being squeezed, allowing your customers tactile interaction.
If you aren’t doing this you are missing an opportunity.
Third is hearing
Retailers like to hear ambient sound in the background whilst shopping.
When choosing music to play, think about the style and brand you want to be identified with.
What conversations are your staff having with each other in earshot of your customers? Are customers involved, and encouraged to participate in these conversations?
Noise coming from the back of your store, is there different music playing? Stand out the front, close your eyes, and just listen.
The fourth is smell
If you have a food environment, think of ways the aroma can flow through the store.
Non-food outlets, think about infusers you can use to give a pleasant smell throughout your store.
You also need to think about bad smells in your store.
If you have a workplace where manual labour is required, body odour could be a concern, staff may need a friendly reminder to put on deodorant. I suggest having a can for those tricky conversations.
The last sense is taste
People love tastings, they want to try your products, ensure you have available.
The tasting should be big enough, so they have a good taste, leaving them wanting more, not too big they no longer need to purchase.
Statistics reveal three out of 10 customers who try a product, purchase. If you work in non-food retail, think of ways you can relate what you sell to food, to have their mouths watering.
Acting on any of these five senses you will see you really do have the power to change your customers’ buying habits.
