Gift Basket Business Blog

Keep Customers Coming Back

December 16th, 2007 at 06:40pm Lorie Obernauer

I love the articles in Specialty Food Magazine that are written by Ari Weinzweig. He writes an article in every issue in a special section called the “The Educated Retailer’s Guide”. In the November issue of Specialty Food, Weinzweig writes about 26 proven strategies to keep customers coming back for more.

Here are three of the author’s suggestions. First, when you are waiting on a customer or talking with a customer by phone, pause for a moment and ask yourself: “if the customer were to leave now or if our phone call just ended, how satisfied would she/he be with the service I gave?” If you think that the customer may not be having the best experience so far, you still have a chance to turn your customer into a “satisfied” customer by making a small change in your behavior (change the tone of your voice if you’re on the phone; smile more if it’s a face to face interaction).

Next, for customers who have come into your store, make sure you’re not being careless with your greeting. Remember, this is the first impression they have of your business! Stop what you’re doing, make eye contact, smile “and make the customer feel that you’re happy to see them”. Also, keep in mind that your tone of voice can convey a much different message than your voice. A “canned” greeting, delivered with no energy, can sometimes be worse than no greeting at all.

Third, “jump at the chance to compliment and connect”. Mentioning that you like something the customer is wearing or how cute their children are can go a long way to creating a loyal customer, a customer who will come back! This of course gets back to the point made previously: you need to stop and look and pay attention to the customer to make these types of comments.

Weinzweig has more ideas that you should read about. And here’s the good news: you can get a free subscription to Specialty Food Magazine and read his articles each month. Go to Specialty Food to complete the application. I expect that you’ll look forward to receiving your issue each month as much as I do.

Entry Filed under: Business Tips