If you have a store front, customer traffic is key. But if they come in and don’t buy anything, you will have cash flow issues. There are a variety of reasons customers come in and don’t purchase. We’ve all received (and said) “just looking” when we ask customers if we can help. We don’t want to be pushy or difficult. But at the same time, sometimes a customer doesn’t know what you have that they might want.
First, develop your vision of customer service. If that means every customer is greeted within three steps of the door or every customer feels better than when they entered, or something else entirely, set that out as part of your business plan. Identify how you expect that standard to be measured and achieved. Once it is in place, have a way to evaluate if the standard is being met consistently.
Next, help your team know how to answer different responses to, “may I help you?”. If someone says they are, “just looking”, encourage your team to show the customer something new or something that may not be in the front of the store. Helping someone who says they are “just looking” to find that unique item you are excited to carry just might make them feel the same way.
What do you know about your customers? Talk to your regular customers about what they like, what they don’t like and where they want more. Understanding who your customers are will give you insight into how to help new customers see what your existing customers do. From those conversations, you can point new customers to those items.
Finally, track your inventory. Be sure to know what moves and how quickly and what doesn’t. Experiment with moving stock around the store to see if product placement would be helpful. Provide more like the items that sell quickly and stop carrying those items that don’t sell.