by Casey Woods, Executive Director | June 29, 2023
A focus on communication can help you establish positive customer relationships.
| A lot of our local small businesses do a good job with technical training. They have established programs to teach employees how to run a register, where back stock is located, how to operate the phone system, how to make their value added products, procedures for communicating with other staff, and how to successfully open and close shop on a daily basis. Nationally, we are seeing a decline in the ability to communicate in a face-to-face manner, and that communication gap has a negative impact on small business. Small businesses often enhance competitive advantages by creating relationships with customers and generating awesome experiences. They don’t have the same buying power as large corporate conglomerates, so to maintain traffic and margins they must train staff to engage consumers on a deeper level than “what can I help you find today?” followed quickly by the standard consumer response: “nothing, I’m just looking”. It doesn’t matter if you work in retail, a restaurant, service, or entertainment; solid communication strategies help you generate positive interactions, increase frequency of visits, and promote sales. The following are a few techniques you should be imbedding in staff training: Start with a compliment.- Most customers shy away from initial conversations because we naturally avoid obvious generalist advertising situations. However, when you blend in a personal compliment you let people know that you are a person (not a sales staff member talking to a targeted customer). “I love your sunglasses”, “you’ve got a tan; have you been hitting the pool this summer?”, or any other sort of positive observational compliment can diffuse any sort of communication angst a customer might have with staff. Compliments let people know you are paying attention to them as a person, not just trying to sell something. Making people feel good about themselves is a great way to set positive communication for the rest of their visit. Offer a service right away.- The easy one these days is “it’s super hot out, can I get you a water?”, but all of you have services you can provide. Samples of merchandise, giveaways provided by your vendors, items for kids in your business, or other services that you offer as an initial lead in to conversations with customers. Make sure to add context to the offer (don’t just shove merch at people), but offering a service can circumvent a “I’m just looking” conversation. Ask a question that avoids a stock response (and follow up).- This is an easy one. What are you up to this summer? Are you in town for the (insert event)? Where are you from? Is this your first time in? Or, you can ask targeted questions about the specifics of their customer experience. How long have you been riding bikes (for bike shops)? What’s your favorite disc golf course (for a disk golf retailer)? What kind of pet do you have (and what’s the pet’s name)? What’s your favorite kind of art? The point is to create a open conversation that allows you to pivot towards exceptional service. Provide some education.- We call this a “just to let you know…” ice breaker. Just to let you know: we got in this awesome new (whatever the merchandise is), our special today is (insert special), or with the summer heat we are reminding everyone that (insert education about a product/service that helps people beat the heat). You can also educate people about upcoming events, new businesses in the area, or answer basic questions about the region. The trick is to parlay the education into a more extensive conversation centered on your business. If you are saying “just to let you know” and the consumer’s response is “thanks”, you probably aren’t engaging them enough. Generate a recall moment.- Big boxes herd people in and out of their massive complexes. Small businesses have more close contact with consumers, but the contact only matters if people feel like it matters. A simple “how did the boots work out?”, recognition of a person’s favorite drink with a “can I get you a (whatever their favorite drink is), or a how did a (specific merchandise you sold) work out for (the specific situation they were using it) can let people know they are more than just a number. You don’t want customers to feel like your business is just another place; you want them to feel like your business is THEIR PLACE. When we write about customer service topics, we sometimes get a few canned responses. Among them are “I just want to be left alone when I go someplace”, “we are short staffed enough that I don’t have time for extra training”, and “does it really make that much of a difference?”. Let’s answer those questions/statements: For the “I just want to be left alone” crowd- The most dangerous marketing decision a business person can make is to assume that their customers are exactly like them (it’s also one of the most common mistakes). Your likes, dislikes, motivations, and values are not necessarily the same as your customers. Think about it for a moment; if your customers were exactly like you, they would probably be running a business just like yours. Your customers aren’t clones of you and your staff. Are their consumers that abhor human interaction? Sure. But, humans are hard-wired to create relationships. The vast majority of your customers appreciate positive communication. For the “we don’t have time to train, because we are short staffed” crowd- Positive customer interactions don’t just benefit the customer. Staff members excel in an environment where they can generate positive experiences throughout the day. A better training environment that results in more positive experiences retains quality staff, and most established businesses will tell you that a happy staff is one of the best ways to recruit more quality staff members. Sending staff into situations where customer communication is likely without proper training is a recipe for unnecessary stress. For the “does it really make that much of a difference?” crowd- You can test the difference training makes. Make a three month commitment to improved communication training, and then compare sales/traffic to previous years. Highlight certain products/services in communication as a team, and track item movement. Track overall sales and items per transaction. Have a leader board for “exceptional customer service experiences” that records when your staff engages at a high level, and offer recognition/rewards. Ask “what can you tell me about that customer” questions to staff after the conclusion of a customer interaction, and provide positive feedback for staff that are engaging. You can determine your desired outcomes, and set your business to record changes in your business that coincide with/follow communication training. Emporia Main Street has additional services that can help enhance your customer communication. Our Placer data systems can highlight customer demographics, we can send secret shoppers to your location, and there are curriculum elements that we can access to enhance your internal training. Reach out to Emporia Main Street, and create better communication with your consumers today! |
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