Aug 19, 2008

BizTips: Customer satisfaction ideasBy Barry ThomsenNovaScotiaBusinessJournal.com

Halifax, Nova Scotia – In retail, shoppers can usually choose from several stores for the same items. But you spend hard earned resources on advertising to convince them to visit your store. Once you have the shopper in your store, they must leave satisfied if you want them to visit you again. And repeat business is the name of the game, actually the only game. Making it difficult and unpleasant to buy from you won’t go very far in generating that repeat business and referrals. Make your customers love your store by being the place where they want to shop.

Here are some ideas to promote outstanding customer satisfaction:

Sufficient check-out or payment stations – the one thing I hate most about retail stores is waiting to pay for a purchase. How do you feel if you’re standing in line, there are only two check-out stations and several other employees are standing around talking? Don’t let this happen in your store. Help them finalize their purchase promptly and pleasantly. A supervisor or manager should pitch-in to alleviate a check-out backup.

Call them back – for bigger ticket items, it’s a nice gesture to call your customer in one to two days to see how they like using your product or if they’re having trouble figuring out how to use it. A little help and assistance will go a long way from a good-will phone call. It only takes a minute or two to cement a relationship. Be sure to solve any problem they bring up, quickly and cordially.

Easy to find prices – keep prices on items where customers can easily see and find them. Many times, if the price is not actually on the product and a small sign is moved or falls off the shelf, a customer is in doubt as to what it costs. Did you ever consider putting inexpensive scanners around the store so customers can check their own prices? This would be a great new convenience that you don’t see everywhere.

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