The
secret to increasing sales may be right under your nose. The best way to entice
new guests and keep them coming back is to manage the guest experience through
highly personalized guest service.
In this
week’s post, Jeffery Smith, with Peterbrooke Chocolatier, guides us on an exploration
of each of the five senses and how to use them to ensure every facet of your
location makes a quality statement.
It's time
to take off your day-to-day blinders and put on your guests' eyes—have an open
mind and experience your retail store as one of your guests, not as the
owner/operator of your business. You can do so by focusing on your individual
senses and asking yourself the following questions.
Sight
As you
approach your location is the front of the store clean and attractive? Is the
outside paint fresh and clean? Are the awnings clean? Is the sign in good
repair and does the timer operate properly with dusk? Is the glass clean on all
exterior windows, and all signage in your windows professional in appearance?
As you enter the location is the packaging crisp? Are the shelves well
organized, uncluttered and the product clearly labeled? Can the guest easily
identify the price of each item on the shelf without having to turn it over to
look for the price? Are all surfaces clean in publicly visible and nonpublic
spaces? Are all of your chocolate items in temper with the shining chocolate
appearance?
Hearing
The sound
of your location should be complimentary to what you are trying to achieve and
should never be louder than a comfortable conversation level. In addition to
the volume, music is just as important for setting the tone in a retail
environment. If you are striving for a fun and lively atmosphere, seek upbeat
tunes. Likewise, classical or jazzy sounds can create the feel of a
sophisticated, high-end environment. Next, stand in the center of your
location, close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. Listen for
sounds you may have become accustomed to and would normally tune out. Do you
hear compressors cutting on and off? Do you hear the employees talking about
last night’s date? Does the air conditioning/heating unit squeak while
operating? Is the music too loud to hear anything else? You may have gotten
used to these sounds, but for a new customer they could be distracting.
Smell
Does your
location smell like a chocolate/candy store? Are you employing the use of a
scent machine to aerate the allure of chocolate into the street as a way of
enticing guests to come into your location and purchase product? Does your
location smell clean and fresh in all areas, not just the retail area?
Taste
How long
has it been since you sat down and tasted your chocolate/candies during
operating hours? Does all of the product you sell meet your quality standards
for taste? Are you sampling the freshest, highest-quality product or items that
are out of date and/or old inventory? Are the creamy items creamy, the cold
items cold and crisp items crisp?
Touch
Are all
surfaces both inside and outside of your location clean to the touch. There is
nothing worse than dirty door handles with grime under the handle. Are soft
surfaces soft? Does all packaging that is touched by your guest say quality?
Hopefully by looking at your location through your guests’ eyes you can make it
better than it already is.
As you begin to focus more on
appealing to the senses, you may be able to improve customer experiences that may
have been overlooked and poorly affecting sales without your knowledge. Change
your focus and see how it affects your sales.
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