My post last week with "What if" ideas really went over as a big hit! So, I thought I’d shoot a few more ideas to consider.
This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about personal shoppers. The traditional image is that of a sales assistant knowing the needs of the customer so well that the customer can call in, provide a budget or a gifting list and have the need filled. The opposite of that scenario is the situation that most of us are in – we go shopping and hope to find what we need with little more than some newspaper ads or e-mail alerts to guide us.
Please consider with me what your business could look like if it provided a service that falls between these two extremes. Let’s consider the idea of customizing your customer experience to meet the needs of the time-crunched shopper who likes to make her own decision but needs to do it quickly.
Idea #1 – What if your store was organized for the time crunched shopper?
The wine shop might order their wines by food type instead of grape.
The furniture store might layout their stores with furniture sizes and shapes in mind.
The home decor, gift shop, clothing boutique or shoe shop might group objects by color, size or price.
Idea #2 - What if your store provided a shopping guide for the customer to fill out prior to their visit, so that you could point them in the right direction or pull items for them to choose from prior to their arrival – ie. in their price range, fitting their specified tastes, that you had enough to fill their multiple orders, etc.?
The wine shop could have an on-line form or a fax-back service allowing the customer to specify the price range, varietal or meal menu – they customer could then step in and choose between a few bottles all pre-identified by the store employee.
The clothing boutique and shoe shop could provide a call-ahead service. Clothes/shoes for certain occasions would be pulled in the appropriate size and ready for trying on and selection. This same technique would work in many situations where color/size/style/etc. are a factor.
Idea #3 – What if your store had a shopping chart for customers when they arrived – something they could pick up as they walked in the door?
Picture this – a color coded guide to your store that shows a "map" of your store. The bookstore would highlight genres of books so the customer could go straight to the correct section without wasting time; the back of the card could list new releases or top sellers.
The wine store could provide a map to varietals and have food matching recommendations on the back of the card.
The gift store would highlight various niches in the store with the color coded map and include the store-owners picks or gifting ideas on the back.
Small business marketing tip: How can you alter your store experience to make it more convenient for the time-crunched shopper. There are lots of ways you could help your shopper retain the joy of making their own selection – of "shopping" – while saving them time in the process. The bonus – you empower them and give them confidence in their selection – they’ll love your business for that feeling.
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