Customers In the world today, the most difficult task to do is about dealing with human being. From the points of view of salespeople, they always want to attract, satisfy, and make transactions with all customers. However, in the reality, no retailers can satisfy the needs of all customers. Therefore, being sellers, we should pay our focuses on one particular type of customer who can increase our sales. To understand this type of good customer, let’s enjoy the role-play right now.
Loyal Customers: They represent no more than 20 percent of our customer base, but cake up more than 50 percent of our sales. Naturally, we need to be communicating with these customers on a regular basis by telephone, mail, email, etc. These people are the ones who can and should influence our buying and merchandising decisions. Nothing will make a Loyal Customer feel better than soliciting their input and showing them how much you value it. In my mind, you can never do enough for them.
Many times, the more you do for them, the more they will recommend you to others. Discount Customers: They shop our stores frequently, but make their decisions based n the size of our markdowns. This category helps ensure your inventory is turning over and, as a result, It Is a key contributor to cash flow. This same group, however, can often wind up costing you money because they are more Inclined to return product. Impulse Customers: They do not have buying a particular item at the top of their wry Do” list, but come into the store on a whim.
They will purchase what seems good at the time. Clearly, this is the segment of our clientele that we all like to serve. There is nothing more exciting than assisting an Impulse shopper and having them respond favorably to our recommendations. We want to target our displays towards this group because they will provide us with a significant amount of customer insight and knowledge. Need-Based Customers: They have a specific intention to buy a particular type of item. People In this category are driven by a specific need.
When they enter the store, they will look to see If they can have that need filled quickly. If not, they will leave right away. They buy for a variety of reasons such as a specific occasion, a specific need, or an absolute price point. As difficult as it can be to satisfy these people, they an also become Loyal Customers if they are well taken care of. Salespeople may not find them to be a lot of fun to serve, but, in the end, they can often represent your greatest source of long-term growth.
It is important to remember that Need-Based threat, positive personal interaction is required, usually from one of your top salespeople. If they are treated to a level of service not available from the Web or another retail location, there is a very strong chance of making them Loyal Customers. For this reason, Need-Based Customers offer the greatest long-term potential, surpassing even the Impulse segment. Wandering Customers: They have no specific need or desire in mind when they come into the store. Rather, they want a sense of experience and/or community.
For many stores, this is the largest segment in terms of traffic, while, at the same time, they make up the smallest percentage of sales. There is not a whole lot you can do about this group because the number of Wanderers you have is driven more by your store location than anything else. Keep in mind, however, that although they may not represent a large percentage of your immediate sales, they are a real voice for you in the community. Many Wanderers shop merely for the interaction and experience it provides them.
Shopping is no different to them than it is for another person to go to the gym on a regular basis. Since they are merely looking for interaction, they are also very likely to communicate to others the experience they had in the store. Therefore, although Wandering Customers cannot be ignored, the time spent with them needs to be minimized. Retail is an art, backed up by science. The science is the information we have from financial to research data (the “backroom stuff). The art is in how we operate on the lour: our merchandising, our people, and, ultimately, our customers.
For all of us, the competitive pressure has never been greater and it is only going to become more difficult. To be successful, it will require patience and understanding in knowing our customers and the behavior patterns that drive their decision-making process. Using this understanding to help turn Discount, Impulse, Need-Based, and even Wandering Customers into Loyal ones will help grow our business. At the same time, ensuring that our Loyal Customers have a positive experience each time they enter our store will only serve to increase our bottom-line profits.
