Providing a Rewarding Experience for Your Customers

Written by John Stanley


Walkrepparttar Consumer’s Journey

Successful retailers take consumers on a journey. Inrepparttar 143475 next series of articles I will explainrepparttar 143476 journey to you giving you examples on how to implement it in your business alongrepparttar 143477 way. But firstly, let me providerepparttar 143478 outline torepparttar 143479 journey so we are all aware ofrepparttar 143480 process:

Step One - Journey of Discovery

Step Two - Journey of Inspiration

Step Three - Journey of Excitement

Step Four - Journey of Trust

Step One: Journey of Discovery

As retailers we often forget that our customers are passing through our business on an extended journey. Although their visit to your store is a critical part of their journey, it is only a part ofrepparttar 143481 journey.

The first step on their journey is actuallyrepparttar 143482 discovery of your business. The majority of potential consumers will discover your business via “interruption” marketing, such as radio commercials, flyers and newspaper adverts. In a typical day, you will be one of up to 3000 businesses aiming to get their message across to a potential customer. As you’d expect,repparttar 143483 majority will miss their target as interruption marketing is becoming less and less effective in attracting that new customer.

Placing ‘safe’ adverts in newspapers stating where you are located and this week’s offers just doesn’t work effectively for most businesses these days. If you want to be discovered you cannot afford to play safe anymore. In today’s competitive market it is essential you come up with original ideas to grab new customers’ attention. You have to dare to be different.

How to play unsafe Involve your team as well asrepparttar 143484 marketing arm of your business to invent ways consumers can discover your business. I userepparttar 143485 word invent on purpose. You may have to try something you’ve never tried before. Brainstorming ideas that get you away fromrepparttar 143486 traditional newspaper advert, but are not looked on as a gimmick, arerepparttar 143487 real key to your success. I would definitely suggest you get a copy of Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow, Portfolio, 2003, ISBN 159184021X.

Consortium Loyalty Programs Kare Anderson, in her new book, Smart Partnering - How to attract and delight more customers while spending less (visitrepparttar 143488 bookstore on our website to purchase a copy) picks up on a trend I have seen grow aroundrepparttar 143489 world inrepparttar 143490 last twelve months, Consortium Loyalty Programs.

This is where a group of retailers identify they haverepparttar 143491 same consumer and then jointly promote to attract that consumer to all their businesses. The result is they promote to a larger database, but for a reduced cost per target consumer.

Some retailers are partnering in what at first seems bizarre ways. For example, a Dutch fashion label, 50/50, are partnering withrepparttar 143492 Salvation Army. The Salvation Army sends specific clothing torepparttar 143493 designer who makes this clothing “hip.” The designer then sellsrepparttar 143494 clothing and halvesrepparttar 143495 profit withrepparttar 143496 Salvation Army.

Toys “R” Us are installing “The Toy Box” in Albertson’s Supermarkets inrepparttar 143497 USA to see if a joint marketing campaign can extend their market penetration.

Journey of Inspiration

Written by John Stanley


Provide a Rewarding Experience for your customers

Step Two: Journey of Inspiration

Step One - Journey of Discovery

Step Two - Journey of Inspiration

Step Three - Journey of Excitement

Step Four - Journey of Trust

Inrepparttar last article in this series we looked atrepparttar 143474 Journey of Discovery. Consumers need to discover you exist. If you are innovative in your marketing and external promotions they may just get in their car and journey to your business. Your next challenge is that you have thirty seconds to inspire them, yes, that’s right, thirty seconds!

Researchers tell us thatrepparttar 143475 majority of potential customers will judge your business based on three, thirty second zones. Seventy percent of that decision will be based on what they see; therefore you need to create a visually inspiring view of your business.

Within such a limited time frame you need to create a focal point that is simple and different. Easy to put into words, but difficult to put into practice, so let’s look atrepparttar 143476 three zones and at some easy methods of being visually inspirational:

1.Start inrepparttar 143477 parking lot –repparttar 143478 first 10 seconds The image zone starts outside your business. Your adverts, external landscaping, paint work and shop window displays are all going to play an integral part in creating a mental picture of whatrepparttar 143479 customer is going to expect fromrepparttar 143480 whole experience he will have within your business.

For example, I recently worked with a public library. Allrepparttar 143481 team members came to work viarepparttar 143482 ‘back’ door. As a consultant, I entered viarepparttar 143483 front door. My visit was ten days after a national holiday on which all businesses were closed. As I entered, there was a large sign acrossrepparttar 143484 front door informing everyone thatrepparttar 143485 library would be closed next Thursday forrepparttar 143486 holiday. When I pointed out thatrepparttar 143487 holiday wasrepparttar 143488 previous week, it became clear that nobody inrepparttar 143489 library was walkingrepparttar 143490 building as a customer. They were all entering byrepparttar 143491 wrong door! Image can change byrepparttar 143492 moment. Litter onrepparttar 143493 floor or dirty fingerprints on windows can change your image in just seconds. It’s essential that all your team members are aware of how importantrepparttar 143494 ‘image zone’ is and that they are empowered to take appropriate action to correct any flaw inrepparttar 143495 image immediately.

All progressive retailers must do a walk “inrepparttar 143496 customer’s shoes” every day to check their external image. In Think For Your Customer, Lizard Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-9750118-1-2 there is a daily checklist to keep your business looking sharp.

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