Idea Exchange - June 2011
 Listen, Ask Questions First
From Carolyn Weise with Ecological Laboratories Inc.
Good customers are made when retailers take time to ask questions and listen to the answers before recommending products. Products sold in haste frequently are wrong.
A customer called asking for algaecide. I could have recommended the best product we have, but by asking questions I discovered that her issue was not the algae, it was the underlying problems creating an algae bloom. By taking time to ask about her pond, I prevented her from walking away with just an algaecide, as she requested. Instead, she needed several other products to take care of the underlying problems.
Retailers might get one sale of algaecide but loose others by not taking time to listen to a sometimes confused or talkative consumer. Learning to listen and to ask the right questions will increase sales and earn respect for the store. This increases your residual income.
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| The tone and greeting you use to answer your business telephone tells the caller about your company. (Courtesy of Cioli & Hunnicutt/BowTie Studios) | Improve Telephone Relations
From SCORE Association
Everyone who calls your business is a potential or current customer. Make sure your telephone service benefits your bottom line.
- Answer by the second ring.
- Greet callers in a warm and professional manner.
- Document the customer's call, including time and date, a description of the call, the actions taken and follow-up contact.
- If you are busy and the call is not urgent, politely explain the situation and get the customer's contact information, including a convenient time for you to return the call.
- If you must use an automated answering system, make the customer service line one of the first options.
- Always follow up with customers to ensure the issue was addressed satisfactorily. You might gain valuable suggestions for improving your service or a happy referral.
Know Your Tech-savvy Clients
From Fiona Swerdlow with Shop.org
People rapidly have adopted tablets and smartphones, leaving retailers scrambling to understand more about these consumers. These highlights from a recent shop.org survey offer a peek into the habits of tablet and smartphone owners.
- Traditional media and face-to-face communication are the leading triggers for two out of five tablet and smartphone users to start an online search.
- One-third of tablet users regularly seek advice from others before buying products or services, compared with one-quarter of smartphone owners and not quite one-fifth of all adults.
- 43 percent of tablet owners regularly search for product information and comparison shop, versus a little over one-quarter of all adults.
- One-third of tablet and smartphone owners who regularly use Facebook turn to social media to communicate with others about a purchased service, product or brand.
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Idea Exchange - June 2011
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