Too often retail managers and owners rank product knowledge above the initial customer greeting. Get the greeting right and you open a door. Get it wrong and no amount of product knowledge will win you a sale.
By greeting we mean the opening words to a customer … in fact, the opening words to every customer, any time of the day.
It is common in retail to train employees to say: can I help you?, are you finding everything okay?, can I help you find what you are looking for? or (shudder) Do you need help?
None of these is a good opening line.
Our advice is to use a simple unambiguous greeting. Choose the greeting based on the time of day: good morning, good afternoon or good evening.
Even at the counter, saying good morning, good afternoon or good evening is better than: Hi, how are we?, yes, is that all today, hello or (shudder) next please.
Good is the vital word in good morning, good afternoon or good evening. It is an open word, warm, welcoming and embedded with gratefulness.
Surveys of small business retailers often indicate they think their customer service is a point of difference over big business rivals. Getting your greeting right can show off the point of difference. Our advice here to use good morning, good afternoon or good evening is an excellent way to show off that point of difference.
Said with a smile and a sincere cheerfulness in your voice, good morning, good afternoon or good evening is sure to make irregular visitors and first time visitors feel welcome and that is sure to be good for business.
Our advice is you work on this greeting at a staff meeting or individually with team members. Listen for warmth and sincerity.
Get everyone using good morning, good afternoon or good evening without any great announcement or fanfare. See how your team members feel. See how customers feel. The goal is for the difference to be measurable.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.