Personalize the Selling Message

When shoppers feel more involved in their purchases, they give closer attention to getting value for their money. The truth is that this doesn’t always mean a higher total sale for the retailer. Highly involved customers shop more slowly and are less decisive than customers who bolt into the store, rocket directly from one set of shelves to another, toss each item into the basket without much thought, and then quickly pay and leave.
     Still, increased customer involvement does mean shoppers are more likely to return to your store and more likely to listen to staff’s advice about things such as switching to house brands. Those results are good for profitability.
     To build customer involvement, personalize the selling message:

• Maintain pleasant eye contact. Your staff shouldn’t be looking harshly at customers, but they should be maintaining eye contact with the customer while talking to them. At the same time, be aware how among some cultures, direct prolonged eye contact is considered aggressive, flirtatious, or worse. In these cases, use briefer and less continuous glances.
• Call customers by name whenever possible. Certainly, this is easiest to do with the regulars who come into the store and talk with staff. In other cases, you’ll see the person’s name on a credit card, need to ask for it when filling out a special order form, or overhear a shopper’s companion call them by name. Be sensitive to whether the customer objects to being called by their first name. It’s usually safer to use the last name.
• Ask questions that include the word “you.” This is a tactic you can use in signage, not solely in personal selling. “Would you like to improve your golf score?” “When was the last time you sat in a chair as comfortable as this one?”