Create Lasting Memories of Your Store

With my having spent the first few years of my life in Newark, New Jersey, a smile erupts on my face when I encounter the word “Bamberger’s.” It happened again when I read a retrospective feature appearing in New Jersey’s The Record about the landmark department store.
     During 1912, Louis Bamberger opened his flagship site in Newark. About seventeen years later, the business was purchased by R.H. Macy Co, but because of the warm associations locals had with the store, the Bamberger’s name remained until 1986.
     The smile that crosses my face is not primarily because of my making purchases at Bamberger’s. It’s because I remember how excited my parents would be when planning to shop there. After my family moved to Los Angeles, long-distance telephone calls to relatives “back east” would occasionally include positive talk about Bamberger’s. The retrospective article in The Record includes many other testimonials to happy memories, with former shoppers and store employees dropping hints of their affection by referring to the place as “Bam’s.” People spoke of an authentic sense of family.
     The Bamberger’s flagship store was an enormous retail operation. The fourteen-story building occupied an entire city block. And there were a number of other Bamberger’s in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. Still, the opportunities for small to midsize single-store retailers to create lasting memories in their customers are as great. Actually, with the additional local ties, the value of those memories is even greater. And even more for the family-run business. And even more than that for the family-run business carrying the family name.
     Regardless of whether you’re family-run, give a sense of family for an emotional attachment which will last. Some retailers say, “Make our customers feel like family.” I prefer, “Give a sense of family,” because research findings seem clear that for maximum profitability, you want to be sure to keep the interactions as a business relationship. Don’t promise more than you’ll deliver. That wouldn’t be authentic.
     Researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison documented how Starbucks suffers from a negative image in which the company’s branding of the shops as an authentic coffee experience has come around to haunt Starbucks. Many customers, after being convinced of the importance of authenticity, decided Starbucks was bragging too much about their ability to be authentic.
     How are you jazzing up humdrum shopping in your store so there are long-term memories of authentic enjoyment?

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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Give a Sense of Family for Emotional Attachment 
Jazz Up Humdrum Shopping