If you’re the owner of a retail business, then you’ll know more than most about the eternal struggle of getting customers through your doors.
While strong advertising campaigns both online and on your high street can help spread the word and get the customers visiting your store, getting clients to spend money and to return in the future, can feel like a losing battle.
If you’re worried about the levels of returning footfall within your business, then taking a closer look at the customer experience within your store could highlight a myriad of reasons why people aren’t returning or telling their friends and family to visit your store. We’re in an age where customers can shop from anywhere – we don’t even have to leave our homes!
However, by making some subtle changes and creating a customer-focused experience within your retail business, you can add a little magic to the high street and have people returning to your store again and again. Read on to find out more.
Make Payments Easier
There’s nothing more frustrating than when payments are slow and you’re constantly apologising to your customers for your poor POS or problems with your card readers. It’s a common reason why people don’t return to certain stores, particularly for customers who are on their lunch break and those who are pressed for time. By using a reliable and modern contactless card reader, you’ll be able to streamline the payments process, serve your customers quickly, highlight your efficiency, and focus on customer satisfaction simultaneously. Updating your card readers can transform your countertop wherever you may be, whether you’re on a food truck or a pop-up store.
Make The Experience Safe
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is still being felt on the high street with customers slowly, yet cautiously, returning. To encourage customers into your store and to keep them coming back, highlight how you’re making the shopping experience safe for them and how you, as a business, are taking the safety of your patrons seriously. Keep your staff in PPE, provide hand sanitising stations and make the wiping down of counters and displays consistently active, this investment in the safety of your customers won’t go unnoticed.
Train Your Staff!
It might just be a Saturday job for your youngest employees, but if a customer enquires about a specific item or range and that employee has no or limited knowledge of the product, then they’ve lost a potential sale. Training your staff on all your product lines, actively encouraging them to approach customers who look like they may need assistance and providing in-depth and helpful information can mean the difference between a customer who makes a purchase and returns and one that leaves empty-handed and never comes back.
Final Thoughts
As customers cautiously make their way back to the high street, businesses like yours need to focus on a customer-centric approach. It’s the best way to get them coming back and to tell their friends and family about you!
