Boost
Potential: Ask Customers Why They Didn't Buy
by: David Wing 
As I look at my calendar, I see
that many retailers are preparing to attend another buyers’ market.
There is one question that many retailers forget to ask themselves
as they plan their next buying trip: Have I asked my customers
what they want?
Business is never perfect -- it can always
be better. Very rarely do I hear a retailer say that business
has never been better, or that it is fantastic. In our ever-changing
economy, more than ever before, just making ends meet can be
a struggle.
I am a firm believer in customer service,
which is not the same as customer pampering. However, I see
so many businesses overlook some of the most basic rules and
thus lose customers. These are the same retailers who complain
that their traffic is down, or that customers are just not buying.
I have yet to hear (unless they’re one
of my clients) a retailer ask the customer who did not buy,
"Excuse me -- to better service our customers, I noticed
that you did not find what you came in for. I am planning our
next buying trip and would like to know what you didn’t find.
Maybe it’s something we should be carrying." It’s not a
hard question.
It is always important to thank the
customers who buy, but talking to the person who does not buy
can be even more important in your future success.
Let’s say that your sales ratio is 1
in 5 – i.e., for every five people you see, you make one sale.
What about those other four? Why didn’t they buy?
Maybe it was the selection, your sales
pitch, or your pricing. You will never know unless you ask.
By not asking, you hand that potential customer over to your
competition on a silver platter!
The purpose is not to turn that sale
around, although it could happen. It is to gain knowledge about
what you can do the next time. Do not go overboard.
Let’s consider an apparel store. You
have 10 customers come in, and you make two sales. You thank
the buying customers and ask the others why they did not buy
(tell them you are going to market and you want their input).
You get eight different reasons. What do you do? Nothing. You
do not have enough of one reason to make an informed decision.
Now let’s look at it this way: Out of
the eight, you have six who say they cannot find their size
or the prices are too high. Now you have something to go on.
Such patterns will tell you that you might need to make some
changes.
Meeting your customers’ needs cannot
be accomplished just by looking at what you are selling. It
is what you are not selling, what you are marking down, and
what you are not giving your customers that will matter in the
long run.
People love to give advice. All you have
to do is ask. It is what you do with that information that counts.
Copyright (C) Elements of Success; David
Wing and Retail Advisors. All rights reserved. For reprint permission,
contact David Wing at david@retailadvz.com or 1-800-624-5261.
Visit the Retail Advisors at http://www.retailadvz.com. Helping
Independent Retailers Since 1988.
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