3 Ways To Leave A Lasting Impression.
In the world of customer service. Nothing matters more than a lasting impression. Whether for better or worse, the impressions made on a shopper will leave a mark, either resulting in a positive turn or otherwise.
We are often told that the first impression matters. Which is true. However, in terms of first impressions, a good first impression would need to be a cut above the rest in order to have a lasting impact. Being acknowledged and welcomed, is the norm – as it should be – and customers often don’t realize these any more.
Making the First Impression a Lasting Impression.
How you make the first impressions count? Certain retail stores would give a loud, but general, welcome to their customers when they enter. I’m sure many of you have come across these. The moment you walk into a store – you would hear a loud “welcome.” However, you then look around and notice that none of the staff are looking at you.
To me and the people I know, at least, find this extremely annoying. Stores might as well hire a parrot or have a machine to welcome customers that walk in.
Walk into a high-end store, and most of the time you would be welcomed warmly. Where the staff would look at you and say “welcome.” It may not be as energetic as the previous. However, it is certainly more welcoming. Failing that, even a welcome from a far with eye contact would mean more than the alternative mentioned above.
Connecting With Shoppers.
The biggest way to make a lasting impression on a customer is when a staff is able to built rapport. Let’s take a small scenario. Say you are about to go buy a car. We talking a huge purchase here. Now, most of the time as long as the staff is polite and able to answer all our answers, we are able to make our own decision on the car. However, if the staff is able to built good rapport with us, we are definitely not only willing to make the purchase there. We may even recommend other to the dealership.
This is simply because we feel comfortable and familiar with the staff. Building rapport involves asking about the shopper and their situation. Why they are looking to buy the car, what was the purpose of the car and asking questions about their family as well. It also involves sharing some personal information with the shopper as well.
A trade of information between two people makes the building rapport stage simple. Though not as simple to pull off. As the staff would need to be energetic, friendly, have a genuine interest in another person and show their authentic-selves.
Closing.
If anything, the closing part of any visit will leave the greatest lasting impression. It’s the last thing the customer will remember when leaving – regardless of whether the customer makes a purchase of not.
Just like “First Impressions” – a simple “thank you, please come again” is so common we would often not even realize we heard it. So, the last impression also needs to count.
This can be done in a number of ways. Following the example of the car purchase above, if the staff were to follow up with you, that would make it a more of a lasting impression – even though it was after the visit. It will jolt the memory of the customer to remember.
For retail, this can be as simple as offering to place an item on hold, or checking another store for an item that was not available etc. It allows customers to feel special. When customers feel special, they feel connected to and identify with the brand.
Are you staff making the most of their customer interaction? Let us help you find our today.
