Are You A Pleasure To Buy From?

Ever been frustrated by the poor service you have received? When I buy a product or service if I get poor delivery or service then I am probably not going to be buying from that place again. I doubt I am the only person who feels this way.

Take a look around – businesses that make it a pleasure to buy always do better than those that don’t. What amazes me in a recession is that so few owners and managers are aware of this – they seem to go around with their eyes closed. It’s the same on the internet as the high street – you have to make buying from you a pleasure.

So how do you optimise your businesses potential? Well here’s a simple process: take your customers view of your business by;

• Requesting your own information
• Buying your own product / service
• Visiting your own business – on-line or off-line
• Speaking to your own team
• Experiencing your own service

There are so many businesses competing with you for your customers. You need to be looking to make buying easy, efficient and pleasurable.

Use a friend or a mystery shopper if you need to see what buying looks like without your team giving you ‘personally’ the best service they can – just because you’re the boss.

Use questionnaires to find out what your customers think of the buying experience and how it can be improved – incentivise getting these questionnaires back with special offers or donations to charity. Include a suggestions box for your team and customers to use – look to focus the ideas on how to improve the selling experience. You can now get suggestion box software for your website – use it.

Here’s a check list; not everything on it will apply to your business but many will – don’t close your ears on this list, don’t do an “I know” – this list can apply to ALL aspects of your business on and off line.

1. Are your premises clean – spotless not just the once over
2. Carpets vacuumed?
3. Outside and inside paint looking fresh and clean?
4. Is the pavement outside clean and swept? Rubbish from a business down the road blowing around your premises causes you a problem
5. Are your shelves and fittings clean, dust free, tidy?
6. Have you got the temperature right?
7. Does your showroom smell attractive?
8. Are your products displayed well, clean and easy to find?
9. Is EVERY item priced and the price tag not tatty?
10. Do the fixtures & fittings, lighting and general decoration match the quality of the product you sell?
11. Are your team knowledgeable, interested and helpful? Is the person who answers the phone able to deal with the enquiry? Have they used your product, eaten it experienced it?
12. NEVER leave someone on hold waiting whilst someone to answer their query is found.
13. Are your team putting your customer first? They should ALWAYS be putting them first.
14. Some people will tell you to always have enough stock so the customer can always leave with everything they want – but in real life – don’t hold stock that is too slow moving – just make sure you have a relationship with your suppliers that you can get hold of it immediately / in a better than acceptable time frame, hours instead of days
15. Do all of your team always greet every customer with a genuine smile both face to face and on the phone?
16. Do all of your team show genuine, helpful interest to every customer?
17. Do all of your team greet every customer with good eye contact?
18. Do all your team listen, I mean really listen, to your customers needs?
19. Do all of your team offer a genuine attitude to serve? Even more do you and your team go the extra mile – or further when things go wrong?
20. Do you respond to every request for information immediately – same day for post?
21. Is your reception area clean, organised, professional and impressive?
22. Are your chairs comfortable?
23. Are your tables steady or wobbly? Don’t blame the pavement.
24. Is your cutlery & glasses clean? Without dishwasher stains also.
25. Are your table cloths not just clean but spotless and ironed?
26. Are your team dressed appropriately? Do they look professional and belonging to a professional business?
27. Is the food hot enough / cold enough? Is there enough?
28. Are your team and customer toilets as clean and fresh as your toilet at home?
29. Using ‘virtual’ customer service ‘chat’ reps? – well most of these aren’t virtual – they are non-existent customer service
30. Does your purchase page explain the process the customer is going through? Maybe even a video if it’s a bit complex.
31. Is your checkout process secure?
32. Is your technical support team just as available as your sales team?
33. Does your ‘contact us’ page really make it simple and efficient to get a quick answer?
34. Does your website or team use terminology that customers may not understand?

Use this checklist to give your business a quick shot in the arm and start making buying from you easy, efficient and pleasurable.

Peter