Make sure you
check out the web hosts section if your thinking about starting a presence online.

This site is hosted by

click here to signup for bluehost now I highly recommend them.

Free Articles for Webmasters
Feel free to use these articles, but remember to keep the author's information and links. Please give a link back to this site as well.

Customer Service
Back To Advertising articles summary and RSS Feeds links

Create an Experience, Don’t Sell Commodities
Author: By John Stanley
Customers are bored with seeing products on retail shelves, they are looking for more exciting experiences. The challenge is, are you in the commodity business, selling liquor and grocery products or are you providing an experience.

Commodity sellers place tangible items on shelves and sell units of product. The challenge is always to increase the average sale per customer, one way of achieving this is to introduce service and services ie activities you execute. Many retailers have achieved this by providing delivery services, demonstrations, tasting stations and technical knowledge.

Now is the time for retailers to move on and provide an experience. This means we should create and experience for the customer where they are fully engaged with what we are doing. If Pike Place Fish market in Seattle and Pete’s Frootique in Halifax can achieve this, I’m sure it can be achieved in the local store.

Think of developing an experience based on these four elements:
•Education
•Escapism
•Entertainment
•Aesthetics

Education
Consumers enjoy experiences that provide a forum for education. This can be via cooking or tasting classes, educational leaflets and information provided by your team. Today many people want food and liquor to be healthier and more educating, therefore talks on wines and selecting fruit and vegetables, with cooking tips will be a major draw.

Escapism
Consumers want escapism, they want an environment that takes them away from the mundane, they don’t want to walk down rows of shelves. They want to experience boutique layouts and areas that are themed to a particular wine or beer region.

Entertainment
Entertaining your customers gives you an opportunity to let your imagination go wild. In recent months I have come across face painters, clowns, drum demonstrations for children, the list is endless. The secret is to provide a consistent package of entertainment away from your core business.

Aesthetics
Aesthetics, could include how you use aromatherapy, music and create an atmosphere for your customers. Keep music at less than sixty beats per minute, it will relax your customers.

We can learn from Brista Brava coffee bars in Washington DC. Their motto is “Our business is providing customer experiences, our industry is coffee.” Change the word coffee to liquor and then you have a motto for the future of your business.

About the Author

John Stanley is a conference speaker and retail consultant with over 20 years experience in 15 countries. John Stanley Associates produce an e-newsletter specific to retailing, this includes innovative ideas and advice to help you grow your profits. If you would like to receive a regular copy please visit www.johnstanley.cc or email us on newsletter@johnstanley.cc.

Business News
[an error occurred while processing this directive]

	Web webmastertips.us