The Hidden Sales secret of customer engagement
One of the most common mistakes that many small retailers make is putting all of their efforts into only 3 places:
Figuring out how to get new customers to their store
What they want to sell to these customers
What price they should sell their products at to make their customers happy ( and hopefully a profit)
While all of these areas are very important, if you just stop there, you are doing a huge disservice to your business and your customers.
Getting people to visit your website or brick-and-mortar is great.
Having a great product that they would love and at an attractive price is even better,
But if they DON’T CARE about you or that product, it all doesn’t matter!
Attracting visitors to your store is not enough. You have to KEEP them there in order for them to shop with you. That is how they are one step closer to becoming BUYERS.
This important, but widely forgotten step in the customer journey is part 2 of the D.E.C.I Method, Engage. This step is so important because this is where you start your connection with your visitor. This is where you:
Show them what you sell
Who you are as a brand…and why they should care
What makes you different than your competition
You want to do a little “Show and Tell” for your visitors so they have a reason to stay and “investigate’ further. You need to spark their curiosity and make them feel welcomed and that their efforts to learn more will not go in vain.
But how do you do this? How do you start a connection with your visitor and compel them to learn more about you, your brand, and your fantastic products?
The answer may surprise you. It’s through another tried and true Visual Merchandising Marketing technique…Your LAYOUT!
Yes…I said your layout! How your store is laid out is the key to having the best Engagement with your visitor and turning them into a customer.
This is true for both online and brick-and-mortar stores.
Your layout dictates HOW your visitors interact with you and your brand. They give the visitor clues as to who you are and what your brand really stands for. You may think you are telling your customers one thing, but your layout may tell them a whole different message.
Let’s say that you are a moderately priced jewelry store. Meaning your prices range from $65-$1500. Your materials are all top-notch and responsibly sourced. You take pride in your craftsmanship and superior customer service. Your brand is sleek, elegant, and modern. Your target customer is a woman in her mid to upper 30s to 50s who has great style, loves feeling special, has a great eye for how things are made, and is visually appealing.
Now when she visits your jewelry store, this is what she finds:
Your displays are all over the place and cluttered. Not balanced at all.
The arrangement of your products doesn’t have a clear message.
Your name and logo are hard to read and find throughout the store
Your branding is boring, just black and white.
You don’t have any information about how your jewelry is made or where it is sourced shown anywhere
Your pricing is not clear and quite confusing
It is hard to find anything in your store. She has to go through a lot of hoops just to see where things may be
The flow of your store is confusing and not inviting
Get the picture? Your description of your brand and what you sell and who you serve is completely different from what the visitor is ACTUALLY experiencing with the layout or setup of your store. This is a key miss that many small retailers make that the larger brands understand. They understand it so well that they spend millions of dollars to ensure they have the right layouts and designs for their stores.
Did you notice that I didn’t distinguish if this was an online store or a brick-and-mortar store? This was on purpose. That is because BOTH store types have the SAME issues when creating a layout for their stores. Each type of store must create a layout that helps their visitors connect with who they are, what they are selling, and what makes their brand their brand. The concepts, techniques, and strategies are the same, the way they look and are implemented is the only difference.
Understanding how to create the right layout for your store is a crucial step in having the best customer engagement for your visitors. It leads them through the customer buying process in a way that is easy, relaxed, and fun.
Want to learn how? Find out more here!
Nichole
