Marketing in retail is different than marketing any other business. Almost everything you do is open for the public to see and judge. Everything you do has to be geared towards thousands of people, if not more. Everyone has heard of the phrase ‘the customer is always right, ’ and anyone in retail knows that it’s a mantra you have to live your days by. But, surprisingly, it’s not all about the customers. The other main thing in your business is the product itself, and, unfortunately, a lot of retail businesses have lost sight of that, and the product has suffered in an attempt to make the face of the business better to look at.
Your product is the baseline of who you are as a business; no matter your motto, your customer service or your employee training, if the product isn’t good, the customers won’t come back. Think about your favorite coffee store or clothing store; you go back because you love it. It gets to a point where the greatest customer service just isn’t enough.
Personal Products
As a retail store, branding is a pretty easy thing to do; you can stick your logo on the shopping bags, on the coffee cups and even on accessories. Depending on your branch of retail you might be able to make branded merchandise - think about pint glasses that are branded for a particular beer. If you run a coffee store, you can look at having a specific flavor made for you from the roastery. Having a signature flavor is another way of creating that brand. The same can be said for a brewery; your beer or ale needs to be unique and recognizable.
Publicizing History
Keep everything open to the public - if you have coffee farms in Africa and do a lot towards improving the lives of your farmers then tell the world about it. People love stories; they will always want to know more about the product they love so much. With the more unpleasant backgrounds of some companies coming into the limelight over the past few years, people really want to know the truth behind your manufacturing, and by making your good practices known, you will automatically have the confidence and loyalty of your customers. You can express your history through your store decor, through you advertising or simply on your website.
Customer Interaction
Even though it’s not all about the customers, they do get a say in your product. You have to tailor everything you make and sell to match what they want, and sometimes that is harder than you anticipate. But making sure that your customer can easily have a say will make things a lot easier. You can measure customer satisfaction about customer service easily through customer feedback forms, so it is a simple thing to add in some questions about the product as well as their experience. You can then use this to enhance the product.
I hope you enjoyed this article about why the product is as important as the customers for business success.
Interested in more articles about creating a better customer experience?
Read My Blog Posts:
- How To Analyze Customer Feedback For Success
- 4 Ways To Modernize Your Customer Service
More Bootstrap Business Blog Below
