Four elements to quality customer experiences

Customer experience experts agree that how you make your customer feel is one of the most effective ways to grow your business.

Coastal retailers can put this into practice every day as customers walk through your doorway. I’ve found that there are four elements to providing customers with a quality experience: Greet the customer by looking them directly in the eye, smile, say hello and use the customer’s name.

Let’s take a closer look at why this approach is so effective for building quality customer experience.

Eye contact

When you look someone directly in the eye, it tells the person that all your attention is on them. Remember, the people you serve want to feel important. You can help them feel that way through good eye contact.

"When you use all four of these elements, you can form the beginning of a beautiful relationship with your customer."

Smile

A smile is one of the most powerful things you can offer your customers. It nonverbally communicates that you like them, you’re glad they’ve come to your gift shop, and you want to make their visit a pleasant experience.

Greeting

By simply acknowledging someone who walks into your store with a cheerful, “hello,” you make that person feel welcome. That’s exactly what your customers are looking for when they visit your gift shop.

Use their name

As the customer makes a purchase, you have another opportunity to connect with them by using their name, which can help to deepen your connection with them. When you introduce yourself, ask them for their name — or simply catch it from their credit or debit card during checkout.

When you use all four of these elements — eye contact, a smile, a greeting and their name — you can form the beginning of a beautiful relationship with your customer.

Tom Borg is a retail consultant, speaker and author of “True Small Business Brilliance.” Contact him at: 734-812-0526, tom@tomborg.com, www.tomborgconsulting.com