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Presenting Fashionable Products

IT’S YOUR UP

Presenting Fashionable Products

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Tom Jennings Retail Training Expert Tom Jennings is a lifelong member of the flooring business. Since selling his family’s retail business in 2006, he has served the industry as an educator and speaker. He is a past board chairman of the WFCA and is currently the board chairman of WFCA Services, Inc. He may be reached at tomg.jennings@gmail.com

Having spent my adult life engaged in flooring retailing, I have observed that many store owners and managers have given a great deal of thought to what results they want to see their respective businesses achieve. They can tell you what products they wish to sell. They know how much margin they wish to gain from the sale and even when they want to sell them. They decide how they would like their store displays arranged, how the staff should dress, and what music they would like to hear playing in the background. They often say that they want to sell better quality goods than in the past. They feel that they have properly planned for favorable business results from each customer sale.

While this may appear impressive and certainly beats failing to plan, I find this “store-centered” business philosophy flawed. Why? Because no one bothered to ask the customer if any of this was relevant. Have you ever asked your customers what are indeed the essential elements of a sale to them? What is it that turns an ordinary product into an extraordinary fashion in the customer’s eyes?

I have found that a profitable use of time is to tour businesses successfully specializing in fashionable products not sold in our industry. These businesses may be selling anything from clothing to home décor, kitchenware, to eyewear. They do have one common goal — to make the customer’s buying experience fun and fulfilling. They have learned that customers will gladly pay more for unique, well-designed, innovative, and well-displayed products. They have learned that this customer places a high value on their time and will not allow it to be wasted. These merchants understand that there are “category killers” or “big boxes” in virtually every phase of retail that will appeal to a certain percentage of potential customers.

They also understand that the promise of mass retailing turns off a healthy percentage of potential customers. This customer wants to see the product in a comfortable setting with correct lighting. They want to hear relaxing background music — not a public address system with frequent ads mixed into the rotation. They want

They feel that they have properly planned for favorable business results from each customer sale. While this may appear impressive and certainly beats failing to plan, I find this “store-centered” business philosophy flawed. Why? Because no one bothered to ask the customer if any of this was relevant.

A famous saying states, “When they say that one size fits all — what they mean is that one size fits nobody!”

Find what your customer wants and then strive to see that they get it. When you focus on making a more discriminating customer happy — they will make you happy in return!

to work with a sales professional that is professionally dressed and groomed — not by someone wearing an apron with a collection of service pins attached to it to prove that they are “trained.” They want to have their purchase properly handled and placed into their car for them — not be forced to use a self-service kiosk “for their convenience”! Finally, they want to feel that what they have to say matters and that their business is valued. They are getting this feeling from their other favorite stores. Would they get the same feelings from yours?

A famous saying states, “When they say that one size fits all — what they mean is that one size fits nobody!” Unfortunately, mass marketers have adopted a “one size fits all” philosophy. A customer at their store must comply with their systems and policies. While this works for these retailers at their scale, don’t mistakenly think it will work for you. What works well for commodity products will not work as well for fashionable ones. Remember that they don’t care if one size fits everyone else, their size is the only one that matters to them, and it has to fit them perfectly! The odds of them finding this level of service at a mass merchant are remote, giving independent retailers an excellent opportunity to prosper. Find what your customer wants and then strive to see that they get it. When you focus on making a more discriminating customer happy — they will make you happy in return! ■

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