Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/73671
By Darryl Rosen Getting Customers to Spend More D o you view your cus- tomers as "wallets with legs?" I know we're not supposed to see customers that way but beverage retailers have a real problem. It's called survival. And to survive and prosper, retailers have no choice but to find additional ways to entice their customers to spend more money by gaining a bigger slice of their customer's shopping budgets. To help you navigate these waters, here are four tips for digging deeper into your customer's pockets. Be genuinely happy to customers This might seem like common sense, but walking into a retail store is not always the most welcoming feel- ing. I remember shopping with my wife at a boot store in Nashville. As she shopped, I observed the girl behind the counter. Customers walked in – she said nothing. Customers walked out – she said nothing. She stood there staring at her mobile device. Retailers must recognize the choices that customers make. They must see (and teach employees) that when customers walk through your doors they have chosen your store over others. They've chosen your place of business to spend their hard earned cash. When hiring store associates, instead of initially spending time showing associates how to stock the shelves and ring the register, try sharing that when a customer walks through the door, she has chosen your place of business. Share the reality that your products are no different from what you can find at mass merchandisers. Sure, there are little nuances here and there, but at the end of the day, everything is pretty much the same. Share that a customer walking through the door is a good thing. A positive. Not someone who prevents you from putting away stock or taking a break. Don't act like your prices are too high If you're not the low-cost provider, make sure your associates are keeping their personal opinions about price to themselves. Here's an example. Deep in the recesses of Terminal 3 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, there's a little newsstand where I occasionally pick up an energy bar. One day, I put two energy bars on the counter, and the cashier held one up and said, "This is $3.50…" He was letting me know the price was high. Make sure your people don't send signals, both verbal and non-verbal, to customers about the price of your products. Don't mention the price when your customer doesn't ask the price. Determine your customer's need Although a customer may come in with a specific need, there may be other hidden needs. Additional sell- ing opportunities that we, the experts, might be able to identify during the needs determination step. Our goal is to remember these needs and bring them to the cus- tomer's attention once we have satisfied her primary need. For example, if the butcher in a grocery store learns that his customer is having a barbecue, than she can mention the special price the store is having on charcoal that week. Look for opportunities to recommend a slightly higher-priced product One of my favorite pastimes is teaching retail wine associates suggestion selling. I always start with the following premise: If a customer wants to spend $10, with the right amount of knowledge and training, any wine associate should be able to sell a $12 bottle. With this thought, I usually get someone who fears that his credibility will go out the window. But given the prolonged economic uncertainty, it's important for managers to communicate the company's need for profitability, and how sales associates can balance their desire to choose the perfect product (and build their credibility) with the company's overall welfare. Sometimes customers don't know what they don't know, you know? A slightly higher-priced bottle may complete their meal better; make their occasion just a bit more special. So we teach them, and in the process we earn a few extra dollars. s DARRYL ROSEN spends his time helping beverage retailers achieve their sales and management objectives. He welcomes any comments at darryl@darrylrosen.com Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • July/August 2012 • 13