What's in a name

The Last Three Feet

In the second of a series of regular columns, Glynn Lavender says there is something about calling a customer by their name that helps bond them to your store.

In fact, it has been medically proven (Institute of Medicine, New Jersey) that hearing our own name stimulates certain parts of our brain and helps us when we are making judgements about ourselves.

So how does this affect us on the sales floor?

We can help build a bond with our customers early on in a sale simply by introducing ourselves and asking the customer for their name.

This simple act, so rarely seen in modern stores, almost comes as a shock tothe customer.

What are they thinking when you actually take the time to find out who they are?

Maybe they are thinking that this salesperson in front of them is actually interested in the job they are doing and the products they sell and is not just looking to sell a product for the sake of it.

How does this simple act change the dynamic of the sale?

Often customers looking to purchase expensive electronic products have a price-sensitive mindset.

All they are interested in is the bottom line.

Changing the dynamic of the sale by personalising your approach can go some distance towards derailing this attitude and focusing the sale on getting the right product for the customer rather than simply haggling prices with them.

This approach also lets you find out more about why they want the product they came in asking for and leading you to towards add-on products to complement the item and, more importantly, add much needed margin to the sale.

Even when we can change our customers' focus from a price-only mindset and sell the products at close to our store?s asking price, we must still find ways to add margin to the sale by selling as many accessories as we can because of our generally low margins.

Most companies provide their staffs with name tags but in the majority of stores I go into I rarely find more than half the staff actually wearing them.

Wearing your name tag is a vital part of building the bond with your customer. You may have introduced yourself early in the sale but due to noise in the store, or simply out of shock, they may have misheard your name.

Wearing your name badge gives the customer confidence to use your name in response to your questions and continues to strengthen the bond after you have negotiated your way through the sale process.

Glynn Lavender has been involved in the speciality photo retail market for 28 years. Contact Glynn at glynn@mackcam.com