The Welcome Mat

Make your customers feel like a million bucks.
By Gwen Moran (Entrepreneur.com)

My first job was as a clerk in a local pharmacy. The proprietor, Mr. P., was a warm, humorous man who knew each of his regular customers by name. He would call out to them and begin chatting about their families or the weather almost as soon as they walked in the door. People would find excuses to visit the store, making frequent purchases just to enjoy the environment he created.

Mr. P. was a relationship marketer before the term ever existed, and he coached each employee to follow his example. Mr. P's way of doing business passed its biggest test after a discount drug store opened a few miles down the road--and his customer base remained loyal.

Can You Relate?

Meeting and greeting your customers properly is such a basic concept that it's frequently overlooked. However, throughout my years of working with businesses to help them grow, I've found the most successful are always those that work diligently at building customer relationships at all levels of the organization. Here are a few ways to do it well:

• Make your layout customer-friendly. If you can't see your customers, you could be losing them. At Lumber One, a 120-employee lumber and manufacturing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, owner Gary Ogle and his employees take greeting their customers so seriously that when they moved to a new facility, they designed it to allow them to quickly accommodate customers.

  "We didn't want our customers sitting in a room, waiting for someone to come get them," says Ogle, 50. Instead, the offices near the customer entrance were built with half-walls so all the inside sales representatives could easily see customers enter. Also, the receptionist's station was placed close to the front door so customers are quickly accommodated.

• Greet customers quickly. No one likes the feeling of walking into a business and being ignored. Encourage your employees to greet customers the moment they enter your place of business. Some businesses create a more personal atmosphere, offering customers a glass of sparkling apple cider or other refreshments to enjoy as they browse.
• Help if you're needed. Back off if you're not. The quickest way to chase customers out the door is to chase them around the store. Customers get annoyed if they feel they are being pressured, followed or watched. Coach employees to remain discreetly on hand if customers have questions, but allow clients to browse freely otherwise. If a customer needs assistance, employees should drop what they're doing and provide it.
• Treat VIPs like VIPs. Recognize important customers when they come to call. Lumber One places a marquis board at the front door of the facility. When important clients arrive for an appointment, both the receptionist and a special message on the board are there to greet them.
  If your business is primarily walk-in, make it a priority to learn the names of customers who return frequently or who make large purchases. For service-oriented businesses or those that receive orders via phone, you may wish to create a paper or computer file on VIP preferences. For instance, a florist friend of mine keeps a card file on each of her most frequent customers, recording the colors of their home décors, seasonal flower preferences and so on, so she always delivers the perfect arrangement.

  As Ogle puts it, "[Customers] have to understand they're an important part of the company. Having customers feel like everyone knows them, that they're part of the company, is critical. Without them, the company wouldn't exist."

  Mr. P. would be proud.

Lumber One, garyo@lumberonebrownsburg.com

Gwen Moran is president of Moran Marketing Associates, a public relations and marketing communications agency in Ocean, New Jersey. She is currently completing a marketing workbook titled Promote Your Business. E-mail her at moranmarketing@erols.com

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