Kaye Marks |
Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of developments in color printing industry and how these improvements can benefit small to medium-scale business. |
Kaye Marks
has written 38 articles for SB Informer. |
View all articles by Kaye Marks... |
More than Just a Place to ShopHow to make your place more than just for shopping Kaye Marks
June 12, 2008
Why exactly are people coming and shopping with you? If you don’t know
the answer to this than how are you supposed to properly encourage them
to come in?
How long has it been since you really stopped and
actually looked at why people like your company? If you’ve been in
business for at least a few years or more than you have your set of
loyal customers that keep coming in. The question is how many of them
are their and why are the loyal ones so loyal?
When you order
color printing for your advertisements, what kind of focus do those ads
take? Are they all about the next sale? Is your only focus when it
comes to ads about great deals and upcoming product releases?
I
know of a few stores I regularly go to that I only do so for good
deals. The problem with companies like this is that I only shop with
them so long as they’re offering me the best deal. As soon as another
company opens up that can give me something for cheaper, I’m there, and
the first company has just lost some business.
The companies
I’m truly loyal to are the ones that can offer me more than just good
deals. These are the companies that have a personality all their own.
They host different events that appeal to me, they have better than
normal customer service, and they have several programs that go beyond
getting business.
Think about what you can do that separates
you out from the rest of the pack. Maybe you can emphasize an
environmentally friendly goal with your color printing where you tell
people about all the things you’re doing to improve the environment.
Maybe you donate a certain amount of your profits to a certain charity,
or maybe you’re joining forces with a local group that’s trying to
improve the city.
This isn’t just about what you can do for
your customers in relation to better deals, but what kind of
contribution can you make to them beyond the purchase they’re about to
make.
I’ve seen plenty of companies that emphasize that they’re
a family run company that understands a person’s needs. They aren’t
telling everyone that you’re going to get the best price when they come
in, but that you’re going to be dealing with dedicated people who have
something personally invested in the company.
This is what I
mean by being more than just a place to shop. The smaller your company
is the easier it is to accomplish. After all, when I walk into a local
store where I can actually talk to the owner whenever I want because
he’s the main person working there, it isn’t hard to get a good feel
for the place.
But that doesn’t mean the larger companies
should bypass developing a personality for their company. The earlier
examples I gave of donating to charities or making yourself eco
friendly are just a few of the ways even large companies can develop a
strong personality.
If you make yourself more than just a store
you can increase the odds of having truly loyal customers. The next
time you order color printing for your advertisements ask yourself why
people are really shopping with you.
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