November 2008 | The economy has gone haywire. Do you want to spend money right now, when you’re feeling uncertain? Probably not. And your customers (past and potential) are feeling exactly the same way. You have reason to be alarmed.

“We’re going from bad to worse,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist in New York, who accurately forecasted the drop in consumer spending, “The recession is deepening.” And it’s not just talk, Bloomberg reports “Americans cut spending by 1 percent in October, the biggest drop since the last recession in 2001.”

Despite the dark clouds of the economy, there is a silver lining. In fact, this is your time to shine. Only the strong survive, and now is your time to show customers that YOU are the expert, YOU are the one certain thing they can count on, YOU will ride out the storm. In this economy it is critical to help your customers feel safe and confident in you. Safe is the way to coax precious dollars out of their pockets.

A Chicago-based research survey of store atmospherics showed 61% of respondents were encouraged to buy or spend more time in a store with a favorable atmosphere. You should have alarm bells going off in your head right now – you are going to lose 6 out of 10 customers if they don’t feel safe in your store’s atmosphere! How can you encourage sales out of those customers who do come by?

Top 5 Atmosphere Tips (and they cost next to nothing!)

   1.   Clean up. Get moving with the Windex!. Make everything sparkle, including floors, glass, restrooms, windows, displays.
   2. Tidy up. Align (or get rid of) those excess boxes. Sort the papers on your sales counter. Straighten the price tags. Remove old faded posters and signs.
   3. Make it accessible. Get rid of any obstacles. Customers never want to step over things. Make it easy for them to touch the products. Clear aisles and walk-ways. Never store things in hallways.
   4. Make ladies happy. Secret to please women: make your restroom a beautiful, sparkling experience. Add scented high-end soap, soft Kleenex, a spray scent in a pretty bottle, well-lit mirror, a pretty chair, a hanger for her purse in your impeccably clean restroom. She will tell all her friends and even encourage her spouse to buy from you because ‘you seem like good people.’
   5. Be considerate. How does your sales team greet people? Ask leading, open-ended questions like, “What are you curious about today?” instead of, “How can I help you?” Be polite and genuinely interested in serving their needs.

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