You have a sandwich shop, a bakery, or a coffee shop, where you sell a significant number of one-off items. If a customer pops in, asks for one item and leaves, you’ve made a single sale. But if the same customer comes, sits down, does something, and decides to buy something else, you will have made more than one sale. While it is not easy to hold customers for longer on your premises, you need to be innovative so they could spend more time in your business. If you come up with creative ways of retaining your clients, you will end up making multiple sales on any given day. But the question is how to hold a customer in your business without coercion. You need to have superior customer support to reach this goal. Read on to find ways of keeping your customers longer to increase sales.
Background Music
Though there are many factors to consider, we will start on background music. Music is a perfect way to create the right ambiance, whether your business is a bustling bar, a doctor’s reception, or a hotel lobby. Make sure the volume of the music is not too high or it will distract your customers. They need an enjoyable atmosphere if they are to remain for a long time on your premises. Listen to client’s feedback regarding the kind of music you are playing. Customer support also incorporates what you do to your clients besides the core issue that brought them to you.
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Music has an array of roles in any business. It can help in defining the brand; for instance, a store that sells sports shoes will prefer cool but current tunes, while a car showroom will opt for classical and sophisticated tunes. You will keep your sales team energized, and ready to offer effective customer support if you play the right music in your business. Your sales team will focus on the customer more, and they will work harder if the background music is motivating enough.
If you consider having music in your business, do not just pick up your phone and play your favorite hits via Spotify or iTunes. You are obliged to pay royalty fees if you play music in your shop. Various collecting societies such as Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA), and the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) will visit your shop to ascertain your compliance to every regulation regarding music on business premises. Part of your customer support is playing music that the authorities have approved. If you want to avoid the PPCA certification, you could sign up to the audio and video music available in Foxtel Music. It is a relatively new service that has a broad library of high-quality music the authorities have accepted.
You can also choose your customer’s favorite playlists, so they can feel your appreciation and approve of your customer support. You can equally customize your music to fit your preferred business atmosphere. Foxtel Music has a stylish control center that allows you to select music which you can play during various times of the day. The service allows you to play music from different genres, and you can play your genre of choice at different zones in your business. The music that plays as customers arrive should be different from the one they listen to as you serve them. Foxtel Music constantly updates their site so your customers will not listen to the same music every time they come to your business. The site does not have ads, so you are sure of uninterrupted sessions of non-stop music. Likewise, you could innovate and create your preferred promotions and broadcast them. Your customers will appreciate the gesture of knowing a new service or product you have to offer.
Get Some Wi-Fi
You will tie people to your business if you have free Wi-Fi. Do not settle for just any internet service provider. Go for the best. Your gesture of providing free and fast Wi-Fi is a perfect show of customer support. Since many people work from home, casual-food shops and coffee shops have changed to virtual offices. Some coffee in the early morning could transform into a bagel at mid-morning, a sandwich for your lunch, another coffee mug later on, or a muffin.
Though you want to provide the best customer support by offering a free Wi-Fi service, you should make sure passers-by do not take advantage of the free internet. Change the password as frequently as possible. You could print the new password on the customer’s receipts when you serve them.
People loathe spending long periods in places that does not have fast wireless connections. Having a strong signal Wi-Fi helps your customers to use their smartphones in their preferred way. They can manage a few tasks online without having to go back to their offices or homes. If you allow the use of laptops on your premises and you have free and fast Wi-Fi, your shop will be a favorite stop for people who love spending hours working as they take a drink. Provision of a strong, reliable Wi-Fi signal that can handle your business’ size is an admirable customer support you can offer to your customers.
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Put up Some Games
It is an auspicious move for coffee shops, and your customers will love it. Seek to retain them in your business longer by providing games such as nostalgic board games, which can evoke memories in a casual client. They will not only stay for longer, but will have a reason to come back. Spending more time on your premises means they will spend money on what you are offering as they play.
Begin Some Trivia
If you have a bar, this is a good art to perfect. Have trivia nights that inspire your customers to drink more than they do under normal circumstances. Make sure the contest has rewards to the team, or individual, who wins. Also, have dedicated customer support so the games can run without any distraction.
Hire The Best Staff
One of the reasons why customers leave fast is receiving unsatisfying service. Work hard to ensure you employ the best customer support team. If you give your clients decent service, they will spend long hours in your business, and it is very likely they will bring their friends during their next visit. You should never accept rude or unresponsive staff on your premises. Your target is to make customers happy and satisfied, but you cannot do that if your customer support team is not offering high-class customer service. Empower your service team by rewarding them for the great work they do.
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Offer Baskets, Totes, or Shopping Carts
If you pop into a Bath & Body Works store, and receive a warm reception from a customer support team that offers you a shopping cart or bag, you are likely to spend more than you anticipated. It is a smart move, since customers will stay longer as they ponder what to buy. Even though you have a small store, innovate on the type of basket or cart you can provide to your clients. After all, if you allow them to shop without a basket, they can only buy so much.
It takes effort to retain your customers for longer. Make sure you have a clean shop so your clients feel comfortable and hygienic. Having worked hard to open a shop, you need to retain your customers so you can make a profit. Consider what you provide to your clients, and you can keep increasing the offers for effective customer service.
If you have more ways on how to make customers spend long hours in business, you are welcome to share your comments in the space below!