Boutiques have a lot of advantages over large retail stores and chains, although it may be hard to remember that in hard times. Boutique owners generally are very creative people that are smart enough and driven enough to start a business with little money and big vision. In the midst of all of your planning, calculating, decorating, and choosing suppliers, you may not have given much thought to how your customer service style will affect your brand image.
Brand image is everything for a small boutique. Individually owned retail stores, unfortunately, can also translate into a small margin for error. Down times in the economy can make times hard for store owners who don’t have much budget flexibility for lowering prices or paying for extra advertising. This is where you can turn a disadvantage into an advantage.
Not having a lot of business means that you do have a lot of time. If people aren’t coming into the store, then you have time and space to make plans, change your views, and train employees to do things differently. Take this time to contact your customers through whatever means you’ve accumulated throughout the time that you’ve been in business. Do you have social web site connections or e-mail addresses? Do you have a little money to send out mailers or to flyer parking lots? Let your customers know that you are still here and are ready for them to come back.
This may surprise you, but many customers aren’t just drawn in by crafty and convincing advertising. They actually consider the contact a personal invitation to continue or rekindle a relationship with the store that they love. If you have a list of customers that you know haven’t been into the boutique in a while, contact them with a special offer, letting them know that you miss them and want them to come back. This is a very effective sales technique, but also is considered good customer service to many shoppers.
Train your employees how to better handle situations that may have gone wrong in the past. Be careful not to accuse or make public a mistake that an employee made. Try to use yourself as an example and explain how you could have done something differently. Use worst case scenarios to make the exercise fun and memorable. This allows employees to blow off some steam and relax with their peers while improving their customer service skills.
About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.