Today’s technology makes it possible for even the largest companies to replicate that all-important small-town feel for their shoppers.
Take some time to learn how you can leverage your retail POS system to help each one of your valued customers feel cared about, and special.
A word about brick-and-mortar stores.
If you operate via multiple channels and offer services both online and in a physical store, you have an immediate advantage.
By paying careful attention to the layout of your physical retail location, you can instantly convey a feeling of welcome and credibility that will register with people as soon as they walk through the door.
You can elevate the end of the shopping journey. This involves taking full advantage of the features found in your in-person payment solutions, including furnishing customers with a variety of in-person and online payment processing choices and facilitating seamless refunds, exchanges and returns.
The icing on the cake, of course, is your face-to-face customer service.
Fully trained staff who are knowledgeable about your inventory and who have the time to truly listen to what a person is looking for can provide individualized customer service that will lead to rave reviews, referrals and return visits to your physical store.
Enhancing ecommerce personalization.
If your retail store operates strictly online, you have some additional challenges when it comes to customizing your offerings to meet each shopper’s specific needs. However, this is where technology combined with commitment from you and your staff can bridge the gap.
Start by thinking of your website as the digital equivalent of a physical store.
When it is mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, downloads quickly and clearly explains all facets of your business, visitors will be inspired to look further into what you have to offer.
The next obstacle is to transform what often feels like an impersonal back-and-forth between data packets into a singular shopping journey that celebrates each individual online shopper.
The magic lies in cookies, which you can leverage to capture customers’ browsing histories to learn about their preferences. To further personalize the user’s experience, you can offer quizzes and other types of style and gift guides that furnish shoppers with curated suggestions to address their expressed needs and preferences.
To further refine the sales channel, configure your website to show the items a visitor has viewed on recent previous visits, while also offering suggestions of similar products that could augment what they may have bought in the past.
You can even set your system to create personalized home pages for returning visitors. Although everyone will be introduced to the same generic home page when initially encountering your site, they will be greeted on subsequent visits with one that reflects their previous browsing history and product preferences.
Another tool that can bring the human touch back to online transactions is to offer assistance in real time. This could come from an automated chatbot or an actual person, and it’s a great way to provide people with immediate answers to questions or concerns that will enable them to feel positive about taking the step to complete the purchase.
Technology also allows you to determine the geographic location of your customers. As a result, you can present them only with content that is relevant to both where they live, and the language they speak. Although subtle, these steps help to make customers feel recognized and respected and that their buying preferences are important.
As soon as someone comes to your site for the first time, offer an incentive for subscribing to your email list. This could be a percentage discount on their first purchase, for instance. For returning subscribers, flash a message that welcomes them back and suggests additional products in line with their buying history.
Make the messages you send personal by including the client’s first name in the salutation, and recognize milestones such as birthdays with a free gift or discount on their next purchase.
Use provided contact information after the visit or sale.
Long after your first personal or digital interaction, you need to augment the person’s experience on your website, or in your store, with additional targeted messages that have been customized for each buyer.
These help to keep your brand on their radar in spite of their numerous other commitments and responsibilities. Again, your point of sale system is crucial in making this happen.
Leverage the contact details that each subscriber has previously provided to send out occasional newsletters, blogs and promotional messages. Introduce new products that are in line with purchase histories to keep buyers engaged, and entice them to re-visit your website or physical store with coupons or flash sale notifications designed for special members only.
Never let these customers forget how valued they are, and prove it by asking for their feedback and letting them know that their views will be used to help shape the direction your company takes into the future.
Finally, don’t overlook the power of social media. Hosting and regularly updating pages on sites like YouTube, X, TikTok and Instagram provides ways for visitors from next door and around the globe to engage in direct dialogues with you, your staff and each other.
As a result, they will begin to feel like integral members of your inner circle whose opinions and reviews are indispensable.
Today’s savvy customers expect nothing less than a tailored shopping journey at every touchpoint. When they receive it, they feel seen and heard and, above all, special. As a result, they reciprocate with trust, loyalty, return visits and referrals.
Make an effort to maximize the personalization of your in-person and ecommerce operations to reap all of these rewards.
