The “Fly On The Wall” exercise will help you observe shoppers and how they react to what’s going on around them. It will help you blend in with your surroundings so that you can see first hand what shoppers like – and do not like – about your store.
1. Make sure that you tell every associate in the store to completely ignore you. Only in a genuine emergency are they allowed to blow your cover.
2. You have to dress in the same manner as your customers are dressed. If it’s 90 degrees outside and your customers are in shorts and t-shirts, you need to be in shorts and a t-shirt too. If it’s 32 degrees below zero and shoppers are in heavy coats and boots, put yours on too. If you don’t dress appropriately, you’ll stick out and customers will wonder what you’re up to.
3. Carry a small notebook with you to record what you see. You may even want to use a small voice recorder or digital camera.
4. Station yourself in a prime shopping spot on the sales floor and pretend to be waiting for someone. Watch in this spot for about a half hour. After you’ve been there for awhile, you’ll notice details that you’ve never noticed before. It’s the perfect way to customer watch! You’ll observe how they interact with displays, merchandise, and your store associates. Associates will forget you are there, too so you may see them doing things you wish you hadn’t, like cutting corners or ignoring customers.
5. Move to different locations throughout the store and write the important things you observe in your notebook so you can address changes you’d like to make later on.
Listen to your customers and ask for their opinion. Watch what they do in your store and make changes according to what you find. React by giving them a unique in-store experience that they can only get in your store. The goal of all of your hard work and research should be to create an escape for the customers; a place where they can dream and do, be entertained, get lost for a little while, and look forward to their next visit. Let other stores ignore them and push them around. Not you. The relationship you have with your customers is like any other relationship; it’s based on trust, coupled with your ability to interpret, meet, and even exceed, your customers changing needs. Knowing your customers, and what they want, will keep your merchandise fresh, your promotions fun, and a trip to your store a unique experience.
1. Make sure that you tell every associate in the store to completely ignore you. Only in a genuine emergency are they allowed to blow your cover.
2. You have to dress in the same manner as your customers are dressed. If it’s 90 degrees outside and your customers are in shorts and t-shirts, you need to be in shorts and a t-shirt too. If it’s 32 degrees below zero and shoppers are in heavy coats and boots, put yours on too. If you don’t dress appropriately, you’ll stick out and customers will wonder what you’re up to.
3. Carry a small notebook with you to record what you see. You may even want to use a small voice recorder or digital camera.
4. Station yourself in a prime shopping spot on the sales floor and pretend to be waiting for someone. Watch in this spot for about a half hour. After you’ve been there for awhile, you’ll notice details that you’ve never noticed before. It’s the perfect way to customer watch! You’ll observe how they interact with displays, merchandise, and your store associates. Associates will forget you are there, too so you may see them doing things you wish you hadn’t, like cutting corners or ignoring customers.
5. Move to different locations throughout the store and write the important things you observe in your notebook so you can address changes you’d like to make later on.
Listen to your customers and ask for their opinion. Watch what they do in your store and make changes according to what you find. React by giving them a unique in-store experience that they can only get in your store. The goal of all of your hard work and research should be to create an escape for the customers; a place where they can dream and do, be entertained, get lost for a little while, and look forward to their next visit. Let other stores ignore them and push them around. Not you. The relationship you have with your customers is like any other relationship; it’s based on trust, coupled with your ability to interpret, meet, and even exceed, your customers changing needs. Knowing your customers, and what they want, will keep your merchandise fresh, your promotions fun, and a trip to your store a unique experience.
COPYRIGHT KIZER & BENDER . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
