1. Become a Customer Advocate
2. Help customers feel right at home
2. Help customers feel right at home
3. Make sure customers can see your entire store
The more customers can see, the more they are likely to buy. How are the Sight Lines in your store? Can customers easily see into and around your store, or are fixtures placed in a way that limits their view of all the wonderful merchandise you have for sale?
Try this exercise: Stand in your front door and look around. How much of the store can you actually see? Note all fixtures that block your view. Now move to each corner, and the other main areas of the sales floor (service counters, check out counter, etc.), and do the same exercise. Each time you “run into a wall”, you will want to make a note to remove or relocate those fixtures that block your sight line. Do this exercise each and every time you remerchandise your sales floor. This will not only help make your store seem more open and appealing, it will make it easier for store associates to better serve customers.
4. Constantly communicate through your signing program
Signs are often referred to as “Silent Salespeople”, and with good reason. Your in-store signing allows you to communicate with customers without ever saying a word. Signing also reassures customers that they are making the right product choice. There are three important signing zones in your store:
Zone One Signing: These signs are placed high above the eye level, and are best used to direct traffic in the store. Zone One signing usually consists of departmental and directional signing; both make it easier for time-starved and stressed out customers to locate what they are looking for. If yours is a self service store, or if you tend to run lean on help, then Zone One signing is a must in your store.
Zone Two Signing: The area just above eye level is best used to display promotional signing, sales event signing, and marketing messages. It is also the best place for aisle markers; signs that hang above the valley in-between two gondolas, identifying which merchandise is housed there.
Zone Three Signing: These are the signs you place at average customer eye level – roughly 5’6” from the floor. There are many uses for Zone Three Signing: to announce sale or special purchases or to outline the product’s features, advantages and benefits. Zone Three is also a good place for flyers and other point-of purchase materials provided by vendors. Use Zone Three signing to highlight any information that will help the customer make an informed buying decision.
What your store signing looks like will depend on your store décor. Generally speaking, you will want to print your signs on your computer or with a professional sign machine. You can purchase them as well. Check out the Hubert Company’s great selection of signing packages and accessories on their website: http://www.hubert.com .
Be careful with handwritten signing because it can be viewed as non-professional. That being said, we’ve seen wonderfully creative handwritten signs used effectively in all kinds of stores. If you have carefully created a handwritten sign, on quality card stock, then you are probably okay. You’ll know a bad sign when you see one.
The more customers can see, the more they are likely to buy. How are the Sight Lines in your store? Can customers easily see into and around your store, or are fixtures placed in a way that limits their view of all the wonderful merchandise you have for sale?
Try this exercise: Stand in your front door and look around. How much of the store can you actually see? Note all fixtures that block your view. Now move to each corner, and the other main areas of the sales floor (service counters, check out counter, etc.), and do the same exercise. Each time you “run into a wall”, you will want to make a note to remove or relocate those fixtures that block your sight line. Do this exercise each and every time you remerchandise your sales floor. This will not only help make your store seem more open and appealing, it will make it easier for store associates to better serve customers.
4. Constantly communicate through your signing program
Signs are often referred to as “Silent Salespeople”, and with good reason. Your in-store signing allows you to communicate with customers without ever saying a word. Signing also reassures customers that they are making the right product choice. There are three important signing zones in your store:
Zone One Signing: These signs are placed high above the eye level, and are best used to direct traffic in the store. Zone One signing usually consists of departmental and directional signing; both make it easier for time-starved and stressed out customers to locate what they are looking for. If yours is a self service store, or if you tend to run lean on help, then Zone One signing is a must in your store.
Zone Two Signing: The area just above eye level is best used to display promotional signing, sales event signing, and marketing messages. It is also the best place for aisle markers; signs that hang above the valley in-between two gondolas, identifying which merchandise is housed there.
Zone Three Signing: These are the signs you place at average customer eye level – roughly 5’6” from the floor. There are many uses for Zone Three Signing: to announce sale or special purchases or to outline the product’s features, advantages and benefits. Zone Three is also a good place for flyers and other point-of purchase materials provided by vendors. Use Zone Three signing to highlight any information that will help the customer make an informed buying decision.
What your store signing looks like will depend on your store décor. Generally speaking, you will want to print your signs on your computer or with a professional sign machine. You can purchase them as well. Check out the Hubert Company’s great selection of signing packages and accessories on their website: http://www.hubert.com .
Be careful with handwritten signing because it can be viewed as non-professional. That being said, we’ve seen wonderfully creative handwritten signs used effectively in all kinds of stores. If you have carefully created a handwritten sign, on quality card stock, then you are probably okay. You’ll know a bad sign when you see one.
Check in tomorrow for Part 3
