Take One…. Please!

Recently I visited a new retail store that opened not too far from my office. Actually, it was more like Disneyland than a store and catered to virtually anything a hunter, fisherman, or outdoorsman could possibly want — and maybe a few products they didn’t know they wanted. The two-level store was cavernous inside and featured two giant, indoor acquariams where customers could spend hours watching hundreds of varieties of freshwater and saltwater fish staring back at them.

At the back of the store were dozens of bass boats lined up and ready to be towed away for a season of hardcore angling. In another corner was an area where you could purchase a timeshare condo at any one of a dozen popular fishing or hunting destinations in the country. In yet another corner of the store was the entrance to a great restaurant where fresh fish and steaks were the specialty.

Needless to say this was one of the most amazing retail experiences I had ever witnessed – bar none. But despite all of the shrewd merchandising, the precise positioning of the store displays, and the army of smiling salespeople waiting to assist there were still some folks who left the store with nothing in their hands. They had nothing to remind them of their visit and nothing that would compel them to make a return visit within a specified time frame. Worst of all, the store had no idea who these people were and why they didn’t find something to buy. Considering all the effort expended to sell them something … anything … you would think this information would be important to the store’s managers. I guess not.

Now, if I were the owner of that store I would have made sure that every single store visitor who passed through the door was given a flyer with the store’s website address and simple instructions on how to download a free coupon good on their next purchase. This would have accomplished four things for the cost of a two cent flyer. First, it would have given the customer something to talk about and would have been a reminder of his or her visit. Second, it would have almost guaranteed another visit to the store to redeem the downloaded coupon from the store’s website. Third, there is a better than even chance that the customer will e-mail the download link to friends and family so they can download the coupon, too! An finally, the customer would have an excuse to visit the store’s website — and perhaps make an online purchase — if a store visit isn’t convenient.

What every retail merchant wants is for every person who visits his or her store to buy something – and as much of something as possible. But whether a store visitor buys something you should also want them to take away something that they don’t have to purchase. In fact, you never want a visitor to leave your store empty-handed. Why? Because if they leave empty-handed it becomes less likely that they will be reminded of your store later on. Plus, they won’t have something that could spark a conversation about the store.

What would happen if you placed a small stack of informational slips or flyers next to each product on your store shelves? Office Depot does this and I used to think it was just for inventory control purposes. Then one day I visited the local store and asked a salesman for some information about a new laser printer for my office. He took me over to a model that fit my budget, removed one of the product slips from the plastic holder next the the printer and handed it to me to keep as a reference. Since all of the product slips have the Office Depot logo printed on them I knew where to go when I was ready to buy. So, even though I did not make a purchase during that store visit, I did leave with a valuable reminder (the product slip) tucked inside my wallet. Of course, ever time I opened my wallet I saw that little reminder about the laser printer I needed and where to get it! If I could give the managers at Office Depot any advice it would be to actively encourage customers to “steal” the product slip of items that are interested in so that they become a reminder for a future store visit.

What about placing a large bowl at the check-out filled with cheap plastic key rings printed with your store’s logo and website address? Or, how about a bowl full of cheap plastic pens with a printed logo? On the outside of the bowl just print a card that says “Take one… Please!”. The object is to make sure everyone leaves with something in their hands that will remind them of your store.

Last Christmas I visited an electronics store to learn something about flat screen televisions. I wasn’t quite ready to buy, but I did want to get more information. I found a young salesperson who was reasonably knowledgeable and he gave me about 15 minutes of his time to educate me on the subtleties of “1080p” versus “1080i”. I’m still not sure I know the difference even today, but at the end of our conversation I asked the young man for a card so that I could do him the courtesy of asking for him if I returned to make a purchase. Oops! The salesperson had no business cards – an unforgivable sin in my book for any salesperson worth his or her salt. This was probably the department manager’s fault for not issuing even temporary cards with the salesperson’s handwritten name. But, regardless who was at fault I left the store with nothing to remind me of my visit to the store. And to think that business cards can be had for as little as a few pennies each when you’re trying to sell a three thousand dollar television!

To summarize, if you want your customers to be reminded of your store — and to talk about your store with other people — you have to put something in their hand. Tell your customers to “Take One … Please!” and the marketing multiplier effect of your store’s message will travel to places traditional advertising might never reach.

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MELCOOPER/CGM Technica specializes in Online Marketing Strategies for Retail Stores and Services (OMS-RSS). For more information about how to use online marketing strategies to increase sales and profits for your retail store or service please visit MELCOOPER/CGM Technica at http://melcooper.com . You may contact us via e-mail at info@melcooper.com or by calling toll-free at 1-866-695-8669.