How Will You Know?

by Danny Summers

It was November 22, 1985 and a young Whitney Houston offered her debut album. On it was a soon-to-be hit... How Will I Know. The lyrics of Whitney's song was crafted around a boy-relationship (of course), but the title also fits my message to you this week. One of the prominent lines is "How will I know... if he really loves me?" Now let's pivot to your Center and the spring ahead of us.

Remember all those new customers you had last year... How will you know... if they really love you? Let's think about your customers in several different ways...

1. Customers who ARE IN your POS/Contact Systems/or Social Followers
2. Customers that ARE NOT in your Systems

Obviously the customers who in the first group are easy to communicate with. The challenge is to establish a regular schedule and standards for format, quality of content, etc. This is where you are trying to bring all customers to be positioned so to have the ultimate relationship-building potential. Be sure to see our February 11th GROUPtalk LIVE Series announcement HERE that can really help you with this challenge.

The second group is much more difficult. Customers walk through the door, make purchases, and leave without knowing how to contact them. It happens, new staff, busy times, people in a hurry or even people who say they don't want more emails.

I hope you were able to capture most of those new customers you attracted last year and obtain their contact information to be added to your customer messaging this year. But we know most likely there were many you were not.

We know many Centers were struggling in the early days of spring 2020 to set new service standards due to C19 and helping to move the customers through the registers was a priority. There is a good chance many slipped through without knowing who they are and how to re-connect with them. This can be the subject of another message - coming soon.

So, what can help you with the original question: How will you know... if they really love you? The answer can come through several possible avenues. One can be an in-house or in-system customer comments/surveys.

Be Pro-Active for Customer Satisfaction.

Another important option is to implement a staff training program that is supported by a the Mystery Shopper Program. The Group's 2021 Mystery Shopper Program can be a basis for both training and followup to gauge how successful you are in creating the very best in customer experience. In The Group's WebSystem, you can download both sample reports as well as a blank report to use as training aids ahead of the season along with the Mystery Shopper Order Form itself. Just go to the Clients-Only menu and then scroll down to Group Mystery Shopper Program. If you want more information or discuss ideas, please give me a call, text, or email. Danny's email: HERE

At the end of this season I hope You WILL know they really love you! Watch for more about the challenge of re-connecting with the #2 group above... coming soon.