THE COVER STORY
The close is just the beginning pay to have a piece re-delivered, but delivery personnel have to be paid. It all adds up. It may not always be easy or cheap to fix your customers’ problems. Sometimes doing the right thing costs money, and that’s just the way it is. But, in most cases, you will be paid back many times over. A smart businessperson has to weigh the positives of doing the right thing—and becoming the
go-to store in your area—against doing the wrong thing—and becoming the store that people seem to avoid. Have a conversation One company that has built a reputation on customer service is Rooms To Go, the nation’s third largest furniture retailer, with over 115 showrooms. Founded in 1992 and still family-owned, the com-
pany is quite a success story. RTG has several policies in place to ensure that their customers do not become vitriolic bloggers filling the Internet with their bad experiences. One is that every customer gets a phone call from someone at the company on the day of delivery. It’s a courtesy call to make sure everything arrived OK and the customer is satisfied with their purchase.
After ‘I’ll take it’
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etail superstars know that closing the mattress sale is just the first step in a series of selling opportunities. Here are some of the proactive steps you should be taking after “I’ll take it” to maximize the sale and to make sure that customer—and her family and friends—comes back to you for her next purchase.
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Enhance the sale. If enhancements or add-on options haven’t been incorporated into the mattress presentation, don’t forget to suggest the accessory items—frame, pillows, protective pad, sheet sets—that may meet their needs and save them the inconvenience of shopping elsewhere.
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Reinforce the decision. A decision to buy a bigticket item is often followed by doubt, especially these days. Your customer may begin to tell herself that she shouldn’t be buying it now or should shop around a little more. It’s up to you to put her at ease. Compliment her decision—congratulate her on making the right choice for her sleeping comfort, health and well-being. This is easy to do if you’ve done your best to identify and meet your customer’s needs. Smile and stay focused. Your job doesn’t end with a smile and a thank-you. Stay focused on the customer throughout her visit until she has left the store. If you’re writing up the order, don’t let other employees and customers distract you. Walk her to the door, wish her a great day and invite her back. Keep her information. Is your store collecting all of the information you’ll need to follow up with each customer? Be sure to add email address to the list of basics. Then establish a way to keep a personal file of your customers’ information—it can be anything from an index card system to a simple database file—so you can keep them as your customers.
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Call after the delivery. Post-delivery follow-up is a must if you want happy customers. A quick personal courtesy call to check their satisfaction: “Was everything as you had expected?” A chance for the customer to make suggestions: “Is there anything we could do better?” This manages customer expectations so they feel they are genuinely being looked after and flushes out problems so you can take care of them early. Send a personal note. A few weeks after delivery (once they’ve adjusted to that new sleep surface), send the customer a personal note of thanks and a wish for many nights of blissful, healthful sleep on their new bed. Be sure to invite them to recommend you to family and friends. A handwritten note is a nice touch that leaves the customer feeling valued and special. Stay in touch. It may be years before that customer is ready for a new mattress, but when she is, you want to be the name that comes to mind. And you want to be the one on the tip of her tongue when others ask for her advice on where to shop—which could happen anytime. So make sure she hears from you at least once a year. A preferred customer discount could be your ticket to a new sale.
SleepSavvy • November/December 2009
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