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trench marketing
[electronic invitations] to events,” he says. He also maintains
an informative website (
) as well as
an active presence on Facebook and Twitter. “We also use [an
online marketing company called] Constant Contact to manage
our email database and track open rates and customer rewards
programs, andwe just started putting barcodes on every product
that doesn’t already come with amanufacturer’s bar code, which
allows us to track product and expedite sales using iPads and
card swipes at the point of sale.”
Another active strategy Foster’s team employs is asking
customers in the store if they need anything brought to them.
“A customer can buy product from the lounge without leaving
his or her seat, and it all boils down to that type of customer
service,” he says. “I track my inventory; I know what’s selling
and what’s not. I go to trade shows and develop relationships
with manufacturers, but I think the most important thing we
do is remember first names and engage everyone who walks
in with a smile and a ‘hello, how can I help you?’” Foster adds,
“Salespeople have to have enough pride to treat every customer
the way they want to be treated without being high pressure.
Find out what the [customer] came in for [and] let them know
they’re there to answer questions without talking down to them
because it’s too easy for customers to sit at home and shop
online.”
TB
