You Acquired a New Customer and Got a Review…Now What?

CRM has come a long ways in the last few years. It used to be that just responding to a potential customer was the best you could do. You’d grab a corndog and answer customer requests during your lunch break. Then somebody figured out that reviews drive new customers, so that process got automated, which lead to more new customers and less time with your corndog and coke.

So while most retailers think they are doing a good job of responding to customers and adding them to mailing lists, the truth is, most retail customers still feel like, well, customers.

But when it comes to repeat business, automating point of sale, email blasts, and poring over Facebook analytics does about as much good as that corndog you just ate.

Why? Let’s start by looking at today’s retail customer and what drives them. According to The BusinessJournal there are 10:

1. Status

2. To make a dream come true

3. To make amends

4. To be defiant

5. To feel good

6. To feel safe

7. To forget our problems

8. To make a statement

9. To feel we are somebody

10. To reward ourselves

We can simplify this list and just say that every purchase has an emotional driver behind it. That means sales associates have to do two things. First, quickly identify what that emotional driver is—could be an anniversary or the need to impress on the first day of anew job. This is the easy part. It just takes a friendly sales associate who is good at creating conversation that turns into a trusted relationship. Secondly, and most importantly, you need a way to remind that customer of those emotional drivers throughout the year, so they come back to that trusted sales associate to get just the right item for an anniversary, birthday, year-end bonus, or whatever they celebrate. This is what it means to turn a customer into a client. A long-term, repeat client.

Now go get yourself a corndog and enjoy it.