»  Shoppercentricity

 

As a recent transplant to the area, I have been on a fun journey exploring what Charlotte has to offer in the way of food (and so far, I have been pretty impressed). This weekend I finally made it to Pasta and Provisions, a place I had been hearing about for a while. The experience did not disappoint – they have more handmade fresh pasta offering available under one roof than I have seen anywhere.

But what stood out to me wasn't the approachable gourmet environment or great selection of all things Italian. It was the service. This is an environment where it is obvious the staff loves to work. And as a result, the shoppers enjoyed being in the store, resulting in satisfied, loyal customers.

After getting an overview of offerings and recommendations from the man behind the counter and narrowing down my selections, I made my decision to try their rosemary/garlic and arugula/black pepper fresh pastas cut into linguine.

Then, as I was checking out, it happened. Knowing I had recently moved from Chicago and it was my first time in their store, they gave me one of the pastas free for being a first time visitor as a way to welcome me to the area. In the world of retail marketing and shopper insights, this stuck out as such a powerfully simple move. And more, it was the first step in converting me from a visiting customer to a loyal shopper.

There is much we can learn from how smaller retailers approach their point of sale. Here are some quick take-aways:

1. Love what you sell. If you do this authentically, it will be an important part of your brand, as well as a way to differentiate yourself aside from the products you sell.
2. Empower your employees to satisfy customers. Ultimately the focus should be on sales and satisfaction. If you are focused purely on sales, this will be reflected in how your employees treat customers. Satisfaction sells and satisfied customers buy more.
3. Focus on the checkout. All of retail has to be focused on selling, but that shouldn't be at the expense of the last interaction your customers have with you. Checkout is the opportunity to start of the relationship and seed return trips. Ask yourself this question: are your customers leaving happy?
4. Loyalty is built one customer at a time. There is much talk about loyalty in shopper marketing, but the conversations tend to stay at the macro level. Ultimately loyalty is a micro conversation, requiring a focus on every customer and every transaction. Employ empathy as a strategy - walk in your customer's shoes and proactively look for ways to improve the experience. 

My experience at Pasta and Provisions was a reminder of how powerful a retail interaction can be. The great news is that if you get the above right, not only will you begin to build loyal customers, you will experience exponential growth thanks to satisfied customers spreading word to others.

After all, sometimes loyalty is as easy as giving away your noodles.