Page 24 - GBC spring 2016

“If you put a display on the ground, it will see little action from female consumers, no matter how attractive it may be. Women tend to avoid tight display areas. “
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personaLIZaTIon
Personalization is a strategy based on the habits and preferences of your best customers. Know your customer. Ask them what products or services they would like to see in your shop. Provide an incentive for customers willing to provide their feedback.
Execute a first tee survey to see for yourself what people are wearing, using, and saying on the golf course. Then take it one step further by rewarding your best customers – find creative ways to make them feel special. If a new product is coming out that you know would be ideal for a customer, reach out to them and let them know that you were thinking of them and that you are going to put it aside for them to see first.
Invite your top ladies apparel shoppers to a sneak preview of the next season’s line – accept their feedback on what they like; they are influencers in the club and will be more likely to buy more from you if they feel like they are invested, just like you. Leave a note in a customer’s locker thanking them for their recent purchase – follow up a few weeks later asking for feedback.
Don’t forget to empower your associates. It starts with training. Do your associates know everything there is to know about all the products and services you offer? If not, then use the product knowledge resources (including company Sales Reps, on-line training tools, consumer website, etc.) available to you to make sure that they are as engaged with the business as you are. Make sure they understand that you are as invested in their future as they are.
Provide them with incentives to try their own ideas. Give them the ability to surprise and delight customers too, and keep them current with regular communication. This is truly a service-oriented business, so the more you service your customer’s needs (whether they know their needs or not), the more it will help drive sales. Unfortunately there is no formula for how much sales increase will be derived from these actions, but can you afford not to service your customers in today’s retail environment?
In terms of associate incentives for going “above and beyond”, it could be something so easy as a restaurant gift card, or the opportunity to attend a special event hosted by a vendor – something that is beyond their usual golf world.
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curaTe Your InvenTorY
Carefully select specialized products or services designed to appeal to your customers, in particular your top customers. This is an opportunity for you to showcase a limited array of products that have been hand- picked, hand-selected to better meet the needs of your customers.
Having a better understanding of your customers through prioritizing personalization, you know your customers – what they like, what they don’t like, what they need.
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Golf Business Canada
Pro shop at the University Golf Club in Vancouver, BC.