The Home Effect

By Kaye Z. Marks | February 5, 2009 | Popularity: 1% (?)

I’m sure we all have one or two favorite spots we like to haunt where it seems, like the old slogan for the Cheers TV show, everyone knows your name. I know I do. I’ve got a little Italian restaurant down the road from me that I frequent and it seems like not only do they know my name, they know what I’m going to order before I do.

Other places I have been eating at for years do not even recognize me from visit to visit, much less bother to remember my name. I am sure you can guess which business I frequent more and which is always my fist choice. It is not even that they have the most competitive prices and the highest quality ingredients that compel me back repeatedly. The welcoming, comfortable atmosphere makes me feel at home.

How can you as a small business entrepreneur achieve that effect, though? It is easy enough to chalk it up to eidetic memory and say to yourself, “I just don’t have the brain for that and I’ll never achieve that.”

There is plenty of business out there that do achieve this sort of atmosphere and there cannot be that many people out there with photographic memories. No, there are strategies you can implement in your business to make people feel at comfortable and at home, turning them into regulars that will sustain your sales for years to come.

The easiest way to start is to talk to your customers outside of the “That’ll be $29.99. Thanks. Here’s your change” paradigm. While you are talking them up, try to take note of some distinguishable feature about them that will help you remember them in the future. If you are not completely swamped and in a rush, try to make some notes about them that you can reference later.

At first, you will find yourself remembering the best customers and the most troublesome customers, but with a little practice, you will find yourself remembering those infrequent customers that only show up once in a blue moon. Like anything, it just takes a little time and the effort of practicing.

The benefits of your work can be useful outside of friendly greetings too. If, for instance, you are able to identify what types of products your regulars gravitate towards, you can use that information to expand your line in the future, or you can use it to target your advertising.

Are your regulars in love with your line of silk drapes? Do some color printing to advertise those new green silk drapes you just got into inventory. Have you taken note of your customer’s birthdates? Why not send them a promotional greeting card with a special offer or discount and show them you appreciate them at the same time?

I know it sound like a lot of work, but, hey, it takes work to make money. In the grand scheme of things, though, the effort you put into it, is far outstripped by the rewards you will reap. Give it a try. You are new regulars will thank you for it.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of developments in color printing industry and how these improvements can benefit small to medium-scale business.

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