Window Shoppers: Turn them into Customers [Part 2]

One of the previous articles published concluded that it is possible to turn window shoppers into customers. It didn’t go into the how’s or the why’s, but it did explain the who’s. Window shoppers have a variety of reasons why they are not ready – or willing – to purchase. Determining their openness to a sales pitch – or indeed, further conversation – is the primary step to establishing whether or not they can be turned into potential customers. Once that has been determined, the question is then: how?

How to convert a window shopper into a customer

In essence, any person who walks into a store is a potential customer. It is the purpose of the customer service representative to close the deal.

This begins and ends with one term: connect.

Connect

Connect is the first stage in any customer journey. It involves greeting customers, engaging them, and building a rapport with them from the moment that they walk into the store. It is sales staff’s job to connect with potential customers. This is true for every type of customer that walks into a store, be they a regular, an unpleasable customer, or a window shopper.

As we have discovered, most people are willing to wait up to 2 minutes before they are offered assistance. Essentially, that means staff has 2 minutes to establish a conversation with customers the moment they walk in.

How to Connect

One of the first things that staff needs to learn is how to not give a prospective customer the option of shutting down the conversation straight away. This mainly means not asking the ‘Can I help you?’ question. Why? Because this is a closed question, all the window shopper has to do is say ‘No’ and that’s it. Not the best way to start a conversation.

Instead, train staff to ask open questions that enable the shopper to answer in more detail:

  • “Hi there, have you been here before?” leads to “Let me show you around!” or “Welcome back, let me show you our new arrivals!”
  • “Welcome to [insert store name here], how are you?” opens the conversation to further small talk.
  • “Hi, I noticed you looking at [insert products here]…” this sort of conversation starter allows for staff to talk about product benefits and features, opening the conversation even further and hopefully sparking interest in the window shopper.

Developing these types of conversational tactics will also impact the sales pitch. Pitching becomes easier when staff has established a conversation with a customer. Things can go wrong at any stage in a conversation, however, and it’s important for staff to realize how to make their pitches. If the conversation has been about purple socks, for example, it makes little sense to suddenly start talking about the specials on tennis rackets. Common sense rules supreme: it’s vital to adjust the sales script to the customer.

Another thing that shouldn’t be forgotten is your unique selling point (USP). Giving customers, window shoppers or otherwise, a reason why they should make their purchase with your business and not the competition is the best way to convert them. It’s not always easy to put your USP into words, but it’s important to do so.

So, what makes window shoppers different from other conversions?

Nothing. The big secret to converting window shoppers into customers is to treat them like any other customer that walks in. All the tricks of the trade that staff learn when talking with customers, closing deals with regulars, can and should be applied to window shoppers – after all, you won’t know if they’ll become customers unless you try it out, and at the end of the day, isn’t that they point?

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Window Shoppers: Turn them into Customers [Part 1]

Sales Staff: Hi! Welcome to Sample Store! Were you looking for anything in particular?
Window Shoppers: I’m just browsing. Thanks.

Many customer service representatives are familiar with this exchange. Many people come into stores just to have a quick look around. These window shoppers have a variety of reasons why they might only be browsing. Most of the time, sales staff will leave these people alone, preferring to service people who are actually interested in making a purchase; window shoppers are just a waste of time. Or are they?

What are window shoppers & why do they do it?

Window shoppers are people who browse a shop’s products and services without the intent to make a purchase. Their reasons vary, of course, but when narrowed down it can usually be assumed that it’s one of the following:

1. Wishlisting

Wishlisting involves people browsing products that they don’t actually need/want right at this moment, but they are looking at something they might buy in the future. Call it a daydream. It can also mean that the shopper can’t afford the products in-store at the moment, but is hoping to be able to afford them at some point in their life. These people are looking for inspiration, and are easy to talk to. They’re not ready to purchase now, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored – there’s a potential future sale here, and the pitching should start now.

2. Comparing

A shopper might be checking on the quality or price of products and services to get themselves the best offer available. They’re looking for answers: why should they purchase your product/service over the competitions’? These are the window shoppers really worth talking to: connecting with these people will allow businesses to beat the competition.

3. Waiting

Perhaps the shopper is filling the time before another engagement – picking up their kids from karate practice, or before a dentist appointment. They could be waiting to meet someone, using your store a landmark; they could simply be waiting for a taxi or Uber. The fact is, they’re waiting, and it’s not for you or your sales pitches.

How to tell what type of window shopper you’ve got on your hands…

Window shoppers are easy to dismiss – after all, they’ve inferred that they would rather be left alone, and certainly some of them should be. The trick is to learn to differentiate between a definitive ‘I’m just browsing’ and an open-to-conversation ‘I’m just browsing’.

A lot of this will come from experience – customer service representatives who have been in the game a long time will be able to spot the different window shoppers from a mile away – but for the most part it’s all about paying attention.

We can learn a lot about a person’s openness to sales talk just by actively listening to what they’re saying, and how they’re saying it. Pay attention to the way a window shopper responds to the initial ice-breaker. Do they meet your eyes, do they smile? Is their body language open or closed? Closed would imply that they turn away from you, giving you the distinct impression that they want to be left alone and the conversation is over. Someone who is open to continuing the conversation is more likely to turn towards the sales representative, this should act as an invitation to continue the conversation.

Aside from body language, it’s important to watch window shoppers as they browse your wares. Are they checking for certain elements in particular? Colours, pricing, quality? Depending on the situation, you could attempt to approach them again once you’ve determined that they’re looking at particular things. (Note how I said ‘at particular things’ not ‘for particular things’, remember, they may not be ready to make a purchase just yet.)

Is it possible to convert a window shopper into a customer?

In short? Yes. Every person who walks into a store can be turned into a customer. That’s the purpose of having sales staff in play to start with. Even a window shopper who doesn’t express immediate interest in making a purchase can become a customer.

In Part 2 of this article, we’ll explore the how.

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Please the Unpleasable Customer: Can it be done?

There’s just no pleasing some people. This is a fact of life, and it’s certainly a customer service fact. One of the types of customer that every customer service representative has to deal with is the unpleasable customer. The stereotypical name says it all: ‘unpleasable customer’. The question is: are they truly unpleasable? Or is there a way to please the unpleasable customer?

What defines an Unpleasable Customer?

First, it’s important to understand the unpleasable customer. In a previous article I called them the ‘eternal complainers…who are simply impossible to please.’ It does not matter how far a customer service representative is willing to go, this person will never be happy with the product or the level of service. Essentially, they are the product of their own temperament and there is little to be done to improve it. However, it’s important to note here that an unpleasable customer is not necessarily an unpleasant person.

I had a customer once, in a cafe, who ordered a regular latte and a slice of walnut-carrot cake. Everything was brought to her table in the standard condition – that is to say, with the best service that we provided for all our other customers. The customer touched her coffee and summoned me back; it wasn’t warm enough. I made her another. This one was too hot, she asked for cold milk on the side. I brought this to her, with apologies and an explanation – our coffee machine was analogue and did not deliver the precise temperatures (that machine was one of the reasons why people kept coming back, it added romance to the place). She told me that if that was the case we should buy a new coffee machine. I told her I would suggest it. I didn’t tell her that she was the only one who had complained. By this time the cake was cold. It needed reheating. Then the walnuts were too hard, and didn’t we know how to properly prepare nuts before we baked them into cake?

You get the picture. You probably read that in such a tone that painted the woman’s voice in a judgemental and harsh manner. She wasn’t. Nothing we did that day could make her happy, but she was never unkind about it. She could have been nicer, but she was never cruel or mean.

Everything she asked for fell within her expectations.

That is the crux of the matter: customer expectations. Unpleasable customers have impossible expectations. They are customers that ask for above and beyond because that’s what they want. They’re not necessarily doing it to make life difficult – although, that might be the case in some instances.

Can we please the Unpleasable Customer?

The point of customer service, is that it doesn’t matter what the customer asks for or acts like: every customer should be serviced. It goes against the grain of customer service to say that some customers are just unserviceable; a good customer service representative should know how to make every person who walks into their store walk out feeling valued, validated, and more loyal than before. The idea that you cannot please the unpleasable customer goes against customer service doctrine! It just doesn’t seem possible.

The easiest thing to do would be to give up, of course; so much energy is required to get any satisfaction out of helping someone who won’t be helped. It’s like pulling teeth. Surrender doesn’t help in the long run. Ignoring, or mistreating an unpleasable customer will lead to intense negative feedback and advocacy – perhaps far more so than with simply an unhappy customer.

The bottom line is: no, we cannot please the unpleasable customer.

We can, however, make sure that they are treated correctly, if only to avoid the deeper impact of negative advocacy.

How do we Please the Unpleasable Customer?

If servicing an unpleasable customer is all about managing their expectations – however outlandish those might seem – then it goes without saying that the only way to please them is to do the utmost best you can. Unpleasable customers often require extra attention – sometimes even exclusive attention. They might even be better served by a manager or supervisor, depending on how difficult they are being.

To answer the question then: We please the unpleasable customer by being extra courteous, doing our best, offering our best, and by being exceptionally patient.

Don’t think of them as an obstacle. Think of them as a challenge. Difficult as they may be, the unpleasable customer can still become a loyal one.

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Understanding Customer Service: A Social Media Tale

What does Understanding Customer Service mean?

I’m not talking about understanding them in terms of demographic or marketing terms. Here we will explore understanding them in terms of Understanding Customer Service.

Is the first thing that came to your mind after that sentence “empathy”? Well, that is right. Though, just the tip of the iceberg.  Let’s take a look at some amazing examples before we move on.

Here we have the tale of Salisbury customer Service Legend “Ross” (it’s even mentioned by the customer herself)

 

Understanding Customer Service - Salisbury

Understanding Customer Service - Sainsbury - Ross

Understanding Customer Service - Social Media

Understanding Customer Service - Social Media - Sainsbury - Ross

You can read the rest of the conversation here.

I hope you have a smile on your face after reading that.

Now, if you get “English Humour”, you can see from the first post from the customer that she was complaining in a very tongue in cheek way. This is very dangerous since it could have easily been misinterpreted. I’m sure you can tell that it could have gone sideways very fast.

 

Our legend, Mr. Ross, understood his customer. He was not afraid to match the humour, maintaining completely professional to resolve the issue. This isn’t something easily done. Of course, some training is required (at the beginning). After years of dealing with people, it becomes possible to understanding customer service and the reasons why certain situations are handled in a certain way, breaking away from that rigid structure. This is when fluidity happens.

 

Different situations call for different actions. In Ross’s case, it was probably one of the worst customer service situations that could have happened. Worst still that it all took place was on Social Media – which could have led to a PR nightmare. Ross kept his cool, dug into his customer service tool box, and pulled out humour as the main weapon. LEGEND!

Customer Response - Customer Service

If you want to see more of this Customer Service Fluidity, here is another great tale for you to check out.

The tale of “William the Worm and Tesco.” There is even a poem – as you can see below – and a Facebook Page dedicated to William.

Poem - Customer Service

 

Customer adaptability depends on understanding the customer. So what does that mean? How do you built trust in a bad situation? Can you mimic or match that customer’s humour (if any)?

If you’re able to understand your customer, then you can adapt to them, and provide fluid customer service.

Tell us you thoughts and what you would like to read from us in the comments or on our social media sites.

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