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Add $1,000 or More to Your Business's bottom Line in 30 Days!
Increasing sales with your existing customers
So often when business owners launch a marketing campaign, it only focuses on those individual that have never been to their store before. But, you already have a group that you can start marketing to tomorrow, that you don't have to win over; your existing customers.
We tend to overlook those who are already coming to our store on a regular basis. Are you getting the maximum amount of dollars out of these people each visit, and can you get them to visit more often? Not promoting what you have to offer to these people is leaving valuable income on the table!
Have you ever gone into a retail store, spent a significant amount of time looking at merchandise, and the sales person never asked you if you needed help, had any questions, or bothered to make a recommendation? Sure, we all have had that experience! You need to capitalize on these types of opportunities.
Marketing to your current clientele needs to be performed by the person who takes the customer's order, your cashier. I told my cashiers that a big part of their job was being a marketing associate, and not merely an order taker! If I only needed someone to take the customer's order, and the cash, I could just buy a few vending machines and save a ton of labor! I expected my cashiers to drive sales thorough suggestive selling, and up selling.
Now, some people don't feel comfortable in the role of a salesperson. They feel that they will be perceived as being pushy. I always explain to them that it is no different than going out to eat in a restaurant, and having your server ask: "Do you want to know what's really good? Would you like some recommendations?" Of course, 99% of us would say: "Sure, tell me what's good!"
I want you to start training your cashiers to be marketing associates by having them do just two things. First, if a customer orders a drink, but doesn't specify a size, have your cashier ask: "Would you like a big one?" NEVER ask, "what size?" You'll be amazed how many times your customers will say: "Sure, give me a big one." If they can influence only 20 customers a day to order a larger size, at an increase in price of 50¢ on average, that represents another $10 a day in sales, or $300 a month. I know that sounds like a fairly modest increase, but every dollar helps. Remember, $300 here, $600 there, it all adds up.
Next, I want you to ask each of your cashiers what their favorite pastry is in your pastry case, what their favorite Panini is, etc. (You have let them taste all those things, haven't you?) You are going to ask them to recommend one of those items (depending upon its appropriateness for the time of the day) to every customer they serve. I don't believe you can effectively sell something you don't like. Therefore, if my cashier likes it, they should be able to sincerely recommend it. If Jane thinks our cherry Danish is wonderful, then when a customer orders a drink, I expect her to say something like: "Would you like a warm cherry Danish to go with that? They're really good!"
Role-play with your cashiers so they can get comfortable with the process before they start asking customers. Help them develop multiple sales pitches, so they can mix up what they say, and won't sound rehearsed to a line of waiting customers who can overhear what they are saying.
Make sure that your cashiers always recommend a specific product, and not a general category, or something even more nebulous. They should be asking: "Would you like a cherry Danish, white chocolate-lemon biscotti, or a marble cheesecake bar?"; and not, "would you like a pastry?" And, certainly not, "would you like something else to go with that?" What's a something else? I've never once in my life said, "I'll have a something else." Which would influence your more? "Would you like a hot, gooey, buttery cinnamon roll?" Or, "would you like something else?" Point made.
Now, don't expect your employees to jump feet first into your marketing program and execute your requests without some reinforcement. If you just tell them to do these things, and walk away, they won't; or at very best they will only do them sporadically, for a very short period of time. Repetition builds habits, and your reinforcement will ensure repetition.
I've had to turn order takers into marketing associates many times, here ‘s what's worked best for me. After telling my cashier what I want them to do (ask the customer if they would like a "big one," and recommend a specific food item), and have gone through some role paying, I inform them that I will stand behind them, and remind them to say these things, for as long as it will take for them to do this 100% of the time. Don't worry, you won't be there for days or weeks, usually a few hours is all it will take. Believe me, the discomfort they will feel, having you stand right behind them and providing reinforcement every time they forget, will be so unbearable, that you will find that they will quickly adopt your program. After that, you only need to make sure they are staying with the program every time you walk by them. If they've dropped the habit, go back to standing behind them for an hour or two. This is a battle of wills, and yours needs to be unyielding.
In rare occasion, where it becomes evident that one of your cashiers can't do this, or won't do it, you need to inform them that there job is dependent upon it. If they don't respond, you need to replace them. If you value this employee, but they just can't do it, then you need to find somewhere else they can work in your store, but they can't be behind the cash register! An effective marketer on your cash register can help drive a lot of extra sales.
For example, if your morning cashier can influence and extra 20 customers a day to buy a pastry with their coffee, at an average price of $2.25, then they will increase your sales by $45 a day, $1,350 a month, $16,200 a year. And, if your lunch cashier can drive up panini sales by 5 sandwiches a day, at $6.50 each, that's an additional $32.50 a day, $975 a month, $11,700 a year. If your PM cashier sells 6 more dessert each night, at $4.50 each, you'll realize another $27 a day, $810 a month, $9,720 a year. And finally, if all your cashiers combined influence 30 customers to order a large drink for an additional 50¢, this will add another $15 a day, $450 a month,
$5,400 a year.