BEFORE you advertise

First things first. Before I invite people over to my house, I take a swipe at the dust on the coffee table and put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I also try to dry my hair and maybe put on a shirt that hasn’t been drooled on (yet!). If it’s the in-laws coming over, I also try to have barrels of diet pop and a bunch of playing cards on hand for bid euchre. I want the guests to be comfortable. And, I want them to think my house is always clean, my baby always smells good and I was looking forward to their visit.

When you advertise, you’re inviting people to your business. You want them to be comfortable, right? You want to put your best foot forward. Maybe I’m foolish to assume that everyone is like me. Probably.

I heard a story this week that really baffled me. A friend of a friend (FoF) went shopping for furniture after work. He was talking on his mobile phone when he entered the store. A salesperson approached him, and FoF shooed him away. FoF continued his conversation, while wandering the store. It’s a big place—thousands of square feet, just so you know that it wasn’t some tiny boutique-ish place.

When FoF finished his call, the salesperson proceeded to tell him that speaking on the phone is not proper behavior for a customer. After a brief conversation, FoF was invited to leave. TO LEAVE! He’s not a mouthy guy. Just busy. And he’s building a house, so he needs oodles of furniture.

I almost think of this like the “Do you work on commission? BIG mistake. Big!” scene from Pretty Woman when she goes back to the store where they were rude to her.

So, before you advertise, be sure your house is in order. Make certain that your salespeople understand that the customer sets the tone for the interaction. A little patience could have gotten FoF’s salesperson a big commission check. And worse than that, he told the story to other people who told the story and so on. Tales of abject stupidity spread quickly.
Check in with your customers to see what you could do better. Have a friend act as a secret shopper. Have them call your number during business hours and see how the treatment is. Have them come to your business and look/listen everywhere, including the parking lot and the restroom. Find out what could prevent someone from spending with you and fix it.