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Greet your customers with a friendly and helpful hello that makes them feel comfortable, welcome, and eager to tell their friends about you.
1> When they walk in your store
2> When they visit your site
3> When they're a new customer
4> Check it out: The GetHuman database
1. When they walk in your store
Say hello when people walk into your store. It shouldn't be a big, annoying ceremony, but enough to make people feel welcome and ensure they know where to head to find what they're looking for. Walmart has offered friendly people a second career as "greeters," and Apple Store employees say hello in such a way that you're not only welcomed, but there's no need for them to hassle you as you're sampling their products because they've already asked if you need help. Take turns working the front door of your store – you'll learn more in 30 minutes of talking with customers than you would through a week of market research.
The Lesson: Saying hello when someone walks in your store not only gives them the warm and fuzzies, but also ensures they get immediate help if they need it.
2. When they visit your site
Is your website welcoming? Take a look at CostaRicaExpeditions.com, a tour company that replaced their standard salesy home page copy with a survey of vacation-related questions. Visitors are asked about things such as their primary goals for a Costa Rica vacation, the types of experiences they prefer, and the type of lodging they are interested in. The result is that before ever leaving the home page, visitors envision their dream vacation – and as a company, they know exactly how to follow-up with these leads as a result of all the information they've collected.
Learn more: Costa Rica Expeditions
The Lesson: Start guiding your visitors the first opportunity you have. Help them see themselves using your product or service.
3. When they're a new customer
It's never too late to say hello – you can do it even after someone's a customer. Quality Carpet One of Fairfax, Virginia sends their new customers a canvas bag filled with relevant products such as floor cleaner, carpet sliders, and a humidity detector. Not only is this a friendly welcome to new customers, but it helps them think of you every time they use these tools. When you're sending things like this to your customers, remember that it only works if it's stuff they'll actually use.
The Lesson: When welcoming a new customer, give them the tools to introduce you to their friends.
4. Check it out: The GetHuman database
Want to quickly get out of the phone tree and speak to a real human the next time you have a customer service issue? Check out gethuman.com — a database of hundreds of major companies with their direct lines and instructions on how to quickly get to a live representative.
Learn More: gethuman.com
