As we’ve learned from the previous features on Marketing to Millennials and Combating Showrooming, shoppers today crave personal engagement. This month, five-year veteran Sales Advisor Bruce Doig gives us his tips for engaging customers on a personal level to cultivate relationships that capture sales.
“I try to break the ice with [shoppers] by making conversation with them,” says Bruce. “I don’t just say ‘hey, come over here and try this.’ Instead, I’ll ask them if they’re finding everything they need. Or I might see something in their cart and mention it. Like if they have dog food, I’ll say ‘I have four dogs. What kind of dog do you have?’ After we get to talking, then I’ll tell them I have something really great to try.”
Bruce also highlights the importance of tailoring your pitch to individual shopper needs and preferences. For food items, he suggests playing close attention to calorie, fat, sodium and protein content, which customers are often most interested in. He also suggests having ideas ready to share for using products in different ways. For example, he says “One time I was selling [a new flavor of] Doritos, and when customers told me they didn’t eat chips, I’d say ‘well, I’ve still got a great recipe you might want to try. Crush the chips up and use them as a coating for chicken. It’s delicious!’”