Too worried to buy?
The headlines are absolutely chock full of cap-and-trade, health plan reform, anti-terrorism, the war in Iraq, war in Afghanistan, pending war with Iran, North Korea and saber-rattling with China.
Not to mention homeland security alerts, terrorism attacks, a multi-trillion-dollar national debt, problems with Palestine, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the swine flu.
For the love of God, and all things holy, are you sick of bad news yet? I haven’t even touched the problems within our industry. Layoffs, plant closings, a weak economy and off-shore sourcing seem so small in comparison that our industry will suffer for years to come because our nation has larger problems to solve. It also seems to me that some of these things will never be really “solved” anyway.
Well folks, we are on our own and I have some solutions for you. Radical, funny, and ridiculous, but solutions nonetheless.
Here is the first thing we all need to do: develop a marketing approach that promotes good things for our customers who suffer from the weight of the world.
For instance, with a purchase of $100 or more, we could throw in some handi-wipes and a dust mask for our clientele concerned with the swine flu. Worried about terrorism attacks? Shop with us and well give you plans to build your own bomb shelter. Worried about your health plan? We’ll enroll you in a yoga class, and give you a bottle of vitamin C!
If you just use some imagination, maybe we can overcome the woes of our stressed-out and worried customers and also boost our sales at the same time. I realize that our industry is suffering from its own problems, but combined with the media-frenzied problems of the universe, ours seem like small potatoes.
Well I guess the tirade I’m on is my own worst nightmare. Your customers may have a lot of worldly things on their minds, but once they’re in your stores they are there to take care of their practical problems, like getting themselves, their kids and their kids’ friends from here to there safely.
You’re in the business of selling auto parts and supplies, and you have one shot at it with most of your walk-in customers. You are either going to be responsive when they walk through your door or they’re going to the guy down the street. That means you need to greet them as soon as they come through your door and figure out what they need immediately.
Don’t try to engage them in a conversation about the Haitian disaster, the health care fiasco, the Supreme Court decision to allow unlimited political campaign funding from corporations and unions...unless they engage you.
But even then, you better be careful because their belief system and political views may be vastly different from your own. If your beliefs are too far off from theirs, it will probably be the last time you see them. Do I need to remind you of the old adage of staying away from the topics of politics and religion? Leave those topics for your brother-in-law. The exception may be with some of your commercial customers who you have come to know over the years. But, on the other hand, it only takes one misguided statement to set off even your best customers.
Having said all of that, you do want to exercise empathy. Customers have a lot on their minds and they just may blurt them out. Listen to what they have to say and show sincere interest in what they have to say. Your opinion means little in the business of running a business. Your sincere attention will go a long way in providing your customers peace of mind with one of the things they can control — buying auto parts from you.
