Business, Customer Service and Retail Sales Articles

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What Does Your "Packaging" Say About You?
Three Gifts You Must Give Your Customer!

By Anne M. Obarski

I love to get presents! As a matter of fact, there is a joke in my family that I am always the last to open my presents on Christmas because I am meticulous at inspecting the wrapping and carefully opening the present and then showing my appreciation in the only way I know how, screaming and giggling! I am exhausted when all of the hoopla of the holidays is over because I immerse myself in every festivity of the season.

I also love to give gifts. I love the hunt for just the right present and then the fascination of matching just the right paper with an obscenely oversized, glitzy ribbon that I frequently will attach a sparkly ornament to. I love to see the faces of those I give gifts to, because part of the giving of a gift is in the packaging and the presentation!

How have you packaged and presented your business to your customers? Does your customer feel "special" when they do business with you? Do their faces light up when they walk through your doors or when your employees answer the phone? Do you only go out of your way during the holidays to make your customer's shopping experience special? Have your customers ever said that your "packaging" just isn't worth the investment of time or money to do business with you? Maybe it's time to take a closer look at the "gift" you give your customers.

What makes up the perfect package?

1. The perfect merchandise.

The top 3 "influencers" for the holiday season of 2003 are said to be; value, quantity and selection. Is your store "packaged" to reflect those desires of your customer? Is the merchandise displayed in such a way to say that you believe in your merchandise and have bought accordingly? Have you used signage for the benefit of the customer so that they can easily make their buying decisions without having to search for an employee? Have you done your research to make sure that the customer realizes that there is indeed "value" in what they are purchasing and that is not always about buying something at the rock-bottom lowest price?

2. The perfect wrapping.

I am always amazed at the media coverage about the outcome of the day after Thanksgiving sales. There are TV cameras in the parking lots, videos of people riding up and down the escalators and interviews with shoppers trying to find out if they will spend more or less than last year. Actually, research shows that only 10% of holiday sales are actually done the day after Thanksgiving. 30% is done the weekend before Christmas. My math says there are another 60% of sales that are generated day in and day out during that short time frame. So why the big push for the day after Thanksgiving?

Does it really give analysts those all important figures that they can put the finger on the pulse of the economy or is it a right of passage?

I believe people come out on Black Friday for the experience, period. There is something mesmerizing about the lights and the color and the atmosphere that people are seeking. Yes, some people do shopping on that day, but I believe others enjoy browsing through the stores, with child-like wonder. There is just something special about the look of store windows and mall decorations and, yes, even parking lot confusion that brings out the child in all of us. It really isn't felt any other time of the year and maybe that is what makes the "wrapping" even more special.

The question is how you can offer that feeling at other times of the year. What type of bags or boxes or special gift wrap can you offer your customer in the dead of March? Can you upgrade your lighting or change the color of the interior of your store to make it "sparkle" when it the weather is gray and cloudy?

What special fixturing can you add that will open the eyes of your customers on a day in and day out basis? Have you thought outside the box of merchandising basics to catch the attention of the customer? I just saw a great outdoor sign at a local business where I live that says, "We have a grumpy staff but neat stuff"! I laughed so hard an actually took a picture of the sign! I don't think I would like that connection of grumpy and staff person if I worked there, but it certainly caught my eye and I am going to stop in to see if either or both of those statements is true. That said, on to the last "gift".

3. The perfect Bow!

I believe this is the icing on the cake, the chocolate kiss on the peanut butter cookie, and the pecans in the pecan pie! What is it? It is the employees of any business. Those people who come in contact with your customer either face to face of by phone, everyday. They are what makes your business sparkle or they can make it as dull as a month old Christmas cookie.

Careerbuilder.com reported that 1 out of 4 employees say that work stinks. They also stated that 60% of employees are looking for a way out of their present job. I wonder how many of those are employees in the retailing or service businesses? And why is that?

My guess is that it comes down to appreciation. How often do you show your employees that they are your "holiday fudge" or do they feel they are just a piece of unwanted "fruitcake"? Do you provide significant training on an ongoing basis to give them the confidence they need to sell your product or service. Are you sensitive to their personal life and their requests of hours they can or cannot work? Do you know enough about their personality styles to match them with the right work environment or are they just a warm body to fill the schedule? Be careful, they are probably looking elsewhere to find a company that will fulfill those basic needs.

Giving and getting gifts requires active participants. Have you ever given a gift to someone and they act as if it is a waste of time to even open the present? It is not a good feeling. On the other hand, when you take the time to know the receiver of the gift, what they like and focus on presenting it with passion, there is a kind of "magic" that happens.

That is the "magic" that people are looking for at this time of the year. The bigger question is how can you capture that magic throughout the year and deliver that "gift" to your customers all year long.

By the way, wait till my dog sees what I got for him for Christmas and how I wrapped it!

Believe me, he has the most basic way of showing his appreciation, he will wag his tail like crazy and look at me with those big black eyes and I know I have given him the perfect gift, wet nose and all!

May you enjoy the simple gifts of this holiday season and all year through!