InsideOutdoor Magazine

Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2018 29 This letter will begin: “Dear ____, We miss you! Did we drop the ball?” Or wording to that effect. Articulate the changes you have made, the new lines you are carrying, any new locations that have been added, the updated website address, etc. Provide the store number and invite them to call you person- ally if there is a problem. You need to know this, you want to know this, right? Include $20 with the letter, again with a tight “use by” date to encourage ur- gency. The obvious goal is to see how many former customers you can get back. You might also be able to correct a problem you previously knew nothing about. At the very least, this exercise will help you clean up your mailing list. Allow me to share a personal story. A few months back, my wife decided she would close her account at a well- known specialty store. Far be it for me to name names, so let’s just say it was a high-profile Northwestern retailer with 353 locations that began in the shoe business and has a reputation for out- standing customer service. Her reasons primarily dealt with lack of selection and what she felt was inadequate sales help not meeting the standards she was ac- customed to from previous experiences with said retailer. Within two weeks of closing the ac- count she received what I would call a form letter signed by the president inviting her to a phone call if further discussion was warranted. That open- ing, to my wife, was like honey to a bee. The number was dialed and answered, not surprisingly, by a secretary who promised a return call. A call actually came the next day from the president of stores who spent more than 20 min- utes asking, probing, and sounding truly interested in what went wrong and what could be done to fix the problem. He wasn’t defensive or accusatory; he really wanted to know what they could do better. He understood her concerns, even agreeing with many of them. The moral of the story is clear. If the president of a prominent national chain can take the time to engage with a disgruntled customer why shouldn’t an independent retail owner be able to do the same thing? In this case, size really doesn’t matter. If you have one store or 20, the point is to engage and commu- nicate with your customers, especially when there are “issues.” I would suggest doing this person- ally and not delegate what might be perceived as an unpleasant task to a customer service person. After all, customer service, along with customer experience, is truly what distinguishes the independent brick and mortar re- tailer from all others. m Ritchie Sayner is founder of Advanced Retail Strategies LLC. He also is author of the book “Retail Revela- tions-Strategies for Improving Sales, Margins, and Turnover,” available by emailing rmsayner@gmail.com or through Amazon. Buyer’s Side Clean and Simple Coghlan’s Silicone Travel Bottles are a clean and simple solution for storing condiments, or toiletries Food grade silicone • Content selector cap • Leak proof bottle TSA approved size - 3 oz. (89 ml) • Lanyard loop in top to hang from backpack • Available in singles or 3-pack Cool and Dry Coghlan’s Utility Tarp is made from waterproof polyester, making it durable, and versatile for use a shelter or ground cover 9.8’ x 9.8’ (3 m x 3 m) • Waterproof 190T polyester • Includes stuff sack, 6 pegs and guy line with tensioners Visit us at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2018 - Booth# 51024-UL @ COGHLANSGEAR COGHLANSGEAR COGHLANSOUTDOOR WWW.COGHLANS.COM