How To Keep Your Guests Informed Like A ProAs humans we are predisposed to a need for information or the wanting to learn something new. This is called the need for cognition closure. It is the need to hear or see something new and ideally it is all wrapped up into a nice package with a neat little bow on top. The best part of this is when a customer comes into your store nothing changes. They are still either consciously or unconsciously curious about your establishment and what it has to offer. One of the best ways to keep your customers informed is through the use of music and messaging. That is the messages that are played over your speaker’s in-between your music. Keeping your guests informed draws them into the buying experience. So playing messages that tell your story, invite them to find you’re the sales, or simply informing them of your involvement in the community around you. These are the elements that I would like to touch on today.

First item is, it is always a good idea to dedicate at least one of your messages that tells the consumer about your store and how you got started. Although we have become a society that is comfortable with doing business with people that we do not know or have even seen. There is still something to be said for the introducing yourself and giving them a little bit about your stores background. It has always been my experience that nothing sells like a story. Consumers love to buy something that they can show their friends and family and if there is a story to go with that then it makes for an even better conversation when that time comes. So if you are a family business and have been around for generations that is something that they need to know. Keep your guests informed of your start and how far you have come. This also works on the flipside. If you are a small business and just got started, let them know your struggles to get here and how your “Cinderella Story” came about and how you plan to see your dream come to fruition. Only about half of small businesses make it past 5 years. That makes you the underdog. Everyone loves an underdog story and that is a story you can sell.

The next topic on the docket is the sales or promotions that your store is having. Your customers more than likely are looking for a good deal coming to your store. This may even be the first thought that enters their mind (that is unless you’re a legacy or oil barren and money is something you use to blow your nose with). So instead of making them look for it give it to them on a silver platter. Keeping your guests informed through messaging is crucial to the competitive world we live in now. Its important to note that after the message has conveyed the information about the sale. The next step would be to direct them to where ever it is you would like them to go. Usually this is a salesperson or a help desk of some kind. The exception would be if you own a store and are looking to use this tool to cut down on the amount of employees needed to direct your guests.

Fairly simple stuff really. Introduce your brand & network. Creatively introduce your promotion. Then close out the message with a direct call-to-action.

Going along with sales and promotion it is important to note that seasonal/monthly messages should be made and rotated as necessary. In order to keep you guests informed they must know what your plans are for every holiday and seasonal change. This is especially needed in industries such as the car business. This is because car manufacturers have to stay uniform with industry standards and since cars are a nonperishable good you have to find a away to sell them without the it’s-going-to-go-bad-soon-so-get-it-off-my-shelf mentality. This mainly gives way to holiday and seasonal sales. So whether is is the end of the summer sale or the end of the year sale, your customers should be well informed.

Lastly, I would like to touch on possibly one of the most impactful kind of messages – community involvement. This is very straightforward when it comes to messaging. Basically you are just telling the good people that frequent your store that you are doing something to better the community that you are in. Consumers feel better about spending money with business that they feel are better morally than the competition. So whether you are sponsoring a local soccer team or donating millions of dollars every year to charity your customers deserve to know this. That is all we have for this time. Keep in touch and keep your customers in formed.