Boutique Visuals: Mannequins

Use mannequin displays to show customers what an outfit looks like when it’s on, but also satisfy the needs of their subconscious that control whether or not they buy. Shoppers today are bombarded by images, ads, outfits and displays that are pleasing to the eye. Aesthetics are thought to have an 85% impact on whether or not a customer buys. Think about how much time and money is spent on packaging, photography, commercials, image and branding. It doesn’t have much to do with the actual product, but with the aesthetics of the product. The goal is always to make the customer feel a certain way when they see and use the product.

Customers associate quality with visual and psychological cues. They will generally decide to purchase something if all areas of their conscious and subconscious appetites have been satisfied. For example, they may go shopping for a shirt. They are not simply looking for a piece of cloth to cover their torso. They want to get a shirt that fits them in a flattering way. They want a shirt that says something about their personality. They feel the need to wear a shirt that makes them feel a certain way, whether it be comfortable, powerful, professional, hip, lovable, cheerful, friendly, superior or any other array of emotions. They may base their decision to buy a shirt based on over one hundred conscious and subconscious factors.

Shoppers associate quality with their impression of your store or web site, but let’s talk about price. If a price is too low, then the customer will most likely automatically assume that there must be something wrong with the shirt. Either its quality is bad, or the imaginary world of peers that have looked at this shirt before have decided, for some unknown reason, to pass it by. This fear of “making a social mistake” will turn a vast majority of customers away.

The same goes for pricing items too high. Customers will be let down or put off that they cannot afford or wouldn’t pay a high price for something that they were considering buying. They will get a bad impression about your boutique. Either the store management thinks they can pull one over on people, they think that they are too good for us, or they think that the boutique is doing so poorly that they have to charge high prices to make their bills.

You never want your customers to think that you’re doing poorly. This brings them back to the feeling that their imaginary peers have overlooked you for some imaginary reason. Keep your displays, promotional displays and garment racks full. Displays that are too empty make the items look like they are being discontinued or clearanced out.

Keep your mannequin displays changing. You want them to make customers comfortable, like putting a face with the idea of wearing the clothing. Imagine that the mannequins are there to make your first impressions. They are promising your shoppers, on a subconscious level, that they would definitely wear this outfit, that it will look this good, and that it will make the customer feel like the mannequin feels. It is so important to give your mannequins feeling by using their position, location, and creating display situations.

Using your mannequins to display and satisfy the aesthetics that your customers are looking for is a very effective way of marketing your boutique and your merchandise. The more of those one hundred reasons to buy you can satisfy, the better your chances are of making a sale.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

How to Increase Retail Sales

The economy is in a slump and retail businesses are the first to suffer. People are afraid to spend their money. But, they will need to buy school clothes and work clothes, so use these tips to ensure that you snag some of these precious sales dollars.

Customer service is your number one concern. If someone has a bad experience in your store, the news will spread. Train your sales team on how to provide good customer service. They should avoid commonly overused phrases and start to see them as sales or branding opportunities. Additionally, negative phrases should have a positive spin. For example, instead of saying, “Hold on for a minute while I look for that” a prepared customer service person would say, “We do keep that in stock, I will be right back with it for you.” There is only a slight difference in what was said, but think about the customer’s impression. In the first statement, the customer is asked to “wait” while the employee “looks”. If it were me, I would think that it could take forever and I would probably leave once the sales person was out of sight.

Merchandise your store in a way that will lure in the right customers. You don’t necessarily want everyone and their dog to come inside. You mainly want the people that may actually spend money to enter. Arrange your displays to target the demographic that you want to enter. If you want higher paying customers, don’t put fluorescent lights and giant sale signs at the door. If you want to clear out old merchandise for cheap, bring your garment racks out onto the sidewalk. People will respond to the mood that you set.

Reduce theft to protect your investment. Lighting, mirrors, strategically placed sales representatives and theft deterrent signs can be very inexpensive and save you loads of money due to losses. Loss prevention should become even more of a priority when the economy is down and people are more willing to take a risk shoplifting.

You may have heard that when sales are down you should be spending more on advertising. This is true, but how much and in what area should it be being spent? If you only have a small advertising budget, you might use it to get information about your competition. Doing some research yourself or paying for a competitive analysis can help you to define your edge and publicize it. You may be able to identify a target market that has gone untapped, problems with your competitions customer service or holes in what the competition offers and what their customers are looking for.

Finally, realize that you can use what you’ve got without spending a dime. If there aren’t many customers in the store, use that time to train employees on high level customer service. Rearrange your store displays and work on new and exciting merchandising. Your store can rotate new inventory towards the front of the store every day if necessary until you figure out what is drawing customers in. Utilize mannequins in your front window to keep the scene changing. Not only will you spark interest, but you will help customers see what all you have to offer.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Reading Customer Body Language

Knowing what motivates your customers to buy can give you a real edge in your business. Figuring it out just takes a little time. You will need to pay attention to your customer’s body language to determine what they like or don’t like and why. To do this, you will need to know a few key things about nonverbal cues. Once you get it down, you can adjust your promotions, display strategies and even your level of customer service to match your customer’s moods and expectations.

Remember that the customer is influenced by your body language as well. You can correct movements and stances that you may not even be fully conscious of, but that are pushing clients away. For example, touching your hair while talking to a customer makes them think that you are bored. Be careful of the signals that you are sending and you can send the ones that make customers trust you.

You can’t influence someone’s free will or force them to spend money that they don’t have, but you can make them comfortable enough to want to make you happy. You can use persuasive gestures and tones that make customers more receptive to what you are saying. The first impression is most important. Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t know why, but I just don’t like him.” Most likely, the person saying this got a bad first impression by subconsciously picking up on negative non-verbal cues.

Here are movements that you should avoid in business:

Letting your eyes wander while the customer is talking.
Fake smiles that involve only the mouth muscles.
Putting your hands on your hips.
Interlacing your fingers while trying to look interested.
Quick movements or excessive movements.
Audible exhales.
Crossing your arms.
Placing items between you, like a stack of clothes, a drink or even a counter.

These are some gestures that convey confidence and sincerity to your customers:

Make eye contact for at least a few seconds.
Leave open space between you. Come out from behind the counter to greet and help.
Make slightly exaggerated facial expressions to show interest.
Keep a calm, easy smile on your face until you have something to really smile about.
Use your individuality, but tone it down so that the customer can shine.

Remember that your attitude will show. Be positive, confident and interested. If you see that the customer has a unique bracelet you are actually interested in it, go ahead and compliment the customer. It is okay to ask how old their children are, tell them that you like their purse, general small talk is a good idea. But, avoid asking things that the customer might consider personal, like, “Who does your hair?”

Things other than your body movements will affect the customer’s mood and desire to buy. Your surroundings are also important. Make sure that your store is not in disarray. Displays should be kept nice and neat. The uniformity of hanging and folded clothes should be broken up with mannequin displays and hanging form displays. This will help to relax the customer and make them more open to your suggestions.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.