How To Greet Customers In The Retail Industry

Greeting customers when they first step foot into a retail store is key to winning their loyalty. A simple greeting lays the foundation for a positive shopping experience, and it's one of the many ways retail stores can set themselves apart from their competitors. If a customer is greeted with by a friendly employee in one store and completely ignored in a second store, which store do you think they'll return to in the future? Chances are they'll go back to the store that greeted them. This is just one reason why you retail stores and businesses should emphasize the importance of greeting shoppers.

Know When a Shopper Enters Your Store

You can't expect to greet each and every shopper unless you know when they enter your store. One technique that works in retail stores is to place a small bell either at the top or bottom of the door. When a customer walks through the door, the bell will jingle to notify employees of their presence. A basic bell can be purchased for a bout a $1 or $2 bucks, making this an inexpensive 'alarm' to help you greet shoppers.

Of course, you could also install an electronic alarm system. Each time the door is opened, the system emits a low 'beeping' noise. If you're interested in installing one of these in your retail store, contact your security monitoring company to see what they offer. Most big-name security monitoring companies (and even some of the smaller ones) will gladly install a door alarm such as this.

What Should I Say To Customers?

There really isn't a particular phrase that employees must use when greeting customers in a retail store. Some companies focus on basic greetings like "Hello, how are you doing today?," while others greet shoppers with a longer phrase like "Welcome to [insert store name here]. Is there anything I can help you find today?" Both of these examples are perfectly fine for just about any type of retail store or business. They help to acknowledge the customer in a friendly, positive manner.

Customer Greeting Tips:

• Watch your tone! Greeting customers in an aggressive and/or unfriendly tone sends the wrong message.
• Don't be pushy. If a customer doesn't need or want assistance, let them browse in peace.
• Stick with shirt, concise greetings.
• Make sure your store's employees are trained to greet customers following your guidelines.
• Don't forget to tell customers "Goodbye. Thanks for coming" when they leave.