The best hotels have nailed the guest experience – so why don’t retailers take a few tips from their playbook? Our US correspondent Gordon Hecht, writing for trade magazine Your Source News, explains how to set your store apart with a few simple upgrades …
The hotel and hospitality industry have surely changed since the start of the 20th Century. One hundred years ago, when people checked into their room, that was what they got. A room with a bed.
No fancy furniture. People travelled with steamer trunks that served as closets and dressers. They’d share a bathroom and shower with all the other guests and clean themselves with shampoo and soaps that they brought from home. It was like staying on Gilligan’s Island. No phone, no TV, not a single luxury.
Then some smart hotelier got the idea of giving every guest a private bath. They added storage furniture as trunks gave way to suitcases. Phones and radios were added in step with the technology of the time. Later, television sets were placed in rooms as an extra attraction.
You may remember when hotels added street facing signage announcing they offered COLOUR TV. Later they touted Free HBO. That was surpassed by High-Speed Internet, and again by Wi-Fi.
Check into a modern hotel today with the keyless entry. You’ll find an abundance of power outlets, smart TVs, in-room coffee, bottled water, luxury bathing products and more. You won’t find phones. Everyone has their own. Or pay-per-view movies. Everyone streams their own.
The changes in amenities and the experiences they provide change often (about every two years on average). Successful hotels move ahead of their guests’ needs, anticipating ways to make the travel adventure better.
Their customers are your customers. Retail has been a rocky road for all of this century. We’ve seen the giants of the past disappear from the landscape, and toss in the number of malls that have closed and the evaporation of downtown shopping.
You already know the reason for these changes. Shoppers crave a new experience. Sears, Kmart, Radio Shack, Rhodes Furniture, Circuit City,and others couldn’t (or wouldn’t) keep up. Our buying public flocked to the stores that delivered a unique or pleasurable shopping experience.
It’s hard to stay fresh. You probably have planned to upgrade your website, store signage, window dressing and delivery trucks (or already have done it). But if you do everything you can to drive traffic to your door, and then present a 2015 path to purchase, you’ll lose the sale.
Once they arrive, you’ve got to wow them. Show and tell your products in ways the shopper never imagined.
Appliances: Frigidaire introduced an electric range that can actually produce a decent pizza. It can heat up to 750°F, about the right temperature to get the crust, cheese and toppings to taste great.
I’ve heard about retailers who are inviting the public in for Saturday afternoon pizza parties. No purchase is necessary. Stop by and enjoy a slice. Can you picture how great the showroom smells after baking a few pies? And how many couples decide they can’t live without this range (which sells for about twice as much as a basic stove and oven). Even if you don’t sell that brand, you can still duplicate the effect with fresh bread, cookies or pies.
Mattresses: Sleep shops do a lot of things well. Generally, that does not include reproducing shoppers’ in-home sleeping experience. It’s a sure bet that the couple coming into your store don’t sleep with their shoes on, or without a blanket. And with all the lights on.
You can remedy most of these and give them a remarkable test rest that the mega-retailers can’t match. Start by providing disposable slippers, the kind you’d find in hospitals or hotels. It’ll cost you less than a buck a pair. They are more likely to fully stretch out on your mattress, and their feet will feel great!
Next, grab blackout sleep masks. This will block out your store’s overhead lighting and create a more serene environment. Buy these in bulk. At the end of the demonstration, the masks and slippers are a gift to your customers.
The final part of the sleep experience is the blanket. While that may get messy, you can provide a bed sheet to cover your guests. It will make the mattress extra cosy. An extra bonus is that your shopper will lose that feeling of having you watch them as they rest in bed. Work with your top-of-bed supplier for a few samples at a good price. Five or 10 should handle your needs. Bring them home to wash and fold as needed.
Furniture: With so many categories in your store, there are tons of opportunities. Consider serving coffee, water and snacks at a dining room or dinette set. Or having a live working PC or laptop in your home office area.
But if your store is typical, half your sales come from living and family room furniture. These present you with a winning advantage.
It will seem like a Pleasant Valley Sunday when you have a TV in every room. Since most of your shoppers will have a television in front of their sofa or recliner, shouldn’t you have one too? Fifty-inch smart TVs are under two bills, so cost shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a sure bet that the people in your store will double their time sitting in that leather reclining sectional if the game of the week is on the tube. Or a cooking show. Or a kid’s movie.
Savvy retailers will create their own YouTube video loop with promotional announcements and set up the TVs to show that. Number and hide the remote controls, and you’re in charge of what they watch.
Creating an enhanced experience will separate you from everyone else in your marketplace. There’s a slight investment in time and money, but the payoff will be in the additional revenue you generate.
Be sure not to keep it a secret. Shout it on social media and in every advertisement. The public will remark about your store, and that makes you remarkable.
This article was originally published by Your Source News. Gordon can be reached at [email protected].
Pictured: Hotel-style slippers will help mattress shoppers feel at home
