Customer-Friendly Upgrades to Liven Up Your Boutique

Twenty years ago, customers would plan to spend an afternoon in a boutique, trying on clothes and gabbing away with salespeople. Today’s fashionista is just as likely to hop online to get her threads, skipping the entire in-store experience altogether.

Boutiques should take steps to appeal to their clientele in order to make the trip a memorable experience. If they enjoy being in the store, they’ll stay longer… which almost always translates into increased sales. Make them want to stay, and you’ll see a boost in your bottom line.

Upgrade the Amenities

Don’t leave your customers parched while they browse. Give your boutique a spa-like, relaxing vibe where customers can grab some lemon-flavored water to sip while they shop. Add some comfy chairs for companions to sit in while they’re waiting for their friends to try on clothes, and you’ll leave everyone lingering a little longer.

Reliable Wi-Fi

For customers who like to snap Instagram pics of themselves while in the dressing room to get feedback on their fashion choices on social media, a strong DSL connection is a must to have in your store. Offering the highest speed available means your store will be able to handle multiple computers at the same time without any lag or slow-downs. While the customers deserve a great way to connect online, your business line should be on another account. Keep the store’s line separate to make sure secure information stays that way.

Expert Staff

Your staff should be more than a collection of salespeople. They should be people passionate about fashion, who want to lead customers to the choices that will make them look their best. Suss out your staff to see where fashion strengths lie, and utilize designated experts to help with the shopping experience. Does Samantha always wear the fiercest shoes? Have her monitor the shoe section and lend her expert advice to your customers.

Take the Time

In a busy world, customers are often seen as distractions to workers who have dozens of tasks to complete in any given work day. Turn this attitude upside-down by rewarding team members who go out of their way to have a friendly chat with a customer. Equip salespeople with talking points that will make the buying process personable and profitable. Encourage employees to go the extra mile to suggest new fashions based on customer interest and offer to bring them more options to try on while they’re in the dressing room.

Choose the Tunes Wisely

Music may not seem like a big deal to your store, but it can drive customers out. Don’t just let your employees hook up their iPods to your speakers. Choose a station from an app such as Spotify that is soothing and relaxing. Avoid heavy genres such as metal or songs with offensive lyrics. You don’t want elevator music serenading your customers either, so a Top 40 station is a safe bet.

What tips do you have to keep customers in boutique stores? Leave them in the comments below.

Contributed by Desmond Miller. Des is a project manager for a large marketing firm. He enjoys writing about marketing, advertising and PR trends in the digital world.