How many of your consignment or resale shop visitors today will be new faces?

How many of them will mention your shop to how many other people in the next day or two?

And how can you increase that word of mouth for pennies?

You have to help them. Give them a reason to talk about your shop. (And when they do, to use the name of your shop! Having started a trend on my avenue to resale, just saying, “That place over on 5th” won’t do it…)

Here’s one of 3 points from a recent 3-Minute WOM Lesson: “How to help new customers talk about you” from the experts on gaspedal.com. This is something that I have talked about many times, but I have received with a little something from a shopkeeper perhaps one time in a hundred. Or a thousand. And the uninspired things I did get… a pen, a nail file… were, shall we say, less than exciting enough to bother telling my friends about.

Give them something to take with them

Never, ever let a customer — especially a new customer — walk out your door without offering something to start a conversation with. Think like the restaurant that insists new customers take a few slices of cake back to the office to share. Or, try putting a box by the register filled with branded stickers, magnets, and post cards along with a big sign that says “Take one!” — and see how many conversations you start. (Kate bolded the salient point here.)

The easiest, most unusual, most useful… and to top it all off CHEAPEST… thing to offer is a Customer Service brochure. Maybe a stain-removal brochure, or a brochure of quick dinner recipes (so they can shop longer after work before they have to get home!) or how to dress to flatter their figures.  Something that you give out just to help your customers. Not a sales pitch, but a gesture of friendship.

There’s 9 ideas in TGtbT.com’s Customer Brochure Kit. More than enough to switch out every few weeks to keep interest high! Use them as-is, adding your shop info, or simply use them as a springboard for your imagination. Make sure your new visitors remember YOUR shop, not the competition.  Get the Brochure Idea Kit for your business today.