By Rick Segel
Downward slanting sales. Check. A depleted customer base. Check. Constant stress, worry and handwringing. Check, Check, Check! If these symptoms are all too familiar, then it’s likely your store is suffering from Recessionitis, a disease plaguing many good-intentioned retailers just like you. Thankfully, there is a cure. And I have the prescription: Start maximizing your customers at every opportunity.

Business is tougher than it has ever been, yet there are stores that are staying relatively healthy. What are they doing right? Quite simply, they are getting the most out of every customer who walks in, logs on, calls in, you name it. Even though they might have fewer customers come through their doors, by maximizing the ones they do have, they’re managing to beat this recession.

Maximizing every customer means getting the most out of them every time they come to your store. It means suggesting more ideas or products before they walk out. It means selling your promotional goods and your better merchandise as well. It means collecting as much data about your customers as possible. And it means getting your salespeople focused on saying and doing the right things every time.

Here are a few tips:

1. Sell the customer as much as possible. Then sell her some more. Here’s the simple truth: Your store makes more money when your customers buy more than one item from you. Your employees must learn the art of making multiple sales. The trick is teaching them to remember four magic words: “Did you see this?”

Let’s say your store sells cookware and kitchenware. If a customer is going to purchase a new casserole dish, your salesperson should ask, “Did you see the serving dish that goes with the set?” or “Did you see this cookbook?” She might decline, or she might walk over and take a look at those items, even if it’s just to be polite. Once over there, you never know, she might pick something else up. (Editor’s note: Any customer who purchases hardwood, laminate or ceramic should be shown a healthy selection of area rugs. Any customer who purchases carpet should be sold on a cleaning program.)

2. Become a relentless data collector. Basically, ask yourself, “What should I find out from this person that will help me get her back in my store? Ask her about her family situation—kids, pets—and what else she might be likely or able to buy from you. And when she does buy from you, collect her contact information so you can send her information about your store. And once you have this information, put all of it, every detail, into your customer database.

Of course, collecting data from your customers can be easier said than done. When you ask for her contact information, explain that having it will allow you to send her coupons and exclusive sales information. When customers know how they’ll benefit, they’ll be far more likely to talk.

3. Keep in touch with your customers and know that “expected” communications may not be good enough. No matter what kind of retail store you own, you should be keeping in touch with your customers. Know, also, that if you’re just letting your customers know about upcoming sales or price notices you aren’t doing everything you could be doing. In a bad economy especially, you need to give your customers every possible reason to remember you’re out there and feel connected to you.

Think of ways you can contact them that will be specific to them or you. Send a birthday card or short article you think might be of interest to them. Or if you or your store has recently been featured in a news story, let them know by sending the clip. The goal is to remind them that you are still around.

4. Keep the customer referrals coming. Make sure your salespeople get in the habit of asking customers if they have any friends or family who would like what you sell. And because customers are often reluctant to provide a friend or family member’s contact information, you have to give them an offer they can’t refuse. You might create a customer referral program in which the customer doing the referring and the person she refers receive a reward.

You might give the person doing the referring a $20 gift card, and the person she’s referred a certain percentage off her total in her first visit to the store. Just think about the lifetime value that new customer could provide.

5. Use coupons. It’s a recession. You simply can’t fight the fact your customers are going to be more price- and value-minded. That said, there aren’t many things in this world that price- and value-minded customers like more than coupons. They love feeling like they’ve gotten a great deal, and even like they’ve beaten the system in some way. And that should be perfectly fine with you as long as they are coming back to your store.

The secret to successful coupons is using a dollar amount instead of a percentage. Dollar amounts are more tangible for customers. They immediately know what their savings would be. Also, make sure your coupons have tight expiration dates.

6. Bounce them back into your store. Bounce-back coupons let you give your customer a reason to come back to your store before she even leaves. Here’s how it works: You offer your customer a percentage of her current purchase in a coupon that must be used at a later date. For example, if a customer buys $2,000 worth of merchandise, she gets a $200 off coupon, but it must be used within a certain time frame. Not only does this provide you with a way to get a customer back in the store, it allows you to pressure her to come back sooner rather than later.

7. Get your customers to sing your praises, and record their arias. Customer testimonials are the most powerful form of marketing for retailers. So, any time a customer sings your praises, be sure to capture the moment. When a customer gives you a compliment, thank her and ask if you can write it down and take her picture. Then put it on display.

You might frame the picture and testimonial and hang them in your store. Or you can put them on your Web site. Or you can use them in a mailing piece that goes out to your customers.

8. Turn your customers into research sleuths. The curse of the retailer is that despite how beneficial it is for you to see what other stores are doing, you are often trapped in your own store. Your customers, however, have more opportunities than you to get out and about. You might as well take advantage of their mobility.

Ask your customers where they’ve been shopping and what interesting merchandise or clever sales or promotions they’ve seen. Aside from learning valuable information, this also helps you make a special connection with your customer—most people love being asked their opinion. It makes them feel important.

9. Seek out anonymous feedback via customer service surveys. Anonymous surveys are a great way for you to get straightforward feedback from your customers. You might be surprised by the powerful advice you get. You’ll find out things about your store that no one would ever say to your face. You might find that certain customers would be coming in more if you had a certain product line or you ran a certain promotion more often.

10. Create a customer advisory board. Ask a few of your loyal customers if they would be willing to meet with you about four times a year so you can pick their brains about your store. Ask what they think about your merchandise, your employees, the way you do business, etc. Remember, those on your advisory board should not have lifetime appointments. You’ll want to switch them in and out every year or so to ensure you are getting the freshest perspectives possible.

We are living in the era of proactive retailing. We can’t wait for customers to just walk through the front door anymore. You have to interact with them and get them to open up to you so that you can find out what their want is. Naturally, that’s never an easy process. But going the extra mile, every day and in every way, can keep them spending more and coming back. And that’s the best recession survival strategy you’ll ever find.

Rick Segel, CSP, a seasoned retailer of 25 years, is a contributing writer for numerous national publications and a founding member of the Retail Advisory Council for Johnson & Wales University. Rick is also the director of retail training for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.