Pulse PoInts
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
“ 71.7%
of consumers
aged 35 to 44 will
support or shop
more at a small
business if the
owner knows
their name.”
hen someone you barely know remembers
your name, how does it make you feel?
Important? Cherished? Valued? Your
customers feel all that and more when you
address them by their name, and, according to a new study by
Vistaprint, they’re also more likely to use your services.
Vistaprint surveyed U.S. consumers to uncover opinions
about shopping at or working with a small business. The full
survey was completed by 1,504 consumers aged 18 and over
across the United States from August 24 to 26, 2017.
The survey, which also uncovered that shopping or using
the services of small businesses is very important to
consumers, showed that nearly seven out of ten (68.9 percent)
of U.S. consumers will support or shop more at a small
business if the owner knows them by name. Even more, 71.7
percent of consumers aged 35 to 44 will support or shop more
at a small business if the owner knows their name.
As a spa with a database full of consumer records and
appointments, it shouldn’t take more than a few tweaks to your
customer service policy to ensure your customers are being
called directly by name. Here are four tips to becoming a pro at
memorizing the names of your customers.
W
16
PULSE
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December 2017
1.
Meet and repeat. If the customer has set an
appointment beforehand, your staff should already have
their name available. Train everyone from your receptionist to
your service providers to weave the customer’s name into the
conversation. Also, when you’re saying goodbye, make sure to
use the name one last time while looking them in the face, and
make an effort to commit it to memory.
Associate. Many experts suggest that you conjure a
verbal game or image when you first hear a name. Think,
“Cassie from California” or “Bill with the blue shirt,” to help you
remember their name throughout their spa visit.
Be Authentic. It’s more important to be real with
customers and make them feel comfortable, than ensuring
you say their name every few minutes. Authenticity in conver-
sation will make you feel more comfortable with customers and
naturally remember their names.
Choose to Care. Most psychologists and memory
experts point out that one of the main reasons we forget
someone’s name is that we’re not really focused on learning it in
the first place. Decide to care about learning names, and pass that
on to your staff; you’ll be surprised how well it actually works! n
2.
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