MARKETING

“ What’ s crucial is that initial greeting when somebody comes in the door because they’ re not getting that at the big box stores,” said Matt McGinnis, branch manager for STI Turf Care in Concord, N. C.

McGinnis and STI serve a mix of residential and pro customers in landscape and irrigation work. The different customers have unique needs.“ The landscape contractors come in and don’ t want to be bothered, they know where to find what they need. And even if we try to help them, they’ ll say,‘ No I got it.’”

That’ s true for a lot of customers, not just irrigation pros who need fittings and sprinkler heads.“ More customers are making decisions based on online research without having to talk to somebody. This certainly feels like a key push in the customer segment,” said Mike Wasserman, CFO of dealer management system provider Flyntlok.

But not all customers.“ The homeowners, on the other hand, they usually come to the counter first and ask for solutions to whatever they’ re trying to fix,” said McGinnis.“ We’ ll go out there and walk through the bins and figure out you know what they need.” It’ s not always possible to tell the difference between pros and joes, as they say, so you need to ask.“ I’ m trying to get my guys to catch people right when they come in the door and at least say,‘ Hey good morning or good afternoon, anything we help you with?’”

Communication tools Beyond the initial greeting and after the sale or service agreement, digital communication tools can help you communicate.“ We use a combination of services right now,” said Paul.“ The Flyntlok dealer management system has really modernized some of our communication; we have the ability to text customers directly from the system. We can also send them estimates via text; some customers really like that.”

With staffing issues, dealers like Paul and McGinnis say they seldom have time to sit and talk, as nice as it might be to do so.“ I would love to sit and debate every nuance of a video the customer watched on YouTube,” said Paul.“ But if they’ re looking at a $ 200 weed trimmer, it is what it is right? I can only spend so much time on that.”

“ If it’ s just one customer who wants to shoot the bull and talk for a little bit, I’ m okay with that,” said McGinnis.“ But not if we’ re busy. Most customers have enough common sense, and if they see people standing behind in line, they’ re not going to stand there and just chit chat.”

Every retailer needs to figure this out on its own and recall the point McGinnis made earlier about big-box stores. One main differentiator for OPE dealers is that they can talk to each customer.

“ Most companies try to ensure that no one hates them. And if that’ s true about your company, I promise you that no one loves you either,” said Mark Gardiner.“ That might be okay for business to get by, but no one will seek you out.” Gardiner is an author and marketing leader who wrote a book about Trader Joe’ s after working at a store for several months and studying the brand.

Trader Joe’ s is a unique and highly successful grocery chain. While the retailing of food is quite different than the sale of lawn mowers or the service of lawn maintenance, the Trader Joe’ s lesson is a good one.

First, let’ s talk about Trader Joe’ s success. A privately held company, it’ s not required to report financial results to the public. However, we found a few reports suggesting that grocery chain is profitable. Its stores produce, as reported by Motley Fool, more than $ 2,100 in gross revenue per square foot, almost double the average of grocery rivals.

How does Trader Joe’ s do it?“ Management might say that customers love the uniqueness of Trader Joe’ s products,” said Gardiner.“ But the secret to their success is the front-line employees – chosen for their chatty attitude, and their ability to interact with customers. That is the secret. Everyone else hires for aptitude and tries to get the right attitude. Trader Joes hires for attitude and works to get their aptitude.”

Gardiner worked at a brand-new store that was opening in Kansas City.“ We were trained in the Trader Joe’ s way and we would workshop on how to interact with customers and customer relations. The training covered less on how to operate a cash register. They really only cared about that customer interaction.”

Gardiner shared a tale about ancient Egypt.“ When they were building the pyramids, there were two guys selling bread. Both were excellent bakers with good product. One guy was a jerk, and the other guy talked to everyone and asked how they were doing. He sold out of bread every day. This is so basic.”

Even average products and services are boosted by positive customer interactions.“ By building friendly interactions, everything else in the store is better or seems better,” said Gardiner.“ Be likeable, even lovable. If you do this one thing perfectly, people will like you and put up with a lot of other crap.”

www. OPE-Plus. com May 2025 OPE + 21