Hug Your Customers
"Hug Your Customers, love the results" is a book about the
principles of passionate customer service. Written by USA
retailer, Jack Mitchell, it is full of homespun philosophies and
amusing anecdotes that give a glimpse of why his two store
business is so successful. Here are two examples of what Jack
Mitchell means by a 'hug':
"A hug can be a thoughtful remedy for an annoyance. When the
postal service raised the price of a stamp to 37cents from 34
cents, my first thought was, 'Oh great, now I've got to stand in
line to get 3-cent stamps so I can use that mound of 34-cent
stamps I bought...I hate waiting in lines, so I sent out a
personal note to 500 of our good customers, thinking they might
be in the same boat, and included some 3-cent stamps. I wrote,
'In an effort to make your life less hectic, I have enclosed a
handful of 3-cent stamps.' It was a hug out of nowhere, and they
loved it."
"Whenever I notice customers shopping with young children, I
like to go over and kneel down so I'm at child height and say,
'Hi there, I just wanted to thank you for bringing your mom and
dad into the store today."
In case, like me, you hadn't heard of Jack Mitchell and are
wondering what and where his business is, I'll let him explain -
"For three generations my family has been dressing men and women
in Fairfield and Westchester Counties, where a high
concentration of top executives live and increasingly work. Our
stores are less than an hour by train from New York's Grand
Central Station but we are told we're a world apart in terms of
the care, time and attention we devote to each and every
customer."
"Nowadays (2003), we have two stores in Connecticut, Mitchells
and Richards. We do in excess of $65 million a year, and we are
all thrilled to be selling suits and dresses one at a time and
hugging customers. We achieve this volume in Westport, a town of
just 28,000 people, and in nearby Greenwich, which has about
60,000 people...We've been told by others that we're one of the
most successful - if not the most successful - high-end clothing
store in the country, and maybe in the world. It's not because
of our product, it's not because of our prices, other stores
have great product and prices. It's because of how we personally
treat customers."
Rather like John Timpson, at Timpson Ltd in the UK, (If you
missed "The more our people earn the more I like it" piece I
wrote on this, go to the Retail Articles section at our website
www.terrifictrading.com and download it for free) Jack Mitchell
believes in rewarding high performers.
"We say to our great sellers, 'we want to invest in you. We
would rather pay you more, than pay to put additional ads in the
Westport News or the New York Times.' Most retail stores
traditionally spend 3 to 5 per cent of their sales in marketing.
Years ago, we did too. But then we realised that we could spend
a lot less and invest it in great people. It was a tremendous
win for everyone."
And in the same way as they sell to one customer at a time, they
communicate to their customers with specific targeted
promotions, no mass mailings. Jack Mitchell explains, "Not long
ago, we programmed the computer to produce a list of all
customers who hadn't made purchases in the last two years and
those who hadn't spent more than $900 for a suit. There were
3,000 names. We sent out direct mail and invited them to visit
the store for a special promotion. 438 of the 3,000 customers,
an excellent response for a mailing, came in and made a
purchase. We generated $313,000 in sales."
He even has a 20 question 'Hugging Achievement Test' at the end
of the book so you can rate your business on the hugging scale.
Here are the first four to get you started:
Make a list of at least a dozen ways you feel you 'hug your
customers' and exceed their expectations.
What are at least three things you do each week for each person
who works for you to make them feel special.
Make a list of your top 100 customers (in business to business
this might be your top 20) without looking them up. Mark against
this when you last talked with them or gave them a hug.
Who else in your organisation knows these customers? Is it only
the sales staff? What about admin/accounts? What about
manufacturing and despatch? "Hug Your Customers, love the
results" is an easy read that is unlikely to give you new
insights but it will get you thinking about how you can hug more
of your customers more often and reap the rewards. As Jack
Mitchell says, "You have to be consistent with all your
customers. Inconsistent businesses have inconsistent profits."
You should be able to get your copy through good book stores. We
have also included a link at the Resources section of our
website www.terrifictrading.com in case you have trouble
ordering it.