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.