Liz Clark’s Sunday Thoughts – 20.10.12 – My friend Lexi works in a well known and expensive Jewellery store. During our conversation, something comes to mind. I ask: ‘Every day there must be thousands of people walking by the shop. And hundreds look in the window. Can I ask Lexi? How many customers do you have in the shop each day?’
‘On a busy day, we may have ten paying customers. And perhaps forty interested customers. Some days will be slow; others are busy. We now have an online presence and customers come into the shop to buy, after looking online. Even today, it is rare for a customer to buy a premium item, without seeing it on their wrist, neck or fingers. Everyone in the business knows there is a return to one-to-one buying. Think about how many jewellery shops there are in Nottingham. There is plenty of competition and remember, many of our products are the same brand! It is customer care and their perception of our shop, which is ‘the difference which makes the difference’ I never think ‘Oh! He’ll not buy’ it is foolish to pre-suppose anything when it comes to customers. I know this: it is the smile and taking an interest which puts money in the till’.
I think Lexi has made an important point. It does not matter how many people walk past the window. They have to have an interest in the product before they enter the shop. If there is an interest, they will seek out more information and either buy or try what is on offer. And if a customer or potential customer has prior knowledge of goods and services, there is a higher chance of a sale.
There are many lessons to be learned from Lexi’s answer. And I will be writing about this in a future article. The first message is:
‘The products and services offered by Community Members
are
rarer and more unique than diamonds’
You’ll comment ‘no way’. My reply:
‘Look in a jewellers shop window. Count the diamonds. Multiply the number by three as this will be the quantity in the safe or storeroom. Now multiply the number by the jewellery shops in your town. Multiply this figure with the towns and cities in your country. How many countries in the Western world? And now think about the millions of people who wear diamonds. Rare? No, they have a perceived value, but they are not rare. So the truth is every Community Member’s service or product is unique to them and therefore, rarer than diamonds’.
With this in mind, Visitors and Community Members could consider The Well Being Shows offer the opportunity to meet and work with an incredible group of people. Visitors now associate The Well Being Shows with an identity of fair trade, exemplary service, and the determination to work together to find ways of becoming a Well Being. Not every Visitor will connect to every Community Member; this is the way of a balanced group who come together for a common purpose. And here is the strength of The Well Being Shows. A force which is now recognised by Visitors and The Community.
Working with or being part of the Well Being Shows is to be associated with prestige. We all realise the event have a signature and clear identity. How do I know this? Because Visitors tell me this in their appraisals and thoughts. Over one-hundred and fifty people have been involved in the two and a half years of evolution: many are no longer with us, and many new Community Members are working together.
Next years booking forms indicate a rise in Community Member numbers. Active Community Members for 2020 will be around one-hundred and forty over the year. Is this because of The Well Being Shows exclusive identity? You already know the answer!
See You Soon
Liz
Liz Clark
MD LizianEvents Ltd
