How to Change Negative Consumer Attitudes
Consumers can be offended for many reasons, some of them logical and some completely irrational or unrealistic. The problem is, once you've offended a customer once, you very well might have lost him forever. People tend to remember negative experiences much more often than positive ones, which is why it's critical to keep your customers happy from the start. However, don't worry; if you've already offended your consumer base, you can still make things right.
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Instructions
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Improve Consumer Perception
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Present a clean, uncluttered store/business appearance. People appreciate neat, orderly shopping environments, whether they are browsing through a store or on an Internet website. Remember, the easier it is to find products, the more likely people will buy them. In order to achieve this, you may very well have to redesign the layout of your store or website by moving products, tables, shelves, pictures or links.
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Offer discounts or bonuses. Everybody loves a bargain, and a 50 percent off or BOGO (Buy One Get One) sale can go a long way in smoothing over poor past relations with your customers. Make sure the offer is significant enough to catch their attention and tempt them back. If you are operating out of a store, be certain to acquire sales signs that are compelling and arrange them where people can see them.
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Research your consumer base. Perhaps you have no idea how you projected a negative image to your consumers; it might just be that you don't understand them well enough to know what they don't like. Ask yourself what age group, gender, race and/or personality type frequents your business. If you cater to professional women, you probably don't want to have huge posters of women in bikinis plastered everywhere in your store (unless you're selling swimwear). Likewise, if you're appealing to teens and tweens, you most likely want to shy away from playing Beethoven and Brahms over your sound system. Sometimes the problems are obvious and sometimes they are subtle. Either way, you'll find that taking the time to understand your demographic pays off.
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Hire staff carefully. Employee behavior can make or break a sale. If people don't feel welcome inside your business or calling your sales representatives, you have a major problem. Choose your staff wisely. If an employee is pointlessly rude to a customer once, give him a warning. If it happens again, let him go. You can't afford to give them a third chance.
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Treat your employees well. When you treat employees fairly and with respect, they're much more likely to return the favor, both to you and your customers. Cliché thought it may be, a happy worker is a productive worker.
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