Understanding the customer
Customer data is incredibly important for any business, as it will help to further understand customers and what they want/need. A customer may be an existing spa owner or a new spa owner. They may have purchased a hot tub for relaxation or for physical therapy. Do they have children? Is their spa inset or raised? Knowing a customer and their purchasing history will make it easy to recommend accessories to complement products they have previously purchased, or they may otherwise be interested in. Previous purchases are an indicator of what customers will buy next. Online shopping makes this trend analysis easy but, in the store, staff need to ask the right open-ended questions and rely on product knowledge. Some open-ended questions that can help guide staff with accessory product suggestions include:
- “What hot tub/spa do you have at home?” This is an obvious question to ask, but it starts dialogue around any of the customer’s needs/wants relating directly to their spa.
- “Are you shopping for yourself or someone else today?” This will help focus in on more targeted functional items or gifts.
- “What brings you to the store today?” The answer will direct a sales employee to a specific section of the store, where the staff member can elaborate on different items that may suit their needs.
Training the sales team to read body language so they know when to step away is also a way to ensure return customers—understanding them enough to know they may be introverted and appreciate solo shopping will entice them to come back. Not everyone wants help from salespeople (this is where proper merchandising comes into play).
Merchandising your spa accessories
Design the retail floor with the consumer in mind. The goal of visual merchandising is to provide a great experience for customers. Creating a positive shopping experience (that strategically drives sales) can include everything from lighting, fragrance, sound, and organization of the aisles to signage, and product placement.
Product placement is key—the saying “eye level is buy level” refers to merchandise placement on the shelf. Highly recognized, high profit products are placed on the shelf at “eye level,” whereas less dominant/desired products are merchandised at the bottom of the shelf. This affects sales of the product. Also ensuring all products are faced, pulling the items to the front, and making the labels all face forward for easy readability will make the product more visible and appealing to the customer.
