How to Sell while Implementing Health and Safety Protocols

Retailers are now subjected to following social distancing rules and wearing of face masks. Selling good is never the same with the COVID-19 pandemic. It surely affected both consumers and store employees.

Since people are required to stay apart, customers experience may not be as pleasant anymore. So, retailers must think of ways to make up for it. There are also certain challenges that they must address and deal with, for them to safely and smoothly operate once they reopen.

1. Uncooperative Customers – You may meet objections to wearing face masks since not everybody believes in them no matter how hard experts try to explain about their importance. In these instances, you may have to politely ask them to leave if you are implementing a strict “no face mask no entry” policy.
2. Employees who are uncomfortable of wearing masks – You have to discuss with your employees if there’s any of them who is not comfortable with the mask so you can think of other alternatives such as face shields. This is to ensure that they will consistently comply, and they won’t endanger the safety of other employees and customers.
3. Employees may not be able to Engager Customers Properly – With some distance between them and the customers and masks covering their dace, some employees may not be effective in dealing and interacting with customers. They may need some guidance and training as remedy to this.
4. Customers may feel disconnected –Before, engaging with kind and welcoming employees entices customers to come back in a store. But now, without much human interaction, they may feel like trying another store next time, or to just shop online since it is more convenient, and the feeling is just the same. So, you must think of ways on how you can make them feel welcomed.

Whether you like it or not, the only way forward is to implement these safety regulations and adjust your marketing strategies while enforcing them. Here are some engagement tips that you can implement to your employees along with your chosen technologies and systems.

1. Make Customers Feel that You are Happy to See Them – With a face mask, it will seem impossible for employees to show people their smiles no matter how genuine it is. But there are other ways, the eyes can do it for them, or a simple joyful greeting will do. It is up to you as long as it will make the customers feel warmly welcomed.

2. Talk Clearly – Some customers can be easily and extremely frustrated when they cannot hear anything from what’s being said to them. This leads them to be grumpy or instantly walk out the door. So you should tell your employees that they must make sure that customers CAN hear and understand them, because that’s what will make the customers much happier.

3. Clarify through questions to ensure understanding – Customers would greatly appreciate it if you tell your employees to regularly ask them questions to ensure they are not missing anything. This is not only to ensure customer satisfaction but also convenience.

4. Utilize the use of body language to connect – Give your employees permission to not be afraid of maximizing friendly gestures and eye contact when speaking with customers because this is what will give people relief from their anxieties and it will make them feel like living a normal life despite what’s going around.

These simple tips can be easily integrated on trainings or through communications. It is vital that your managers are out on the sales floor helping employees. It is also important that your employees are appreciate ed for doing a good job. This will motivate them and inspire them to do more. This way, when someone misses an opportunity to engage with a customer, you can easily implement corrective coaching to them since they will be more receptive.