{"id":63,"date":"2012-12-17T09:21:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T09:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/?p=63"},"modified":"2014-08-27T07:44:54","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T12:44:54","slug":"customers-are-showrooming-using","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/2012\/12\/customers-are-showrooming-using.html","title":{"rendered":"Customers are Showrooming: using smartphones to compare prices from your store"},"content":{"rendered":"

Showrooming is a bit of a new trend. Your customers, even in small towns, are standing in your store and using their smartphone to compare your price with online retailers. If the product is cheaper at the online store, they order it immediately, and you just lost a sale.<\/p>\n

For small town retailers, this can be devastating because our costs can be higher and volume lower. In short, it’s hard to compete on price alone. Especially when our business pays for the store, provides jobs for the retail clerks, gives customers the education and information, and everything else that goes into being the show room. And then the online retailer doesn’t collect sales tax, giving them an additional price advantage (and hurting your municipal government.)<\/p>\n

What can small town stores do about this?<\/p>\n

My friend and fellow retailer Daniel Gordon had a reason to think about it this weekend, and our mutual friend Chad Henderson jumped in with good advice:<\/p>\n

@dangordon<\/a> give them a reason to spend money there.Be the most awesome human beings you can be.
\u2014 Chad Henderson (@elmofromok) December 15, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Chad is on the right track: customers need reasons, and they need to connect with you. I added a few more ideas:<\/p>\n

Offer them something special not available anywhere else.<\/b>\u00a0<\/h4>\n
This could be\u00a0a bonus with their purchase, personalization, gift wrap, or a discount. Daniel’s store,\u00a0Samuel Gordon’s Jewelers<\/a> (fourth generation in the same family!) has lovely gift bags that make gifts seem more special than those generic cardboard boxes from online retailers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n

Show them exclusive items, especially local items.<\/b>\u00a0<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
If no one else has it, customers can’t buy it from some online store.\u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Talk about the local causes your business supports.\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
That online mega-store isn’t sponsoring the local Girl Scout troop, are they? \u00a0So talk about it, not just with the customer, but in your ads, with displays and signs in your store, and on your social networks.<\/p>\n