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Customers who come to health food stores are hungry for solutions and knowledge. Many are self-driven and self-educated when it comes to conditions or nutrients that interest them most. But it’s also just as certain there are plenty of individuals who are looking to you and your staff to guide them to the best solutions. And that requires expertise and education from you and your team.
What are the best ways to ensure your team and customers are getting the answers they need? Here are a few suggestions based on my own experience.
Make Education a Priority for Your Store Staff
Your staff is already a well-trained team of natural health experts, so it probably won’t take much to get them on board regarding new products, breakthrough studies or improved forms of supplements. But as you probably know from visits to other retailers, there is a world of difference between an employee on the floor who is truly knowledgeable versus someone who seems unsure when pressed beyond the most basic questions.
In order to make customer education a hallmark of your store, staff education must come first.
A few years ago, a study commissioned by Wharton School of Business professors examined the value of employee training. They found that for every hour of training, a sales associate will see an additional 5 percent gain in sales. Overall, the more training an associate had, the more sales.
Two of the takeaways of the study were, first, to hire the right people, and secondly, to train them well. It is absolutely worth the time to your business and customers. This study found the employees who were trained saw 46 percent more sales per hour than those who didn’t train. The researchers concluded that about half of that was due to the type of employee: outwardly focused, personable and naturally able to make connections with customers. But that still leaves 23 percent of those results based on better training alone. Interestingly, they also found that training across various store brands lifted total sales. Of course, that makes sense–being knowledgeable about every brand in the store makes it much easier for staff to help educate customers and compare products to find the best fit.
Have Enthusiasm for Every Product in Your Store
I think that it’s a foregone conclusion that any product you stock is one you would have absolute trust in if you used it yourself. I would bet that many of your team members feel the same way. Aside from product knowledge, your team needs to show genuine enthusiasm for the products they recommend.
Cultivate and mentor an attitude of curiosity about natural health on your team and encourage your in-house experts to shine, especially in their own areas of interest regarding health and supplements.
For instance, you often see independent bookstores highlight titles with favorites and mini reviews written by their staff—consider doing the same thing at your store. After all, a review about the best-selling items in your store is always a good idea. It helps personalize your team with new customers and lets them know your store has experts they can trust.
Make Every Interaction With a Customer an Opportunity to Educate
Every chance you get—even a brief exchange with a customer—is a chance to educate. Acknowledge customers as they enter the store, guide them to a specific product, and engage them by asking what they know about the nutrient they’re requesting. From there, you can give them relevant branded or third-party literature, and let them know about any upcoming in-store events that dovetail with their interests.
Aside from in-person one-on-one interaction, you can continue to educate customers by keeping your store’s website content fresh. The importance of this can’t be overstated in an era when most people look up information about stores, restaurants and every other destination on their smartphones. To keep your info timely and up to date, it pays to have a dedicated team member keeping everything current on your site and social media. Fresh articles, health insights, and relevant store specials and promos can educate your customers in the digital sphere and drive traffic to your business.
Of course, one simple way to know what kind of education your customers are looking for is to just ask them, whether in person, through an online poll on your website, or through your social media channels. Then you can consider scheduling those events as in-store seminars, virtual webinars or a hybrid combination of the two.
Partner With Companies That Excel at Education
The best companies believe in their mission just as much as you believe in yours, and they want to share their stories. That means they should have promotional materials available to you that not only drive traffic and sales in your store, but also educate your customers. Ideally, they will also provide product training to your staff and in-person presentations that you can build store events around.
Cultivating relationships with companies that supply stellar materials is a must. And again, the value of having literature on hand that addresses the kinds of questions that customers may ask (or maybe think about once they’re at home) is critical. So, too, are educational webinars for your own team and on-site training opportunities. Any supplement company that really cares about results should want to partner with your store often.
Take a look around your store, and it’ll be obvious which companies help you promote their products and good health: they’re the ones that supply the effective posters, shelf talkers, product displays, sell sheets, brochures, ingredient literature and co-op advertising. In short, the companies you want to work with the most are the ones that invest in you and in your customers.
Customer Education Is an Integral Part of Your Mission
Helping people improve their health goes far beyond recommending the right products; it’s just as important to share in your customer’s enthusiasm for living a vibrant life. When we are passionate about what we do every day, it affects people in incredibly positive ways. I think that’s one of the reasons for sharing knowledge with your customers. Yes, it definitely boosts sales. But it does much more than that—it improves lives. And that, after all, is our true mission. VR
A highly regarded leader in the natural products industry, Terry Lemerond is founder and president of EuroPharma, Inc. He also founded Enzymatic Therapy, Inc. and PhytoPharmica, Inc. and is currently co-owner of the Terry Naturally Health Food Stores in Green Bay & Suamico, WI, which recently won its eighth consecutive consumer choice award as “Best of the Bay.” With more than 50 years in the natural products industry, Lemerond has researched and developed more than 400 nutritional and botanical formulations that continue to be top-selling products in the market. Lemerond shares his wealth of experience and knowledge in health and nutrition through his educational programs, including a weekly radio show and newsletter, podcasts, webinars and personal speaking engagements. He is author of 13 books, including Seven Keys to Vibrant Health, Seven Keys to Unlimited Personal Achievement and 50+ Natural Health Secrets.
Customers who come to health food stores are hungry for solutions and knowledge. Many are self-driven and self-educated when it comes to conditions or nutrients that interest them most. But it’s also just as certain there are plenty of individuals who are looking to you and your staff to guide them to the best solutions. And that requires expertise and education from you and your team.
What are the best ways to ensure your team and customers are getting the answers they need? Here are a few suggestions based on my own experience.
Make Education a Priority for Your Store Staff
Your staff is already a well-trained team of natural health experts, so it probably won’t take much to get them on board regarding new products, breakthrough studies or improved forms of supplements. But as you probably know from visits to other retailers, there is a world of difference between an employee on the floor who is truly knowledgeable versus someone who seems unsure when pressed beyond the most basic questions.
In order to make customer education a hallmark of your store, staff education must come first.
A few years ago, a study commissioned by Wharton School of Business professors examined the value of employee training. They found that for every hour of training, a sales associate will see an additional 5 percent gain in sales. Overall, the more training an associate had, the more sales.
Two of the takeaways of the study were, first, to hire the right people, and secondly, to train them well. It is absolutely worth the time to your business and customers. This study found the employees who were trained saw 46 percent more sales per hour than those who didn’t train. The researchers concluded that about half of that was due to the type of employee: outwardly focused, personable and naturally able to make connections with customers. But that still leaves 23 percent of those results based on better training alone. Interestingly, they also found that training across various store brands lifted total sales. Of course, that makes sense–being knowledgeable about every brand in the store makes it much easier for staff to help educate customers and compare products to find the best fit.
Have Enthusiasm for Every Product in Your Store
I think that it’s a foregone conclusion that any product you stock is one you would have absolute trust in if you used it yourself. I would bet that many of your team members feel the same way. Aside from product knowledge, your team needs to show genuine enthusiasm for the products they recommend.
Cultivate and mentor an attitude of curiosity about natural health on your team and encourage your in-house experts to shine, especially in their own areas of interest regarding health and supplements.
For instance, you often see independent bookstores highlight titles with favorites and mini reviews written by their staff—consider doing the same thing at your store. After all, a review about the best-selling items in your store is always a good idea. It helps personalize your team with new customers and lets them know your store has experts they can trust.
Make Every Interaction With a Customer an Opportunity to Educate
Every chance you get—even a brief exchange with a customer—is a chance to educate. Acknowledge customers as they enter the store, guide them to a specific product, and engage them by asking what they know about the nutrient they’re requesting. From there, you can give them relevant branded or third-party literature, and let them know about any upcoming in-store events that dovetail with their interests.
Aside from in-person one-on-one interaction, you can continue to educate customers by keeping your store’s website content fresh. The importance of this can’t be overstated in an era when most people look up information about stores, restaurants and every other destination on their smartphones. To keep your info timely and up to date, it pays to have a dedicated team member keeping everything current on your site and social media. Fresh articles, health insights, and relevant store specials and promos can educate your customers in the digital sphere and drive traffic to your business.
Of course, one simple way to know what kind of education your customers are looking for is to just ask them, whether in person, through an online poll on your website, or through your social media channels. Then you can consider scheduling those events as in-store seminars, virtual webinars or a hybrid combination of the two.
Partner With Companies That Excel at Education
The best companies believe in their mission just as much as you believe in yours, and they want to share their stories. That means they should have promotional materials available to you that not only drive traffic and sales in your store, but also educate your customers. Ideally, they will also provide product training to your staff and in-person presentations that you can build store events around.
Cultivating relationships with companies that supply stellar materials is a must. And again, the value of having literature on hand that addresses the kinds of questions that customers may ask (or maybe think about once they’re at home) is critical. So, too, are educational webinars for your own team and on-site training opportunities. Any supplement company that really cares about results should want to partner with your store often.
Take a look around your store, and it’ll be obvious which companies help you promote their products and good health: they’re the ones that supply the effective posters, shelf talkers, product displays, sell sheets, brochures, ingredient literature and co-op advertising. In short, the companies you want to work with the most are the ones that invest in you and in your customers.
Customer Education Is an Integral Part of Your Mission
Helping people improve their health goes far beyond recommending the right products; it’s just as important to share in your customer’s enthusiasm for living a vibrant life. When we are passionate about what we do every day, it affects people in incredibly positive ways. I think that’s one of the reasons for sharing knowledge with your customers. Yes, it definitely boosts sales. But it does much more than that—it improves lives. And that, after all, is our true mission. VR
A highly regarded leader in the natural products industry, Terry Lemerond is founder and president of EuroPharma, Inc. He also founded Enzymatic Therapy, Inc. and PhytoPharmica, Inc. and is currently co-owner of the Terry Naturally Health Food Stores in Green Bay & Suamico, WI, which recently won its eighth consecutive consumer choice award as “Best of the Bay.” With more than 50 years in the natural products industry, Lemerond has researched and developed more than 400 nutritional and botanical formulations that continue to be top-selling products in the market. Lemerond shares his wealth of experience and knowledge in health and nutrition through his educational programs, including a weekly radio show and newsletter, podcasts, webinars and personal speaking engagements. He is author of 13 books, including Seven Keys to Vibrant Health, Seven Keys to Unlimited Personal Achievement and 50+ Natural Health Secrets.
