Answer the Question Before They Ask It

Here's a simple challenge for you and your team this week.

For one day, listen to the questions your customers ask.

Not the unusual ones.

The ones you hear again and again.

"How long do I cook this for?"

"Which cheese is the strongest?"

"Is this made locally?"

"Where will I find the chutney?"

"How many will this feed?"

We answer these questions without even thinking about them because we've probably answered them hundreds of times before.

But here's the interesting bit...

Every question your customers repeatedly ask is telling you something your shop isn't.

Perhaps the cooking instructions aren't clear enough.

Maybe the provenance story isn't being told.

Perhaps two products look very similar and customers don't understand the difference. Or maybe something simply isn't where they'd naturally expect to find it.

Whatever it is, your customers are giving you the answer.

So here's the exercise.

Ask everyone on the team to make a quick note of the questions they're asked for one day.

Then get together.

Which questions appeared more than once?

Which one came up the most?

And, most importantly...

How could you answer it before the next customer needs to ask?

It might be a small shelf talker.

A cooking instruction on the label.

A simple "Our strongest cheese" ticket.

A serving suggestion.

Or perhaps moving something to a more obvious place.

You don't need another enormous sign hanging from the ceiling. Often, one small piece of information in exactly the right place is enough to make shopping easier.

And that's the real point.

Good customer service isn't only about answering questions brilliantly.

Sometimes it's about removing the need to ask them in the first place.

So don't guess what you could improve this week.

Listen.

Your customers might already be telling you.

Food for thought this week.

Have a great day,

Mark