The Olive Oil Shop

This final stop has some important leadership lessons for your business.

And before I start, in all fairness, I will point out that this particular Charleston store had just opened its doors a mere two days before we stopped in to visit. Not that this ex­cuses anything I'll share with you, but it helps explain part of it.

The store is just what the name suggests: a rela­tively small shop with about two dozen large metal containers of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and specialty items like white and black truffle oil.

There are also some other food items like gourmet chef blends, stuffed olives, peppers, and sea salts.

The store is located on King Street, the main com­mercial street in Charleston, with lots of pedestrian traffic, although it does need a better storefront sign because we walked past it twice and we were actually looking for the place!

What Needed to Change?

As you've probably already discovered, once you're turned on to "our kind" of marketing, it's hard to look at an ad, a sales letter, or even an entire business, and not identify five or six things that could be im­mediately improved, things we would easily label as "low-hanging fruit."

And since it was both Lorie and I in the store, we took turns as we walked around, kind of like a mar­keting version of "dueling banjos."

So, in no particular order, here are five ideas we shared with the staff there:

1. Half Portion-You could buy either a full- or a half-portion of any of the products, but the half-portion bottles hadn't arrived yet, so they could only sell you the full size. This meant that we (and other customers) didn't buy as many varieties as they might have otherwise. We suggested simply using the full-portion bottles halfway and selling them at the half-portion price.

2. Buy 2 Get 1 Free-This one should have been obvious to them. Since there were so many different varieties, and it was, frankly, difficult to decide which one to get, most people buying a single bottle would buy a second one if it meant getting the third one for free and being relieved of the difficult task of selecting just one.

3. Give Us Our Daily Bread-You got to sample the various oils and flavorings by opening a tap on the bottom of the canister and pouring some of it into the tiny plastic cups that were stacked alongside each one.The problem was that a fair amount of oil ended up on the floor creating both a dangerous situation (it was oil, after all) and excessive waste of both an expensive product (the oil) and a non-biodegradable one (the plastic cup).

4. What's for Dinner?-Anyone that buys unique flavored olive oil likes to eat. And people who like to eat generally like to cook. So why not hold regular cooking classes, where the recipes being prepared feature actual ingredients sold in the store? People would pay to attend the classes, and then pay more still to buy the ingredients so they can pre­pare the recipes at home.

5. Build the List-Nowhere in the entire sales process was there any attempt whatsoever to get our contact information. You've heard me say this, and I'll say it again: the only real asset you have that can't be replaced is the relationship you have with your customers. You can't even start to build that relationship if you don't keep in regular communication with them. And you can't do that without their contact information. At least get e-mail addresses where you can send a monthly newsletter, invitations to special cooking classes, gourmet weekends or even an invitation to join an "olive oil of the month club," giving even out-of-town customers the op­portunity to provide revenue every month.

Step Up and Take Charge!

When we suggested these five ideas to the staff of the store, in­cluding the manager, a practice I tend to avoid because of the pre­dictable results, they actually got enthusiastic about them.

But, they went on to inform me, they couldn't implement a single one because they had to check with the owner first.

Unfortunate. My own philoso­phy is that if you're doing the right thing for the customer, consistent with the values of the company, it's easier to get forgiveness than permission. They could have easily implemented the following ideas on the spot: (1) sell half-filled jars for the appropriate price; (2) test the buy-2-get-1-free offer and measure the results; (3) go out and buy a few loaves of nice bread; and (4) start collecting contact information.

A lot of this comes down to training, letting your staff know how much flexibility they have in being innovative, and recognizing and rewarding those who make a tangible contribution to the company's growth.

Ron Rosenberg is a nationally recognized expert on marketing and customer service, business coach, and public speaker. Maximize your marketing efforts and generate more revenue in less time with his Business Self-Defense 90-Day Success Program and Business Owner Survival Kit. Get free marketing tools, tips, and tactics athttp://www.RonsBusinessCoaching.com or for details on our speaking and coaching programs contact us at 800-260-0662 or info@qualitytalk.com.