| Alpaca breeders come in basic 2 categories: the business person, and the farmer. Both bring their own individual talents to the business. One might be a great marketer or an experienced breeder, or even a website expert. We all have talents that we bring to the table. But, somewhere along the way, many breeders have forgotten the most important part of this, or any, business: The art of customer service.
I say art, because that is exactly what it is. It is not truly scientific, and it won't even make sense at times, but without good customer service long term success is difficult - if not impossible. Sometimes providing outstanding customer service almost hurts. Many of you have experienced that, I’m sure.
In retail customer exit surveys, 3 areas are usually identified as areas that customers feel are important to them, if not mandatory.
The first one is quick, courteous clerks. Do the clerks say hi? Do the clerks know the products? Are they friendly, and do they smile? Do they make the customer feel at home? Do they know the customer by their first name?
The second one is price. But, more than price, they want value for their money. They are willing to pay more if the value is exceptional.
The last one is a bit of a surprise. Are the bathrooms clean? Are the floors shiny? Is there toilet paper? In other words, customers view cleanliness of the bathrooms as a core point in deciding whether or not to do business with a retailer. Actually, with some customers, clean bathroom ranked higher than price!
How does this relate to your alpaca business?
The first point about being friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable is easy to see. We can gain knowledge about the business, but being friendly and courteous are characteristics that we are born with. Some of us smile at a passing person, and some look the other way. When a person calls, do you eagerly answer the phone, or are they interrupting something you are doing that seems more important at the time? I suggest that the most successful breeders will be the ones that will take 30 minutes out of their day to talk to a prospective breeder, and they enjoy it. It you don't have those talents, you might want to surround yourself with people that do.
The second point, about price, is pretty easy to understand also. But, how well do you present the value of the animal in relation to the price? More importantly really is do you know what your customer wants? Have you built the customer relationship to a point where you really understand their needs and goals? At that point, you can really help them in their buying decision and provide the kind of outstanding customer service I am speaking about. How about setting up a call back system where you follow up with your prospective customers? "Just a quick hello to thank you for stopping at my ranch". Building relationships is a central point in providing quality customer service.
Lastly, the cleanliness thing. Is your operation clean, well lit, and organized? But it's a matter of more than just a clean operation. Think of it this way, if you were the customer, what would be important to you? Maybe it would be fact sheets that you could hand out on each of your animals. Maybe it might be a clean bathroom to use. If the customer has kids, you could have fleece samples for the kids to touch… How about offering them coffee, or water, too? So many easy ways to make them feel at home, and create that relationship…
Treat each customer as the most important part of your day. Remember, without the customer, all your efforts are in vain.
Have fun alpacaing...
By Robert and Debra Yancey of www.alpacasatthewell.com
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