Monday, September 10, 2007

Know Thy Customer

We hear it all the time: “Retailers have to know their customers and be willing to respond to their needs and expectations.”

A new Super Wal-Mart recently opened outside of Oberlin, OH (the home of NACS, Inc.).

In case you’ve never been to Oberlin and don’t know much about the region, it is a small college town set in rural Ohio. The area is on the northern edge of the expansive Ohio Amish country, as well.

That said it should have come as no surprise to see the unique set of parking spaces offered at the new Oberlin-area Wal-Mart.















During perhaps the busiest time of year for college stores and NACS, this sight still made me stop and consider the following:

1. Just how well DO we know our own customers?

2. How far are we REALLY willing to go to meet their needs and be their number one choice of store?

3. It's comforting and humbling to be reminded that many times it really is the little things that make the biggest difference to our customers.

Tony Ellis, CAE
tellis@nacs.org

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