How To Make Customers Fall In Love With You

I hate shopping for clothes. Hate it. I’d rather pull out my own eyelashes.

And because I hate it, I tend to do it last minute, which makes the whole thing very stressful.

However, I do love dressing up. Mostly I live in jeans and t-shirts and gym wear, though, so this presents a problem: how to find lovely clothes I look good in?

The internet's fine, but one can't try on stuff and see what it looks like. I never know what colours and styles suit me. And my husband’s usual contribution is something like, "that top makes you look like a homeless person" or "those trousers make you look like a chimney sweep. Why don't you Dick Van Dyke it up a bit?"

Not helpful.

So, what to do?

Well, I stumbled upon a new shop in Ludlow — Eclectica — which might just have changed my whole outlook on shopping.

We visited on their first weekend, so on arrival, I was presented with a glass of Buck's Fizz, and whisked around the shop as the owner, Jodie, asked me questions about what I was looking for, why, what the occasion is, and what I like and don’t like.

Then she gathered up a pile of gorgeous garments and ushered me into the changing room. Which, by the way, has hooks saying "yes", "maybe", and "no". (Which is a small but very powerful marketing tool.)

A few minutes later, I’d chosen my dress…

Then I experienced the most skilfully gentle upsell ever.

You see, the dress has quite a deep V neck so it needs some bling, according to the owner. (She was right – it definitely does need an accessory.) I don't really do jewellery.

So Jodie disappeared for a moment and came back with a couple of gorgeous necklaces. I tried one of them on with the dress and it was perfect.

Sale made: I went in for a dress, and came out with a whole outfit.

Most importantly, though, the whole thing was a delightful experience. So much so I barely noticed handing over the better part of 200 notes.

If you can make people happy to hand over money, you've got them as customers for life.

People don’t buy products and services, see; they buy you and the experience you can give them.