I worked for a big international organization that needs to capture customers all over the world. I’ve done global travel due to a variety of business trips over the years. Interestingly, people from different cultures approach the art of negotiation differently.
- Global travel notes in Asia: customers respond to vouchers well:
Example: “Would you like a $20 voucher that you can use next time when we don’t have a sale section? If you scan this QR code and enter a few details, you will receive a $20 voucher via email within 48 hours.” (People who like buying things that are on sale also like vouchers, so they will probably say yes. And you sign them up as new VIP members without giving them 10% off.)
If the customer is worried about telling our company their name and other personal information, you use humour to make them sign up.
Example:
CUSTOMER: “Why do you need to know my name?”
STAFF: “You can put Mickey Mouse in the boxes. We won’t send you a letter by post anyway.”
CUSTOMER: “Yeah. I’ll do that.”
What we really need is the customer’s email address. Their name is not that important.
How to tell if a customer is a new VIP member or an existing VIP member:
After a customer has scanned the QR code and entered their details, the customer is supposed to show you the VIP bar code on their phone, and you scan the VIP bar code at the register.
Above the VIP bar code on the customer’s phone, you see two scenarios:
- “Welcome back!” – That means this customer is an existing VIP member.
- “Welcome, Joe!” – That means this customer is a new VIP member. (Now you know you’ve signed up a new VIP member and this customer will receive a $20 voucher via email.)
On POS, we can add the customer’s birthday to their VIP profile, so the customer can receive a birthday voucher as well. The birthday voucher is either $15 or $20 (usually, it’s $20).
- Global travel observation: Europeans’ creative ways to make the customer feel good about becoming a VIP member:
Example 1:
“This is a very stylish brand. Are you a VIP member?” The staff ask a customer who is keen to look stylish.
“Can I become one?” The customer actually wants to look stylish.
Example 2:
“This is a way to protect you. When you become a VIP member, our company can see every purchase on your profile, so if something goes wrong, the head office will know which store processed the purchase.”
If the customer is worried about receiving too many emails…
STAFF: “You can get the $20 voucher and then click on unsubscribe.”
In reality, most people don’t really click on unsubscribe because they don’t have time for that (people value their time). That’s why most people’s email Inbox has 500-1,000 new emails that are unread.
“My global travel notes on the art of negotiation are shared with you here.”
