The Impact of Attentive Customer Service on Sales

Have you ever walked into a store “just to take a look,” with no intention of buying anything, and walked out carrying bags of products you didn’t even know you wanted? I guess pretty much everyone has experienced something like this at least once. But why does it happen? Sometimes it’s pure impulse, but most of the time it’s because the way we’re treated in the store makes us start wanting things we didn’t even realize we needed.

That happened to me this week. I wanted to buy a perfume for my boyfriend, so I went into a few well-known franchise stores and left without making a decision, full of doubts. It wasn’t that the service was bad - on the contrary, I was welcomed politely - but it wasn’t engaging enough to make me buy. Later that same day, I walked into a small shop from a brand I had never even heard of, just to “take a quick look”. I ended up leaving with two bags: a perfume for my partner, one for myself, and even a soap - when all I wanted in the first place was one men’s perfume.

At this last store, the service seduced me. Not because the saleswoman praised the products, or because the prices were good, or even because the store was pretty, it was because I connected with that lady. She noticed my uniform, asked about my job, and showed real interest in our conversation - all while presenting perfumes in a personalized way. When I asked to try women’s fragrances, she handed me one and said: “I think this one matches you” and after testing about ten different ones, the very first perfume she suggested was the one I bought. Oh, and she even offered me a nice cup of coffee - points for that, too!

I’m sure you’ve also made a purchase decision at some point simply because you felt a connection during that moment. That’s why good service - when someone cares about the customer, not just the sale - can be the difference between a bigger ticket or just the basic item the client was looking for. Of course, this type of personalized service can be costly, time consuming and it requires that the attendant be well-trained, be in a good mood, be detail-oriented, be talkative, and genuinely interested.

Without trying to toot my own horn, one solution for offering this kind of personalized service - full of personality and genuinely interested in the customer’s story - is using Artificial Intelligence (you didn’t think I’d leave that out, did you?). A well-trained bot can do exactly that, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One of the biggest success stories of selfless.chat in this regard is Carol, the Zariff bot. Carol listens - literally, you can even send her a voice message and she understands - what the customer has to say, and she cares about all the details, instead of focusing only on the sale itself.

So if you tell her you argued with your wife and want to buy her a gift along with a bouquet of flowers, she’ll show interest in your story, comment on the bouquet, say she’s sorry about the argument, and only then suggest a pair of shoes that might help with reconciliation. And that applies to any other situation you bring to her. This is what a well-trained bot is: built with the right recipe and capable of selling far more than many tired, grumpy attendants out there who only know how to send product photos and prices without giving the attention customers often need to complete a purchase.

The lesson here is that you can’t neglect customer service if your goal is to sell, relying only on the customer’s need to close the deal - especially if your product isn’t a basic necessity. And when it comes to online service, there are really two options: train and motivate good attendants who will always be prepared, or train an AI to do it for you - not to mention all the other advantages of having a bot engaging and nurturing your leads.

Oh, and if you want proof that Carol really delivers great customer service, feel free to reach out to her and tell her any story you like - she’ll help you find the perfect pair of shoes for the occasion! Just be careful not to buy something by accident… don’t say I didn’t warn you!