As a business owner, you should be aware that online shoppers are savvier than ever. You can’t just set up a cute site with pictures and prices expecting people to be “wooed” by graphics. Customers want to see that you are divulging as much information as possible. Having clear and concise product descriptions will help you to gain the confidence of your shoppers.

Turning browsers into customers is your main focus when setting up your online shop. Consider everything that a customer may want to ask about a product and provide that information up front. Furthermore, determine what the customer might notice if they were physically touching the product and divulge that information as well. Sizing guides, fabric content, product care information, measurements, weight and feel are all important aspects.

However, you should be careful not to make descriptions too wordy. Be clear and concise. Links or balloons that pop-up additional information can be helpful. Customer reviews and product ratings are weighed heavily by consumers. Commonly asked questions are good to include on your product page. Anything that increases the customer’s confidence will help you turn a browser into a customer. Things like advertising your “no hassle return policy”, live chat customer service, or special deals for customers that leave reviews will help you to get the customers involved and comfortable with your business.

Try to give the shopper an in-store experience through your web site. Use decorations in your store to inspire your web designs to keep the same look and feel that they get while shopping in-store. Use pictures that actually communicate the uniqueness of the garment to the customer. 360 degree views, extreme zooms, and virtual store shopping experiences are a plus. A really great idea would be if a shopper could virtually look around the store, click on the clothing racks they were interested in and shop that garment rack. In boutiques, surprises should lurk around every corner, clothing racks should be filled with interesting items and displays, and shoppers should experience a feeling that they don’t get in any department store. Capture this with your web shop and you’ll be golden.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Communicate with your customers exactly what will be on sale, or do a general “20% off of everything” advertisement. People that normally find your merchandise overpriced will jump at the opportunity to get those special things that they like at a discounted price. Keep track of any new customer information by collecting e-mail addresses and home addresses at the register. This way, you can send out communications to the people who only shop in your boutique around the holidays every year.

Think about what motivates people to shop at boutiques for the holidays and make sure that you’re giving them what they expect. They may be looking for a few higher priced items, but they may also be looking for stocking stuffers, unique gifts that are lower priced, and even a little something for themselves. Feature a wide range of products in your displays and make sure that you have plenty of smaller items for stocking stuffing around the register.

Another thing to consider is that people may be looking to get in and get out. If they have other shopping to do on Black Friday, they may be anxious to get their shopping done fast. Make sure that you have plenty of well-marked displays throughout the store showing them what deals you have going on. You can creatively lure customers into spending more time at your displays with candles for them to smell, lotions for them to try, coffee, hot chocolate, Christmas cookies, or other items that will make them want to slow down and shop.

The last thing that you want is for your customers to feel anxious and ready to leave. Make sure that your music is not too loud, lights are not too bright, and that your clothing racks are not too close together. You also don’t want your customers to have to dig through an overly full clothing rack to find what they need. Keep displays fairly simple and easy to navigate and your customers will have a good experience in your boutique this holiday season.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

As a business owner, you should be aware that online shoppers are savvier than ever. You can’t just set up a cute site with pictures and prices expecting people to be “wooed” by graphics. Customers want to see that you are divulging as much information as possible. Having clear and concise product descriptions will help you to gain the confidence of your shoppers.

Turning browsers into customers is your main focus when setting up your online shop. Consider everything that a customer may want to ask about a product and provide that information up front. Furthermore, determine what the customer might notice if they were physically touching the product and divulge that information as well. Sizing guides, fabric content, product care information, measurements, weight and feel are all important aspects.

However, you should be careful not to make descriptions too wordy. Be clear and concise. Links or balloons that pop-up additional information can be helpful. Customer reviews and product ratings are weighed heavily by consumers. Commonly asked questions are good to include on your product page. Anything that increases the customer’s confidence will help you turn a browser into a customer. Things like advertising your “no hassle return policy”, live chat customer service, or special deals for customers that leave reviews will help you to get the customers involved and comfortable with your business.

Try to give the shopper an in-store experience through your web site. Use decorations in your store to inspire your web designs to keep the same look and feel that they get while shopping in-store. Use pictures that actually communicate the uniqueness of the garment to the customer. 360 degree views, extreme zooms, and virtual store shopping experiences are a plus. A really great idea would be if a shopper could virtually look around the store, click on the clothing racks they were interested in and shop that clothing rack. In boutiques, surprises should lurk around every corner, clothing racks should be filled with interesting items and displays, and shoppers should experience a feeling that they don’t get in any department store. Capture this with your web shop and you’ll be golden.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

There are a few different things you could do. One, is to push online deals. When people order online, they will pay up front. This keeps you from having to keep the inventory on hand. Most suppliers will let you put in small orders to provide customers with their goods. Customers may be more patient with things being on backorder at this time of year, as long as you are able to give them a definite date that their products will be in. If they’re buying for Christmas, they won’t be in a big hurry to have it in their hands.

The next thing you can do is to have an early season push. If you can make enough on Black Friday, then you can earn the money that you need to supply yourself with enough inventory to make it through Christmas. Using the money that you make wisely is the key. A lot of retail store owners will even give up their own paychecks in order to have enough holiday inventory.

Give rain checks. It is really common to see rain checks at retail stores now. Hang clothing on your clothing racks and then attach rain checks behind them. When the clothes run out, the rain check will be there. Customers can bring it to the register and prepay for the item. Then you will have the money to order it. Make sure that you include a good photo of what they are ordering on the rain check, and let them know that it is okay to switch up sizes once the products come in. When they come back in to pick it up, chances are they’ll buy something else on their second visit.

When inventory is running low, let people know that you have more sizes on order, or that they can order their size online. If they are going to have to go home and order, you may want to give them a five dollar off coupon or some other incentive to actually go through with the purchase. Once they’re away from the store, the chances of them purchasing something get slimmer. Give them your card so that they can call you personally if they run into problems online. Give them some sort of personal attachment to hang on to or they may not feel obligated to make the purchase from a computer instead of from a garment rack.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

First, get your employees interested in seeing the business succeed. Let them come up with promotional ideas, window displays, and have input in what inventory you sell. Not only will you benefit from the new ideas, but your employees will feel involved and start to see how their hand in the business is paying off.

Once they care about the business, explain how the success of the business is dependent on the customer experience. Providing customer service that exceeds expectations will ensure that the customer raves about your boutique to friends. Word of mouth is most definitely your most effective form of advertising. You can’t pay for a customer’s respect, you have to earn it. Once you have it, you could have a customer for life, plus a walking, talking, texting, advertising machine.

Teach your employees some basic ways to exceed customer’s expectations. Never point out where something is if a customer asks. Always say something to the effect of, “Let me show you where that is.” Never brush off a customer and say, “It’s over there by the shoes.” When you’re helping a customer, avoid distractions and store responsibilities. The display that you were straightening will be there when you’re done.

Give your staff selling tips or special deals to offer your customers. Once they are helping a customer, they can engage in conversation. Your staff could find out that this is the customer’s first visit and then inform them that if they provide their e-mail address at check out, they can receive 10% off of their entire purchase. When a customer feels like a deal is being made specifically for them, they are way more likely to purchase.

Reward employees for providing this type of service by incenting them. You could say that whoever accumulates the most e-mail addresses of first time customers in a month’s time wins $100 bonus. The extra sales, customers, and good customer experiences that you create in that month should far exceed the bonus money that you pay out.

Another way to improve the customer experience is to have your staff constantly move around the store. They can straighten and restock your displays and garment racks instead of looking bored at the register. Customers hesitate to “disturb” the staff if they look bored or involved in conversations with one another. Your employees should always approach customers and offer help. Moving around the store, managing clothing racks and displays, and offering help will further ensure that your customer’s every need is met.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.