Merchants such as department stores, groceries, and shopping malls spend millions on advertising with the intent to draw more customers in. With retail shopping on a downturn due to the recession, it becomes more critical for these stores to get bulk of the market share and get ahead of competition. Most of them realize that aside from offering good prices on products and service, a customer unconsciously notices other factors that can affect her choice. Most of the time, stores disregard cleanliness, courtesy of salespeople, and other minor details that can affect customer choice. A cheerful and courteous parking attendant can sometimes make a difference whether a customer returns to your store or not. Note that the customer is usually unaware that the choice was prompted by that smiling valet that greeted her with a sincere good morning the last time she visited. These likewise lead to word of mouth marketing that can sometimes be more valuable than that commercial a merchant pays for with an arm and a leg for televiewers. Read the rest of this entry »