How does increasing business by 30 to 40 percent sound? Anne Obarski, the founder of retail consultancy Merchandise Concepts and the author of five books on customer service, says Halloween and party stores can achieve that kind of sales success by doing “just a few extra things” as they prepare for 2012. She offered retailers specific ideas during two informative sessions she led at the Halloween & Party Expo, Jan. 28-31, 2012, in Houston Texas.
 

In “Make Your Customer Service Contagious!” on Jan. 29 (4 to 4:30 p.m.)
Obarski will cover four areas retailers can focus on to develop a following of customers so happy that they'll share their satisfaction with everyone they know. Among her recommendations is creating a shopping experience that will motivate customers to talk about it – and come back for more.
 

“You have to look at what makes up the experience,” Obarski said. In addition to having great merchandise, she said, “It's usually having knowledgeable, fun, caring employees. People make the experience.” Obarski is also a proponent of special events that bring customers back week after week. For example, she suggests that a Halloween retailer invite someone from a local theater group to lead a class for customers on doing costume makeup – using items found in the store.
 

“Think about how can you get customers to come back three times in three months rather than wait till the last minute and rush in to pick up a wig and a whip,” Obarski said. “People are buying more than decorations, costumes and candy; they're buying an experience.”
 

A big part of experience is how a store looks and feels, and Obarski's other Halloween & Party Expo session, “3 Critical Merchandising Mistakes Retailers Make” will cover that. In a session, that was held on January 30 she identified actions retailers can take to correct problems with their store environments that are costing them sales.
 

She also shared ideas for enhancements that retailers can make. “I think [attendees] will be surprised how effectively they could start doing some displays that wouldn't be cost-prohibitive,” she said. For example, mirrors are critical in a costume shop, she said. “[When we're shopping], my granddaughter says, 'Nana, we've got to show it to the mirror.' Even something like a witch's hat – you have to see what it looks like.” Obarski says spooky displays incorporating mirrors are just one way stores can fulfill customer needs and show off more of their merchandise.
 

“I'm excited about sharing some things that I think can help [Halloween and party industry] businesses,” Obarski said of her presentations at the Expo. “I work with companies that want to be contagious on purpose. What can you do to make people share [their experience]? That's what will make people come back.”