Reader Q&A: How do I drive more traffic into the store?

A letter from a Retail Customer Experience reader: I just read your article on the addiction to discounting. Great! Here at Nordstrom as you know we only have three sales a year, our half-yearly clearances and our Anniversary Sale. The sales people in my department (men's tailored clothing) are what you can term "Fashionistas." We think we provide a good experience for the shopper, presenting our new collections, cross-selling in other departments, etc.

But what does one do when the traffic has stopped? We send letters, phone campaign, to no avail. In this economy something else is needed to drive sales. What is the answer? — Terry Neuenhaus, Manager, Men's Clothing, Nordstrom at The Gardens, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Kate Newlin responds: Terry, you've posed the essential question, haven't you? Without traffic, where is retail? Here's my POV:

Traffic to retail is the equivalent of junk mail sent out to millions of mail boxes: Something will stick, someone will order. It's a numbers game. I believe you and Nordstrom can and will do better.

When I was writing Shopportunity! I was told a reportedly true story of a Nordstrom shoe department sales person in Los Angeles. You've certainly heard her legend: She sells more than $1.5 million worth of shoes a year and is the number one sales person in all Nordstrom. (Maybe this is retail legend, but even if it is, there's a solid vein of gold here to mine.) The way she does it is to a) learn what a customer likes the first time she works with that customer and then b) send the customer six or so pairs of shoes she believes he/she will like every quarter, with a return shipping (pre-paid) label, in case the customer doesn't like some of them. Customer-by-customer she's built an amazing business and one that is not dependent upon traffic.

That level of getting to know the customer (whether they come into the store or not) is the point I'm trying to make. One of the underleveraged elements of a great retailer selling great merchandise through great sales people is the ability of the person on the floor to educate. But you don't have to be talking with the customer in real time to educate. You can mine your past sales, determine what the customer might like to know about now and reach out to him.

If I were in your shoes, I would create a personal blog that talks about:

• new stuff coming in that you love;
• why you love it (educate, educate, educate: the pockets, the pleats, the lining, the fabric, the cut, the cuffs. You know what to look for and how to evaluate it.);
• how to update last year's wardrobe based on a few essential pieces;
• something that's going to be marked down (or that you have discretion to reduce), but isn't available yet;
• your willingness to ship merchandise to them to try and/or to invite them to a special "after hours" presentation at your department (or at a private club you think they'd enjoy) to offer a private showing for a limited roster of past customers to touch the wares.

In short, strive for relational traffic, not the physical kind.

Just to be very clear, I'm NOT talking about a cut-and-paste blog developed by Nordstrom marketing for you to send to your client list, while every other men's clothing manager in the chain does the same thing. I'm talking about a genuine Fashionista/Passionista, connecting with his clients who want to look great.