How Turkish Meze Perfects the Art of Selling
I was recently traveling through Turkey (the country, not the bird) and noticed that at nearly every meal in a good restaurant, Meze is served up first thing, before you're barely seated.
Picture a big tray laden with 10-12 small plates crowded on to the tray. A feast for the eyes. Colors. Shapes. Sizes. Textures. It's the most basic form of selling...let the product sell itself.
And just in case you couldn't decide, the waitstaff was there to help you understand the delectable delights that awaited (albeit in broken English, which made the experience even more interesting and intriguing).
I found that the Meze became an expected part of the meal. And like some salivating Pavlov's dog, I couldn't wait to see what they would bring out at each restaurant.
So how do you, the entrepreneurial retailer, incorporate The Meze Mentality (I'm going to coin that) into your store experience to increase sales?
1. Eye Appeal is Buy Appeal. Merchandise needs to look good in order for it to sell. And that means that it should be clean, well-organized, and presented in interesting ways. It's not enough anymore simply to put it on the sales floor and expect it to sell. Embellish it, visually display it, prop it, sign it. Anything you can do to give it a little extra pop and make it like a big old tray of Meze is going to help (so long as you don't junk it up).
2. Serve it Up. All the waitstaff had to do was bring that tray around and the goods were sold. They brought the product to us. When was the last time you put a product in your customer's hands? It's probably been a while. Or maybe never. The cool thing is that it's so unexpected that the customer often buys in.
3. Talk About It. When you're engaging with a customer, it's not as simple as a "here try this" statement. Instead employ the "I've got a secret" method whereby you're giving your customer the inside scoop on a great product that you love and they simply have to try. Talk about the features, talk about the benefits, help the customer understand why they simply have to have it. As long as you wrap it up in a way that's friendly and informative, it takes away the hard sell and your customers will be much more likely to buy in.
How are you going to employ The Meze Mentality to get your customers to buy more from you? Sound off below on your successes.
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