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Editor's Note: We're delighted to kick off the New Year with this new column that will appear in every issue throughout 2007. Marketing professor Dr. Kenneth C. Herbst of the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary and merchandising expert Harold Lloyd have conducted extensive research on how customers shop and how products can be merchandised to increase profits, and they will share their findings and offer suggestions that, I believe, can make a huge difference in your stores.

Happy New Year! My name is Dr. Kenneth Herbst. Harold Lloyd, former President and CEO of Lloyd's Supermarkets and prominent industry speaker, and I recently conducted research to capture the intricacies of the shopping and service experience that can augment a store's top line and one of the most important findings we discovered was the following:

One simple interaction with your customer (beyond that with the cashier) is associated with a 23 percent greater ring at the cashier.

That's right, interacting with customers can engender a much higher ring at the cashier, so we suggest you consider adding it to your list of New Year's Resolutions. In other words, it may pay quite well to simply ask customers whether they have found everything for which they are shopping. Wal-Mart, as large as it is, understands the importance of being perceived as an interactive retailer. It is written on the greeter's face (and his apron).

Interactions are necessary, especially in the specialty areas of the store in which customers are choosing, for example, cheese, produce, wine or other items with which they have limited experience. Customers often have questions but are either afraid to ask or they cannot find an employee to whom they can direct a question.

In the cheese area, sampling displays coupled with gourmet crackers and excited employees who believe in the sampled product have had a major impact. In the produce area, we often see customers touching and smelling fruit so they can be confident that the items coming home with them will be tasty when sliced. However, just as it is hard to judge a book by its cover, it is also difficult to judge produce simply by the look and feel of the peel. Having employees specifically stationed in the produce area or utilizing televisions with videos that describe how to best select and prepare various produce items are two ways to increase your interaction rate and top line.

One specific retailer in the area in which I live (Williamsburg, Va.) really excels at interacting in his store's wine area. Wine is a profitable item to sell, but consumers often approach the wine section with trepidation, and due to their hesitancy and reluctance, they often base their selections on the label and price. With hundreds of bottles from which to choose, the overwhelming amount of options is simply intimidating. This retailer in southeastern Virginia understands the value of interaction in the wine area. His wine department employees ask customers what they are having for dinner and then help them choose the appropriate wine pairing for the meal being prepared. If you want customers to enjoy selecting wine confidently rather than simply picking one of the cheaper bottles to minimize their risk in the land of the often unknown, have an employee (at least during the busiest times of the day) devoted to helping customers making this leap become not one of faith but instead, one of confidence.

Interacting seems easy but few retailers excel at it. Our data indicate that not interacting could be detrimental, so it is very important to have employees on the lookout for customers who appear to have a question mark over their heads. In fact, it even makes sense to convey a caring attitude to those customers who seem to be well on their way and very organized. I teach that companies need to segment the market and then target the segments for which they can be special and better than their competition. When it comes to interacting with customers, however, do not target only those that seem to be in need of help. Target everyone! Make everyone in the store feel as though you want to form a relationship with them. This does not mean asking or accosting customers with a quick "How are you?" as they cross the threshold and enter your store. Instead, try saying, "Please let me know how I can be of any assistance to you today." A warm interaction makes your customers feel appreciated, makes their shopping trip much easier, and leads to a happier sales report for you — not to mention the incredible reduction in shoplifting that interacting with a customer produces.

In future columns, our traffic research will unveil some quick and manageable items that will have a profound impact on your customers' satisfaction and loyalty and on your top line.

For more information on how to purchase our traffic research, or how Harold and I can cater our traffic research to meet your specific needs, please e-mail me at Kenneth.Herbst@mason.wm.edu. Alternatively, feel free to visit my webpage at www.mason.wm.edu/Kenneth.Herbst or Harold's at www.hlloydpresents.com. I can also be reached via the phone at 757-221-2819.

Dr. Kenneth C. Herbst is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Dr. Herbst spent three years in the Haub School of Business' Department of Food Marketing at Saint Joseph's University. He has a Masters and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition, Dr. Herbst earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University. He has also been interviewed about his food research and industry expertise by, among others, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, the Ottawa Citizen,the Montreal Gazette, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Woman's Day.

Harold Lloyd was the President and CEO of a 14-unit retail organization for 10 years. His practical, exciting ideas and dynamic presentation style have combined to earn him a highly regarded reputation reflected in his top ratings at numerous appearances at such prestigious events as the Food Marketing Institute convention and the IDDBA convention.

For almost two decades, Harold has worked very closely with small and large businesses to provide a "powerful push in the right direction!" His mission is to provide qualified, executive-level assistance to companies on a "temporary basis," eliminating the need to add permanent top management overhead. To further assist his clients, Harold authored the book It's About Time, focusing on time management.