We were lucky to catch up with Jan Swenson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

I feel like I do this daily when a customer walks in the door! I immediately show respect and let them know that I am interested in helping them find what they need. I think this shows appreciation of them and their time.

Jan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I own a women’s boutique and I love styling my clients/customers. I have been in retail all of my working life and even when I had an office job, I was working part time in retail. I absolutely love the customer interaction that I get to have with customers. It can definitely drain the social meter but I 100% love it. One thing that I am proud of, is the fact that I have conquered the misconceptions of “trying on jeans” in our area. Most women loathe trying on the dreaded jeans almost as much as bathing suits. I am so thankful that I have been able to change that mindset. We carry one of the best and cost efficient brands that you can find right now. We are successful in this area due to the fact that we spend as much time as need with each customer. We listen to their needs and we find the best fit for them. We are there with them every step of the trying on process. I want my ladies walking out with the best pair for them and the smile they have on their face makes my days in retail all worth it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Well, as most of us, we had to pivot during covid. I’m the person that has to have stability and I don’t do great with major changes so when covid hit, I freaked out and wasn’t sure how bills would get paid. When you have a brick and mortar, you not only have house bills, but you have your shop bills and let me tell ya, I was panicking! Our mayor allowed us in our stores to work because essentially, it was an extension of our home. I mean I did spend more time at my shop than I did my own home. The law stated that we couldn’t have customers in our shop but we could go in and escape the outside world for a bit. My escape became going live on socials every other night. I can’t stand going live on socials but I had to, I HAD to go live to keep my bills paid and to stay relevant so that when we could re-open, I would still have a customer base. I went live every other day, I was shopping online vendors and markets to get product in my shop and for over a month I was live in front of my customers meeting them in their living rooms and they were shopping out of bordem! It was the year my business turned a corner and we had a great year.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I struggle with this as far as consistency goes but after 10 years, I have a great client base and I do my best to stay in contact with them through my email lists, my shop app and texting. I make sure to get their email addresses so I can send relevant information regarding my shop. I also TRY to stay consistent on socials. Consistency is so important and when I can, I plan on hiring a social media manager so that across all boards, I am always in front of my customer. One thing that I think is super important to remember is the fact that you can’t put all of your eggs in one basket. If you are on FB and/or Insta only, please make sure you are connecting through other avenues as well. If FB crashed, how will you get info to your customer base? EMAIL lists are still relevant!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ilovemmbtq.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrormirror_boutique/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilovemmbtq