5 Lessons Learned From the Grand Bazaar

By Debbie Allen, All Rights Reserved

The world famous Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey is retail wonder that should be considered as the Eight Wonder of the World!  With 5,000 retail vendors and centuries of retail success behind the Bazaar I learned some valuable retail lessons. 

What makes one small independent retailer stand out from thousands of other much larger retailers in an overly competitive marketplace such as this?

That question was asked of me during my presentation to the Retail Institute of Turkey.  What a great question!  It made me really stop to think about how this one independent retailer kept our attention so well for over two hours. Not only did he keep our attention in a small 5 ft x 5 ft booth, he also got a lot of

our money.  

5 Things This Retailer Did To Win Our Business

1. He greeted us with a friendly relaxed welcome.

All of the other retailers were hungry for business and practically jumped out to grab you as you walked by.  That type of behavior turns customers OFF and they will quickly retreat as we did.

2. He knew his inventory well and paid close attention to his customer’s lead. 

As he saw us looking at rings he quickly grabbed a case full of similar type of rings and then

invited us into the booth to take a closer look.  He carrying a good selection of unique merchandise and did not sway from that by carrying too many diverse products.   

3. He triggered our emotion of obligation. 

The retailer offered us some tea. Tea is a BIG deal in Turkey! I don’t think they could live without it and they definitely could not work without it.  I thanked him but told him I didn’t like tea. He replied with, ‘Oh, you must try our special Apple Tea, you will like it.’ Without leaving his small booth he picked up the TEA HOT LINE.  Within minutes we were being served delightful warm tea in beautiful glass cups served from a large silver platter by the tea man.  Brilliant! 

4. He took his time and got to know us as friends. 

We were really enjoying our time as we all shared personal stories and experiences with one another.

He was very warm and open and it showed that he cared about his customers and enjoyed his work.

He was a great salesman that used his sales skills and expertise wisely by building a relationship with us first.

5. He waited until we had exhausted our shopping experience before he packaged a special price.

There was a lot of inventory in such a small space and it unique to other jewelry merchants in the Bazaar. Since we had made a few small purchases before meeting him, we asked his prices on similar merchandise and he proved to us early on that his prices were fair or in most cases even less.  Fair pricing, bulk discounts and great service made a great impression on us.  As we continued to shop, he had his brother run to somewhere else in the bazaar to have our rings and watches sized.  I was so impressed that I just wanted to hang around and keep BUYING. The longer you can keep your customers in your stores the more they will buy. It's that simple.

Istanbul, Turkey is a city of over 8 million people.  It is the only city in the world located on two continents and surround by two beautiful seas.  If you ever get an opportunity to visit, you will have your own personal experience and lessons to share from the world famous Grand Bazaar.

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Bio: Debbie Allen is one of the world’s leading authorities on sales and marketing.  She is the author of five books including Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters and Skyrocketing Sales.  Debbie has helped thousands of people around the world attract customers like crazy with her innovative, no-cost marketing strategies and secrets to sales success.  Her expertise has been featured in Entrepreneur, Selling Power and Sales & Marketing Excellence.  Sign up for her FREE 6-week e-Course Business Success Secrets Revealed ($97 value) and take the online business card quiz to rate your marketing online now at www.DebbieAllen.com.