I really believe that our best hope for success lies in engendering a sense of ownership or camaraderie in our customers, so that they feel like stakeholders in our success. Would you agree? Do you have suggestions for how this can be accomplished? Suggestions for how to turn customers into ambassadors for our store in particular and fair trade in general would also be great.

KEVIN: I think this harkens back to the earlier question on how to convert customers in to advocates. If you are awesome then people will generally believe you are awesome and spread that word. We did very extensive training with our employees on the customer service experience and the goal was for every customer to leave our shop feeling like they just left the best shop ever. Not only did we want to have the best merchandise, with the best story behind it, displayed in the best way possible, but we wanted them to have an experience that left them wanting more and talking about it with friends colleagues, etc. There is no better advertising then word of mouth so if your customers think your store is ho-hum they may mention the availability of fair trade products at your shop but they are not likely going to “sell” your store to anyone.