Easy Tips to Increase Retail Sales

Retail Notes:

A website visitor recently asked me for easy tips to increase retail sales:

1. Don't block the entrance to your store with fixtures. Leave some 'breathing room' inside the door so that shoppers can pause and get their bearings inside the store.
2. Improve directional or departmental signage to help shoppers find their way to what they need.
3. Improve price signage and labelling. Make it easy for shoppers to find the price for each item. Add signage to shelves or top of fixtures that indicate the price range of items in the area. This also helps shoppers find what they are looking for quickly and easily.
   
4. Add product information signage where appropriate. The more relevant information is available to the shopper, the more likely they are to buy.
   
5. Remove unrelated posters and signs in your window and on your door. They distract the viewer by drawing attention from your store and product. If you want to support community events, create a small bulletin board in an unobtrusive spot.
6. Encourage shoppers to get 'involved' with the merchandise. Shoppers want to touch fabrics to find out how soft they are, sample food, listen to music, try things out for themselves before they buy. Make every attempt to have the customer try your product.
   

Dynamic Displays

Retail Notes: Does your store offer something new and exciting each time your customer visits?

Your repeat customers are one of your best assets. Are you engaging them every time they enter your store?

Some shoppers will walk by your store several times, maybe on their daily way to work, before ever venturing inside the door. Do you have something to attract their attention each time they walk by?

If your store doesn't have something to new to offer customers on a regular basis, the impression they receive is that your store is stagnant and boring. It also encourages customers to put off a purchase of something they want 'until later', when they have more time, or it is more convenient. They assume that you will always have what they want available.

As a retailer, you can't afford to have stock just sitting on the shelves. Your business needs to be vibrant and dynamic. Of course, most independent retailers are not getting completely new stock every week. How do you keep your customer interested and offer them something different on a regular basis?

The answer is in your displays. Use your key display spaces to feature a small selection - 3 to 5 products - at a time. Maybe even just one strong item if you choose. Create an eye-catching display and change it weekly. Consider this your 'feature of the week' display. Make sure the display includes signage that will encourage sales.

Shoppers will be more attracted to a store that stimulates their interest with new displays of interesting merchandise.

Discount, Not Dumpy

Retail Notes:

Here's a question I received from a website visitor recently: "How do I attract the customer into a middle market discount store without having to sacrifice appearance?"

The type of products being sold are not mentioned so it is hard to get into specifics, but here are a few general tips.

How to keep a discount store from looking bargain basement:

• know your target market and their needs
  
• make sure the store is well lit
• keep merchandising and displays very tidy
• use quality fixtures, even if they have an industrial look - cheap tables with folding legs are a definite NO
• keep store clean and well maintained
• use professionally produced signage - not handwritten
• set aside some spaces in the store for attractive, themed displays of complimentary merchandise
• keep the shelves full without becoming crowded or messy. Customers need to be able to touch and move merchandise without knocking things over
• use adequate signage - clear pricing on shelves and merchandise, directional signage to designate departments or product families.
  
• don't clutter windows with unnecessary posters and signs.
• create an overall appearance that is organized, easy to shop, well stocked and affordable

Any other suggestions? Merchandising questions? Add a comment below.

How Do Customers See Your Store?

Retail Notes:

It can be hard to look at your own store objectively and notice the same things that shoppers notice. As retail owners or managers, we become so familiar with our own store that it is hard to pick out things that we could improve in our displays, merchandising or maintenance. Customers might be getting an entirely different perception of your store than what you intend.

To try and see your store through different eyes, take photos of your store exterior and interior. Photos are a great way to see your store from a new perspective.

Photos can help you to see:

- fixtures that block traffic
- signage that cover up displays
- fixtures in need of repair
- displays and merchandising that are too cluttered
- displays that lack a focal point
- displays that need to be tidied

On the other hand, photos can also give you a sense of what is working in your store, They provide a record of what displays and merchandising has been successful or effective in the past.

Do you have photos and stories of either successful displays, or merchandising that could use improvement? If you send them to me we'll post them here!

Your Ideal Customer

Retail Notes:

Who is your target market?

Independent retailers often have trouble stating who their target market is. They are afraid that creating a specific profile of who they want their customer to be will limit their market and be too narrow. On the contrary - if you don't know exactly who you are trying to attract to your store, you end up attracting nobody.

To help you figure out who your target market is, write down the description of your ideal customer. Make this as detailed as possible. This is easiest if you picture a real person in your mind. Who would you consider to be your best customer, or your top 10 customers? You want to attract more customers like them because they will be the most profitable for your business.

Making this description as specific as possible will help you to create the most effective marketing. While you will also attract customers who fall outside of this profile, the focus of your marketing and merchandising efforts and budget should be on the people who would be your ideal clients.

Your ideal customers are the ones who are repeat customers, who give you feedback on what they like or don't like, who tell their friends about your store, and you enjoy doing business with them. Create a profile based these great customers. Try to find more like them.

Need to Increase Your Sales?

Retail Notes:

One of the best ways to boost your business is to focus on your current customer base. Business owners often spend so much time and money trying to bring in new customers instead of marketing to their 'warm' market – the people who have already spent money in their store.

Are you marketing to your current and past customers? Even if you are, there's probably more that you could be doing to boost your repeat business.

Some ideas to boost your repeat business and increase sales:

=> Get to know your customers personally. Talk to them in the store. Find out about who they are, what their lifestyle is like. Make your business all about them, not about you.

=> Keep customer information on file. Don't forget to get permission first! Get customers to offer their information in exchange for a valuable free gift. Remember, their info is valuable too. And let them know why you want their information - to send them special offers or a newsletter, to provide better, more personalized service, etc. Be honest.

=> Actually use your database or information file. Your resources are much better spent on following up current and past customers than on advertising to try to find new ones. Send out invitations to special events, birthday greetings, new product info, testimonials, refill reminders – whatever your customers will enjoy receiving and will get them to come back to see you again. Getting a customer to come back to the store again is much less expensive than the cost of getting a new customer.

=> Ask your customers for referrals. You can create a fancy referral program, or simply ask your customers to tell their friends. You can host a special VIP event for customers and their friends. Offer current customers a discount for referrals.

More ideas? Things you've tried? Leave a comment or two.

Copyright Melanie McIntosh, Inspire Retail Solutions 2005

Planning Resources

Retail News and Notes:

Here are a few handy planning resources to help you do some thinking and planning about your business and direction.

=> Interactive Business Planner (Canadian)
http://www.cbsc.org/ibp/home_en.cfm


=> Here is a great list of business planning resources from Susan Ward at Small Business Info Canada at About.com
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/businessplans/

Here is an article by Susan on the marketing section of your business plan
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/businessplans/a/bizplanmarkplan.htm

and some more marketing resources:
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/marketing/


=> If you have a website, or even if you don't, Bobette Kyle writes some great articles on marketing and marketing plans. There seem to be quite a few ads to wade through on the site, but she has some great info in the articles.
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/

Do you have any business or marketing plan resources that you've used and would recommend? Post a comment to let me know.

Copyright Melanie McIntosh, Inspire Retail Solutions 2005

Do you have a plan?

Retail Notes:

The great thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise and is not preceded by periods of worry and depression.

- Anonymous

- - -

Are you effectively planning your business?

• Do you have a current business plan?
  
• Do you have a marketing plan?

Too many business owners think they don't need a written plan.

How about you? What if an effective marketing plan could help you increase your sales by 10% this year? Would that make it worthwhile?

I can't say that a plan will make achieving your business goals a sure thing, but it will give you a clear plan of action and increase your chances of success. Or, maybe more importantly, it will decrease your chance of failure.

Next time: I'll list some sources of marketing and business planning to help you grow your business.