Joanne has just finished grabbing a quick turkey wrap for lunch. She might have just enough time to run an errand before heading back to work.
Her goal - a new blouse for Friday's presentation. She checks her watch. 32 minutes. It's now or never. She'll be working late on a deadline for the next few days.
Joanne walks briskly past a couple of the mall stores, giving them a quick glance. Not her style.
She walks into a familiar store. She's scored a few good finds here in the past.
It's still early - before the main lunchtime rush. A sales associate has a couple of boxes on the floor, and is hanging new stock. Joanne focuses on skirting around her and the boxes, heading further into the store.
Joanne thinks maybe she'll be lucky and find a good deal on some recent markdowns. At the back of the store, she comes across a sale rounder. Draped over it is an unreconized garment, without a hanger, that a customer must have left behind.
The shelves behind the rack may have once held neat piles of sweaters and knit tops. Now they are a disheveled mess. Who know what's there? Too much trouble to go through it.
Joanne turns and heads back the other way. On her way out of the store, she sees an attractive display of new merchandise on the wall.
A blouse catches her eye. She looks below the display to find one in her size. There are about a 1/2 dozen on the bar. They are not in any recognizable order. Joanne has to examine each tag to discover that none of them are the right size.
Joanne sighs. Once again she turns to leave.
On her way out, she glances at a 4-way rack. Another blouse. Wait a minute - it's the same as the one on the wall. A whole bar full of them. She finds a tag that shows her size. She pulls out the hanger.
Oops! This hanger is not the one with the tag attached to it. The hangers are tangled up. Joanne struggles to get one hanger back onto the crowded rack, and pull out the one she wants.
Got it! Now to try it on.
She scans the room for a sales person. The one at the front is blissfully unaware of her. Still hanging stock. A cashier is on the phone.
Joanne heads to the fitting room, blouse in hand. She tries the first door. Locked.
She glances around. Finally a sales associate emerges from one of the fitting rooms with an armload of hangers.
After a room is unlocked for her, Joanne tries on the blouse and purchases it.
So what's the problem?
The store still made the sale. If you're still selling, you're doing OK. Right?
Mmmm - maybe not.
This story is typical of the stories my retailing students are telling me about their mystery shop projects. In fact, this story would be one of the positive ones. My students are often saying, "The store I visited was a mess. No one helped me. But that was what I expected of that store. So I would go back."
The problem is that these are fashion retailing students. They understand retailing more than many customers. They like shopping. They're willing to work harder to find what they are looking for.
Some customers are like them.
Some customers do not want to work that hard. They want shopping to be enjoyable. Relaxing. They have stress & pressure at work & home. Shopping needs to be easier. It needs to fit into a deadline, or be a way to unwind.
Don't wait until your sales start dropping.
A store that excels will reduce the little complications, or barriers for the customer. Make it easy to shop.
Stores that don't make it easy, are opening the door to the competition. If someone opens a store down the street - an enjoyable, relaxing place to shop; where are your customers going to go?
If your customer learns a similar product can be ordered online, arriving directly to their door, what do you think they will do?
In an economic downturn, which stores are going to keep customers?
No one's perfect.
Your store will sometimes be a wee bit untidy. Sometimes you'll be out of stock.
The secret equation is to have more positive interactions than negative. Customers will forgive a few difficulties if most connections with you are enjoyable, engaging and rewarding.
What's the equation in your store?
A Tale of Two Products - Do You Know What Makes Your Products Sell?
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'
Sally's store sells widgets and woggles. She thought they would both be hot sellers.
Widgets sold like hotcakes. Woggles languished on the shelves. Store sales have not met projections.
What should Sally do? Slash prices on the woggles? Get more widgets?
The lower price will devalue the woggles in the customers' eyes, attracting just the discount shoppers. And slashing prices will cut into margins, making a rough time even rougher.
It could be a necessary tough call, but how can she tell?
The truth is, Sally doesn't know. She doesn't have enough information.
To look ahead, first look back.
Sally needs to look back and find out why the woggles didn't sell. Just as important, she needs to find out why the widgets sold so well.
Again, Sally could go with the easy answers.
Customers liked the widgets. They didn't like the woggles. Sales were down because of low customer confidence. Shoppers were tightening their belts. They only bought one item instead of two.
Sounds good. Sally doesn't have to think too much. There's only one problem.
Those answers are false. Or, could be false, but Sally isn't sure.
Uncovering the truth.
Sally decided to sit down and make a list of all the possible reasons the widgets outsold the woggles. Here's what she came up with:
Sally has some work to do. She goes out on her sales floor.
Sally starts talking. Talking to the sales staff. 'What have customers been saying about the widgets and woggles? What do they like?'
She talks to the customers. 'What do you think of these products? How much would you be willing to pay for a product like this?'
Sally takes the products home. She tries them out. She gets her family to try them out. She tells her staff how much she liked them. She encourages them to try them out and tell her what they think.
Sally posts a sign by the cash register. 'Staff pick: Woggles' She watches for changes in sales.
Next week, she changes the sign. Now it reads, 'Woggles: Favorite of Jack, age 5.' She keeps track of which sign performs better.
Sally reviews her merchandising. Where were the woggles positioned? Where were widgets positioned? Sally reverses them.
A new display is created at the front of the store. Sally adds a sign: 'Woggles: a must-have accessory for your widget.'
Sally calls a staff meeting. She trains the sales team about the benefits of the woggles. She adds product information to the woggle shelf tags.
Woggle sales begin to go up. Slow at first, but gradually climbing.
Sally takes a break.
On her break, she reads the paper. She learns that the retail sales are slow this season.
Sally stretches, gets up and takes a walk. She browses through stores in her area. She notices that a competitor has a product similar to the woggle for sale.
She smiles, and goes back to her store. Sally starts planning how she will keep improving her sales of widgets and woggles.
More than widgets and woggles.
Of course, your store is much more complicated. More products. More issues.
It all boils down to the same three steps:
1. Look back
Honestly review past performance. Read department sales reports. Product reports. Most businesses generate a lot of information. Look at the trends.
2. Ask questions
Ask yourself what influenced, or may have influenced, past performance. Talk to your team. Talk to customers. Test your assumptions.
3. Look ahead
Set new goals. Make a plan of action. A multi-faceted plan. Address all the opportunities you have to influence sales, not just the most obvious. Think of merchandising, signage, product information, pricing, training.
Many small changes can make a big difference!
Sally's store sells widgets and woggles. She thought they would both be hot sellers.
Widgets sold like hotcakes. Woggles languished on the shelves. Store sales have not met projections.
What should Sally do? Slash prices on the woggles? Get more widgets?
The lower price will devalue the woggles in the customers' eyes, attracting just the discount shoppers. And slashing prices will cut into margins, making a rough time even rougher.
It could be a necessary tough call, but how can she tell?
The truth is, Sally doesn't know. She doesn't have enough information.
To look ahead, first look back.
Sally needs to look back and find out why the woggles didn't sell. Just as important, she needs to find out why the widgets sold so well.
Again, Sally could go with the easy answers.
Customers liked the widgets. They didn't like the woggles. Sales were down because of low customer confidence. Shoppers were tightening their belts. They only bought one item instead of two.
Sounds good. Sally doesn't have to think too much. There's only one problem.
Those answers are false. Or, could be false, but Sally isn't sure.
Uncovering the truth.
Sally decided to sit down and make a list of all the possible reasons the widgets outsold the woggles. Here's what she came up with:
1. Customer needs or preferences
2. Product problem - quality, design
3. Merchandising effectiveness
4. Pricing problem
5. Sales team effectiveness
6. Product knowledge & communication
7. External issues - economy, competitors
Sally has some work to do. She goes out on her sales floor.
Sally starts talking. Talking to the sales staff. 'What have customers been saying about the widgets and woggles? What do they like?'
She talks to the customers. 'What do you think of these products? How much would you be willing to pay for a product like this?'
Sally takes the products home. She tries them out. She gets her family to try them out. She tells her staff how much she liked them. She encourages them to try them out and tell her what they think.
Sally posts a sign by the cash register. 'Staff pick: Woggles' She watches for changes in sales.
Next week, she changes the sign. Now it reads, 'Woggles: Favorite of Jack, age 5.' She keeps track of which sign performs better.
Sally reviews her merchandising. Where were the woggles positioned? Where were widgets positioned? Sally reverses them.
A new display is created at the front of the store. Sally adds a sign: 'Woggles: a must-have accessory for your widget.'
Sally calls a staff meeting. She trains the sales team about the benefits of the woggles. She adds product information to the woggle shelf tags.
Woggle sales begin to go up. Slow at first, but gradually climbing.
Sally takes a break.
On her break, she reads the paper. She learns that the retail sales are slow this season.
Sally stretches, gets up and takes a walk. She browses through stores in her area. She notices that a competitor has a product similar to the woggle for sale.
She smiles, and goes back to her store. Sally starts planning how she will keep improving her sales of widgets and woggles.
More than widgets and woggles.
Of course, your store is much more complicated. More products. More issues.
It all boils down to the same three steps:
1. Look back
Honestly review past performance. Read department sales reports. Product reports. Most businesses generate a lot of information. Look at the trends.
2. Ask questions
Ask yourself what influenced, or may have influenced, past performance. Talk to your team. Talk to customers. Test your assumptions.
3. Look ahead
Set new goals. Make a plan of action. A multi-faceted plan. Address all the opportunities you have to influence sales, not just the most obvious. Think of merchandising, signage, product information, pricing, training.
Many small changes can make a big difference!
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