Quick spot check! Grab a pen and paper.
Stand in line with your customers at the till. What do you see while you're waiting? Make a list.
Sale bins and return policy signs. Phones, debit machines and tape dispensers. Pens, papers and binders. Customer holds and returns. Hangers. Notes from management to staff.
Clutter is not a selling tool.
What is the job of the cash wrap? Not storing supplies. Not holding equipment.
The job of the cash wrap is to close the sale. Offer add-on merchandise. Invite guests to return.
The experience at the till is just as important as greeting the customer. Just as important as finding out the customer's needs. Just as important as helping him find solutions to his problem.
At the checkout you reinforce the identity of the store. Strengthen the shopper's impression of a positive experience.
At the this point in the selling process, you have the opportunity to resolve concerns that the customer may still have. You get to reinforce a connection with the shopper.
An effective and efficient cash wrap zone sets the stage for a favorable interaction. It creates positive customer expectations of the service they will receive.
It's hard for customers to evaluate service.
Service isn't tangible. The shopper can't touch it. He can't measure it.
When a customer evaluates your services, he evaluates how he feels about it. And much of how the customer feels about the interaction is based on the selling environment. The things he can see, touch, hear and smell.
Imagine... how do you want the customer to feel as she leaves your store?
Satisfied with her purchase. Confident that she made the right decision. Content with an efficient transaction. Happy to have met someone who understands her needs. Pleased to have made a new friend.
Your goal is to make sure that the customer leaves feeling good about her interaction with you. Give her a reason to return.
It's harder to do this if your cash desk sends a completely different message.
Be clear about the message your cash desk communicates.
Messages are not only words and signs.
The physical aspects of your store are the main way of communicating what your store is all about. If you're not careful, you can inadvertently send messages you didn't intend to send.
Dirty counters or chipped paint communicates a lack of attention to detail. Notes to employees taped on the till or the wall show you're focused on operations, not on the customer. An unattended debit pinpad on the counter says you may not be careful about preventing fraud. A pile of holds, hangers or papers shows that perhaps you're too busy to be attentive.
Think carefully about the message you want to send.
You want the customer to have confidence in you. To trust you. Believe you to be organized, knowledgeable, and approachable.
What would your cash wrap look like if it sent that message?
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Eight Retail Event Essentials
Community events can be great marketing and selling opportunities for retailers. Events give you the chance to increase your profile and brand awareness in the community, attract new residents and tourists into your store, and increase sales.
On the other hand, regular customers may avoid shopping during congested events. Other shoppers may be deterred by a lack of available parking. Retailers may find that walk-by traffic increases, but shoppers don’t come into the store.
Maybe you can identify with retailers like these:
1. Set a goal for the event. Be clear about what you want to achieve through your participation in the community event. Do you want to increase sales at the event itself? Do you want to encourage local visitors to visit the store for the first time? Do you want to use the event to build new relationships in the community? Are you trying to build recognition of your store name and brand? Is your goal to get tourists to visit your store and make a purchase? Do you want shoppers to have a great in-store experience, and shop from your online store when they return home?
2. Start planning early. Depending on the size of the event and what your goals are, you may need to plan several weeks to a year or more in advance. Consider what your needs will be for marketing, staffing and inventory for the event.
3. Consider special promotions or products. Are there particular products that tie in well with the upcoming event? Consider carrying a limited supply of a special product just for the event, or stock up on a popular item and give it an event price. If you have giveaways, find a way to brand them with your name and logo.
4. Create your own events. Host your own kick-off party a few days or a week before the big event. During the event, make sure something is always happening in your store that will draw customers in. If you don’t create a reason for them to come in, they won’t. Invite a volunteer to do facepainting for kids in the store, have some kind of food available, host live music, or an artist in residence. You could also offer short talks, workshops or book reading.
Mini events in your store don’t have to be expensive. Try to use volunteers, or find someone who will benefit from doing a joint promotion with your store. Whatever you do, tie it in logically with your product and target market.
5. Create unique themed displays. Get creative with displays, and don’t be afraid to use humour. Brainstorm how you can tie into a community event in a unique way. A bale of hay and a cowboy hat in a display with bath and body products doesn’t send any message at all. Instead, a vignette display of clothes piled on the floor, a cowboy hat on a chair, next to bath products & candles can have a sign asking, ”How will you relax after the rodeo?” Strive to make a connection in the customer’s mind between the event and your product.
Leading up to the Olympics, a pet boutique display might show dog sporting events with accessories, or pet merchandise that represents Vancouver. Props or graphics can help to get the message across. Cartoons of pets could be used to create large scale posters, or adhesive window graphics to attract the attention of walk-by traffic.
If all else fails, try using colour as a theme by creating displays that use one or two of the colours from the official event, or apply the event theme in your own store.
6. Consider in-store traffic flow. How will you handle an increase in visitors? How will you manage line-ups? Perhaps you can remove a fixture or two from the sales floor to allow better traffic flow. Consider roping off an area for line-ups or in-store activities.
Provide something for customers to do while waiting in line-ups. Providing entertainment, video monitors, interaction with staff, or something to read, helps to keep customers from getting antsy while waiting for service.
7. Create effective signage. When your store is busy, you are not going to have time to give the same level of customer service that you normally provide. Effective signage can help provide information that customers need to find what they are looking for, and make buying decisions. Signs can provide:
8. Start marketing well before the event. Don’t wait until the event arrives to create displays and marketing. Create anticipation for the upcoming event by putting up in-store posters and signs. Announce the dates of the event, planned in-store activities, as well as any special promotions, discounts, incentives or products. Create a series of displays and change them weekly leading up to the event.
Don’t forget to communicate your plans to event organizers and the media. They’re usually more than happy to let people know how local businesses are participating and supporting community activities. Event organizers may even have some tips and ideas for how you can get involved and make the event even more successful for you.
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On the other hand, regular customers may avoid shopping during congested events. Other shoppers may be deterred by a lack of available parking. Retailers may find that walk-by traffic increases, but shoppers don’t come into the store.
Maybe you can identify with retailers like these:
- Carole owns a women’s clothing boutique in the downtown of a mid-sized city. Every year at the annual weekend Summerfest event, she puts a couple of sale racks out on the sidewalk. She brings in an extra staff member to stand outside and hand out balloons, while keeping an eye on the merchandise. Carole is disappointed that the increased traffic at Summerfest hasn’t resulted in more sales in her store.
- Jim & Susan just opened a day spa that retails bath and body products in Calgary. They’re looking for ways to become more integrated in the local community. They want to show their support for next year's Stampede, but are wondering how to tie it in with their product and identity.
- Eric owns an urban pet boutique in Vancouver. With the 2010 Olympics on the horizon, he wants to come up with Olympic themed ideas to attract shoppers to his store.
1. Set a goal for the event. Be clear about what you want to achieve through your participation in the community event. Do you want to increase sales at the event itself? Do you want to encourage local visitors to visit the store for the first time? Do you want to use the event to build new relationships in the community? Are you trying to build recognition of your store name and brand? Is your goal to get tourists to visit your store and make a purchase? Do you want shoppers to have a great in-store experience, and shop from your online store when they return home?
2. Start planning early. Depending on the size of the event and what your goals are, you may need to plan several weeks to a year or more in advance. Consider what your needs will be for marketing, staffing and inventory for the event.
3. Consider special promotions or products. Are there particular products that tie in well with the upcoming event? Consider carrying a limited supply of a special product just for the event, or stock up on a popular item and give it an event price. If you have giveaways, find a way to brand them with your name and logo.
4. Create your own events. Host your own kick-off party a few days or a week before the big event. During the event, make sure something is always happening in your store that will draw customers in. If you don’t create a reason for them to come in, they won’t. Invite a volunteer to do facepainting for kids in the store, have some kind of food available, host live music, or an artist in residence. You could also offer short talks, workshops or book reading.
Mini events in your store don’t have to be expensive. Try to use volunteers, or find someone who will benefit from doing a joint promotion with your store. Whatever you do, tie it in logically with your product and target market.
5. Create unique themed displays. Get creative with displays, and don’t be afraid to use humour. Brainstorm how you can tie into a community event in a unique way. A bale of hay and a cowboy hat in a display with bath and body products doesn’t send any message at all. Instead, a vignette display of clothes piled on the floor, a cowboy hat on a chair, next to bath products & candles can have a sign asking, ”How will you relax after the rodeo?” Strive to make a connection in the customer’s mind between the event and your product.
Leading up to the Olympics, a pet boutique display might show dog sporting events with accessories, or pet merchandise that represents Vancouver. Props or graphics can help to get the message across. Cartoons of pets could be used to create large scale posters, or adhesive window graphics to attract the attention of walk-by traffic.
If all else fails, try using colour as a theme by creating displays that use one or two of the colours from the official event, or apply the event theme in your own store.
6. Consider in-store traffic flow. How will you handle an increase in visitors? How will you manage line-ups? Perhaps you can remove a fixture or two from the sales floor to allow better traffic flow. Consider roping off an area for line-ups or in-store activities.
Provide something for customers to do while waiting in line-ups. Providing entertainment, video monitors, interaction with staff, or something to read, helps to keep customers from getting antsy while waiting for service.
7. Create effective signage. When your store is busy, you are not going to have time to give the same level of customer service that you normally provide. Effective signage can help provide information that customers need to find what they are looking for, and make buying decisions. Signs can provide:
- information about promotions, sales or discounts
- answers to common questions that customers ask
- pricing information
- suggestions of complimentary merchandise
- product features and benefits
- product information
- special event information or instructions
- an invitation for shoppers to sign-up for a VIP list or email newsletter
- information for tourists wanting their purchase shipped home for them
8. Start marketing well before the event. Don’t wait until the event arrives to create displays and marketing. Create anticipation for the upcoming event by putting up in-store posters and signs. Announce the dates of the event, planned in-store activities, as well as any special promotions, discounts, incentives or products. Create a series of displays and change them weekly leading up to the event.
Don’t forget to communicate your plans to event organizers and the media. They’re usually more than happy to let people know how local businesses are participating and supporting community activities. Event organizers may even have some tips and ideas for how you can get involved and make the event even more successful for you.
Want more?
Subscribe: Get the Retail Tips E-Newsletter (Fill in your details in the subscribe form)
Don’t forget: To share the article via twitter, facebook, email, blog or your newsletter
I've been out of touch...
I haven't sent out an email newsletter in ages, and have only rarely posted to this blog. It's been a much longer hiatus than I anticipated. As retailers, I'm sure you can all appreciated how long new projects seem to take to get off the ground. Not to mention the daily work of doing business.
There have been lots of changes at Inspire over the past months. Now that those projects have some momentum, I'm renewing my commitment to keep in touch with you, and keep creating new articles. And hopefully some of you will join me here on the blog, and share your comments about what's happening in retail in your neck of the woods.
Here's what's been happening at Inspire:
In the meantime, add your comments below to let me know what's been happening in your store lately...
or what you'd like to see at Inspire, or this blog...
or just say hello. I'd love to hear from you!
Why would you want to subscribe to the newsletter?
Well, if you don't subscribe already - it's a way to get the latest retail articles delivered directly to your email box - because we all forget to go back regularly to blogs we like. Even if you prefer to read the articles on the blog, the newsletter will send you the link when it is published. And, subscribers get to download the pdf Attracting Customers: Steps to getting more shoppers in the door.
There have been lots of changes at Inspire over the past months. Now that those projects have some momentum, I'm renewing my commitment to keep in touch with you, and keep creating new articles. And hopefully some of you will join me here on the blog, and share your comments about what's happening in retail in your neck of the woods.
Here's what's been happening at Inspire:
- Marie-Claude Coté has joined me as a merchandising consultant. You can get to know more about here here: http://inspire.ca/about_us.htm (Just scroll down the page to see her lovely visage.)
- In response to requests from retailers, Inspire can now help you with merchandising your store or retail cart in-person. Businesses in BC's Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island can book Marie-Claude to help you merchandise your store or cart.
- Improving this blog to have more features and allow you to subscribe to RSS feeds. This has been a major challenge, and I'm still working out technical issues.
- Migrating and the website from inspire.bc.ca to inspire.ca. It's not quite done yet. I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, add your comments below to let me know what's been happening in your store lately...
or what you'd like to see at Inspire, or this blog...
or just say hello. I'd love to hear from you!
Why would you want to subscribe to the newsletter?
Well, if you don't subscribe already - it's a way to get the latest retail articles delivered directly to your email box - because we all forget to go back regularly to blogs we like. Even if you prefer to read the articles on the blog, the newsletter will send you the link when it is published. And, subscribers get to download the pdf Attracting Customers: Steps to getting more shoppers in the door.
Why You'll Never Have Time For Merchandising: 10 Daily Actions For Success
Retailers are busy! There are always more things to do in a day than there is time to get them done.
There's stock to replenish, employees to manage and customers to serve. You know you'd like to spend time on merchandising, but who has time? You plan to work on merchandising when it's not so busy. When there are not so many urgent tasks that need your attention.
Right. Let's just face it. That time never comes. There will always be something else that needs your attention.
Don't wait for that mythical 'enough time' for merchandising. Turn merchandising into a daily routine. The best way to do this is to review the store every morning and make a list of all the tasks that need attention.
Separate the list into two categories: tasks to be done today, and tasks to schedule later in the week. Write down all the tasks and assign them to a staff member to complete during the day.
Include these 10 actions in your daily merchandising tasks:
1. Review window displays. As you unlock the front door in the morning, take a look at the windows. How are the products selling? Is there a sold out product that needs to be removed from the display? If there are products in the window that aren't selling, make a note to find out why. Check for dust bunnies and burnt out lightbulbs.
2. Clean glass: Wipe fingerprints, smudges and dust from front doors, display cases and glass counter.
3. Tidy merchandise: Put away merchandise that was put back in the wrong place. Repair hang tabs that are broken or missing. Straighten products that are hanging crooked. Make sure rows and columns of merchandise are straight and orderly.
4. Replenish stock. Fill spaces where merchandise has sold down. If there is more merchandise on lower shelves, and gaps in the middle, move merchandise up. Make note of products that have sold down and need to be re-ordered.
5. Refresh product displays: Make adjustments to displays that are no longer effective. Replace merchandise displays that have sold down, with new displays that have more product. Move slow selling merchandise to more prominent feature areas or focal points.
6. Check lighting. Look for lightbulbs that are burnt out and need to be replaced. Are lights aimed properly? Do they highlight merchandise well?
7. Review 'shops', departments, and fixtures. Take a look at each section of the store. Ask yourself if the merchandise presentation is still effective. When products sell down departments or shops look empty or tired. Decide if you need to do a major move within a department. Schedule it for a slower period within the next week.
8. Review top selling products. What products sold well the previous day? Think about what made those products a hit. Was it the product quality, displays, efforts of sales staff, a special promotion, the placement within the store?
9. Review poorly selling products and returns. Why are these products not successful? Is there a problem with product quality or pricing? Are they placed in the wrong location? Perhaps the customer has questions about the product that isn't being answered. Ask your sales staff and customers for feedback on the product. Move the product to a prominent location, or create an enticing display with detailed product information. If all else fails, mark the product down, and get it out of the store.
10. Clean up the cash desk. The cash wrap area is one of the most important areas of your store. This area leaves a lasting impression of your store. The customer may spend a significant amount of time standing at the cash. Waiting. Waiting for service. Waiting for their purchase to be processed. Make sure this area is tidy and free of non-selling clutter. Try to keep tape dispensers, phones and pen holders below the counter. Remove notes to employees that are visible to the customer. Put away customer holds, papers, binders.
Each of these tasks may only take a few minutes at a time.
Together they make your store customer-ready. Ready to make a great impression!
Why You Need to Sell to Just One Person
Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
--Kurt Vonnegut
Retailing is a creative process. Just like writing.
Just like great writers, great retailers sell to just one customer.
Many retailers fall into the trap of thinking something along the lines of "If I market to just one customer, I won't sell enough to buy my family a box of cereal!" Well, maybe you didn't word it exactly like that, but isn't that essentially what you are afraid of?
Once you're in the trap of trying to sell to everyone, you're stuck. You have to figure out how to sell your product to the world.
Now that's a big job!
How are you going to do it? You don't have the money to market to everyone. You don't have enough staff to sell to the world.
You don't even know where to begin. It's overwhelming.
And what about the people who are not interested in what you're selling. Do you want to spend money trying to sell to people who are not interested in your product?
Wouldn't you rather spend your money sending your message to people who are the most likely to buy from you? People who already enjoy products similar to yours?
--
Do you see where I 'm going with this?
When you try to please everyone, you become exhausted. You can't possibly sell to the whole world, or even your whole community.
You wear yourself out trying to be everything to everyone. Your store gets pneumonia. Your business concept becomes weak and sickly.
The remedy is to sell to just one person.
The one who will love your product. The one who will come back over and over.
When you sell to just one person, business decisions becomes easier.
When you buy products, you won't say to yourself, "Somebody might like this." Instead you say, "Sally will love this!" or "I'm not buying that. Sally will hate it!"
When you market your business, you know where Sally lives, so you can send her a note. Or phone her. Call her up and say, "Sally, I just got this new thing you'll love! I was thinking about you when I ordered it!"
Sally realizes that you're not just talking to anyone, you're talking to her. And you know exactly what she loves. When she walks in your store, she feels like her name is written all over the store. From the scent of vanilla in the air to the upholstered chair by the fitting rooms, it is her kind of place.
The best part is that Sally has friends. And family. And co-workers. And neighbours. And many of them like the same things that Sally does.
Sell to Sally.
Not to the world.
Your business will be a lot healthier.
Best of Vancouver Retail
What does beautiful Vancouver have to offer shoppers?
What can we learn by looking at what great retailers do well?
A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of hosting a couple of guests from Great Harvest Bakery head office in Dillon, MT. We spent the day on a tour of the best Vancouver retail. What a fabulous way to spend the day - visiting stores, talking retail, snacking on the best baking in town, and making new friends.
I learned what a fabulous company Great Harvest has created. Their stores are all franchised, and they have a deep commitment to their store owners, and communities.
We visited the well-known born-in-Vancouver success stories - MEC, Lululemon, Aritizia, and many more examples of retailers who are doing what it takes to deliver what customers want. Our day was jam-packed with stores. Some of them had so much to see we had a hard time leaving to move on to the next one!
Some of the things these retailers do well:
- Tailoring each store to fit the community. Many of these stores are NOT using the cookie-cutter chain approach to store design. They might have many locations, but the best of these retailers are demonstrating to their customers that they are active and involved in their local community. The stores maintain a strong brand and identity, while adapting it in each location to reflect the personality of the neighbourhood.
- Great signage. Shoppers are hungry for information. The best retail examples have strong signage to help customers find what they are looking for - quickly and easily - and make an informed decision.
- Good lighting in key areas. Lighting enhances texture and colour. Lighting displays well makes them sparkle, and draws the customer in.
- Positioning displays to attract attention. Displays are used throughout the store - always keeping in mind the customers' point of view. What does the customer see when she walks in the store? Stands next to a table? Waits in line?
The Great Harvest team with me at the end of our tour, in Coal Harbour:
My new associate, Marie-Claude, (on the left) joined us for the day as well:
Photos courtesy of Kaylee, Great Harvest Bakery.
I hope to see some of you on the Best of Vancouver retail tour soon!
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