Posted by retailmakeover on July 08, 2011 0 Comments
On your to-do list:
As a store owner you must see your self as a trainer and educator. Product knowledge training insures that your staff can sell more effectively.
As part of your internal systems you should have procedural files, or manuals, that include information on all the products you sell listing their key features and benefits. Stretched to find this info, call your venders or reps.
As part of your weekly training meetings plan to focus on product knowledge info on new products or review existing store merchandise. Your staff should be able to talk with enthusiasm, and confidence, about the products they sell.
On going Product Knowledge Training will do the trick and help increase sales.
Barbara
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Posted by retailmakeover on July 07, 2011 0 Comments
Recently I read a survey that had tracked information on consumers shopping habits . Here's the ugly truth, 67% of consumers polled completely left, or didn’t return to a store because of perceived apathy. Stores seemingly or actually not caring about them as a customer.
That got me thinking about the whole customer experience and the importance of the real connection between you the retail owner and your customers. The relationship.
Service quality is your #1 concern it’s part of the whole customer experience. Retail consumers measure you in the market place and against your competition.
In my daily practice, as Retail Makeover Coach, I’m often asked the question, “How does a retailer find out what the customer experience is in their store?”
The best and easiest way is to ask. Why I want you to do surveys is that it gets you in front of your customer. You get to hear what they think. So what do you ask your customers?
Key Questions For Your Customers:
- Where do you live?
- How often do they come to this general area to shop?
- How often do they come into your store?
- Do they shop for themselves or for gifts?
- Do they like your store set up?
- Is it easy to find things and to move from one place to another?
- Do you carry the products they like?
- Would they like to see something added to your product mix?
- How is your staff? Friendly, knowledgeable, available to help
- Store appearance?
- How would they rate your customer care?
- Product displays?
- Overall shopping experience?
- Would they recommend your store to friends and family?
- Would they like to receive your monthly newsletter?
I believe in regular surveys being done. One a year is a must. You should be able to handle this yourself. Create the form and do the leg work.
Surveys can be administered in many different ways: in store, on line, your monthly newsletter, mailed to your customers home or place of business or by phone. You choose what works best for you. Use a rating system 1-10, 10 being exceptional and 1 very poor.
In getting ready for this blog, I went into different retail stores to pick up their customer care cards. From formats that just ask. How are we doing? Leaving me endless lines to write - to surveys that were full of questions with boxes to tick off. There where on line surveys with a contest attached to it. Or mail me back surveys with a coupon attached to them. So lots of different approached.
As a thank you, you may want to give an in-store coupon for $10, it’s a nice gesture and the customer gets to spend the coupon in your store.
So what do you do with the info you get? You react to it and act on it. If after you do the survey you don’t know how to assess what you need to do. Please contact me - It will be my pleasure to help you.
Barbara
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Posted by retailmakeover on July 06, 2011 0 Comments
Record attendance for the launch of Retail Makeover Summer School Program online. Retailers from across North America (Canada, the U.S., and Mexico), The Caribbean , Europe, and South Africa joined me on Skpe as I taught the first course of the summer program.
Controlling Your Buying.
Thanks for being part of an amazing evening. Don't forget to checkout the rest of my summer courses.
Barbara
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Posted by retailmakeover on July 04, 2011 0 Comments
Take opportunities to learn, retail is changing, and it's changing fast. You need information that will help you adapt to the new retail environment. One of the easiest ways to keep learning is through on-line learning programs like the ones offered at Retail Makeover University.
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The Internet and Skype have made it very easy for teacher and student to come together in the virtual classroom.
I've found, whether I'm teaching a workshop, or delivering information to retailers during one of my RM"U" classes, I make retailers aware to use the information I share, either as a refresher, or as a place to pick up new ideas on how to do things. Either way it's good.
Be a winning retailer and enroll in a class today.
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Take part in the Growth of Online Classrooms in Virtual Space.
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Posted by retailmakeover on July 04, 2011 0 Comments
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http://youtu.be/_QILJaM-ybg
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Posted by retailmakeover on July 01, 2011 0 Comments
http://youtu.be/KrR89fXK9XA
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[caption id="attachment_1008" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Happy Birthday Canada"]
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Posted by retailmakeover on June 30, 2011 0 Comments
Your store must look like you are having a sale. You must change the traffic flow with tables, or fixtures, filled with merchandise.
Setting up the Store:
Your store must not look the same. Pull racks outside and and at the front of the store. Neatness does not count at a time like this. You must create a state of hyper buying. This is not business as usual.
Signage:
Bold exterior signage on your window bold interior signage with the sale message.
Greeter :
Position one of your staff or yourself at the door. Greet customers as they come in and tell them what's going on.
Sale tags:
It's work to re-price. Studies show that retagging increases sales. Indicate the new price - show the old price. Make this happen any way you can. Trust me on this one.
Decorate the store:
It's about making the store look different. Don't miss this one. Balloon and streams not your style, look at the name of the sale and pull ideas for decor out of that.
Have fun:
What does that mean to you. People love to shop at sales. Make them stay longer in your store and shopping by adding to the spirit of it.
Barbara
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Posted by retailmakeover on June 29, 2011 0 Comments
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- Quality Products
- Speed
- Accuracy
- Integrity
- Courtesy
- Commitment
- Helpful attitude
Barbara
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Posted by retailmakeover on June 28, 2011 0 Comments
Draw a circle on a page:
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- Next, place a dot in the middle of the circle – that is your store
- The area you have created by the circle is your market place.
- The average consumer in North America will not travel more than 25 miles or 40 km to shop in your store
- Create your Market Place radius.
- Check your customer contact info and see where your customers travel from.
Very Interesting exercise. More to follow on this topic.
Barbara
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Posted by retailmakeover on June 27, 2011 0 Comments
As a retail specialty store you build your business one client at a time, one interaction at a time. Let's look at achieving your sales goals.
First you need to identify what you projected your sales increases to be this year.
- For my purposes here, and to teach you how to calculate what your add on sales item should be, I will say you were projecting a 20% increase.
- Next what is your average sale value? Again for teaching purposes, I will say $50.
Let's do the add on sales calculation:
- Take my test average sale number of $50 and multiply it by my projected sales increase of 20% . The number we come up with is $10.
- This means, in order to reach our overall year long sales projections of 20%, we will have to show each person that come into our store another item of a minimum of $10.
Now that was easy, the more difficult step is to get your staff to take ownership of your sales goals and making sure they follow through with your add-on sale program each and every time they interact with a customer.
Do your own calculations. Watch out for my next tips on this subject:
- Buying and Merchandising for add on sales program success
- Teaching your staff to sell add on sales items
Barbara
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