"I've heard there's a recession, but I have no plans to join in" Zig Ziglar.
Well, it seems that the media have pretty much succeeded in talking us into a recession. But I subscribe to a more can do approach, I love the quote from Zig Ziglar, who was a pretty interesting guy. So before we all go slightly hysterical....here's a salient fact to remember - Over 90% of the population will not lose their jobs, they will continue working and living, albeit scared witless by the media's portrayal of our economy, but life will go on. I prefer to think of it as "Recession - a new adventure!"
But we are small independent retailers, what can we do that Woolies couldn't?
Firstly, Don't despair - We're all entrepreneurs, that's why we do what we do, when we could choose to work for other people and moan about them. Instead we've decided to take it on the chin, and work it all out for ourselves.
So we need to begin to figure out how to work in this new economy.
Problem is, there's no entrepreneurs school that tells you how to run a business. The number one thing that entrepreneurs get wrong is that we learn by experience (you can substitute mistakes here... - we all know when we want to hire someone with experience, what we really mean is "someone who's b******d it up on someone else's payroll).
Sure, there's academic courses (and I've done a few of those), but they only give you the nuts and bolts, they don't explain how it all fits together. Its like a giant puzzle and even if you get a corner, and you're pretty sure its all blue sky, there's always some bits that just don't fit! Right, enough of the puzzle analogy, here's some real steps that you can take to thrive in a difficult economy.
Here's 11 ways:
1. Definition - Define your niche! Clarity is power. When you know who you are and what you're about, you can market yourself effectively. Are you a specialty or niche store? Are you a one stop shop? Are you a gift shop, or a boutique? You should be able to answer the "who are we? question in a single sentence. Then you can expand it into a paragraph that you tell everyone that you come into contact with.
For example: We are a lifestyle Gift shop, we solve our customers gift buying problems with our fabulous product selection and our fantastic customer service.
Write it on the fridge / on the toilet wall / in your handbag wherever you and your staff will see it constantly!
2. Effective Perspective - Make sure your shop stands out from the myriad of other choices - Step back and take a good long look at it from a customers perspective (Note: this can be really painful) If in doubt, ask passing shoppers for some comments about your shop. Remember that other people don't see it as you do. So ask yourself: Is your message clear? Are your windows displays effective? Does it need painting, a new logo, new lighting? Look for anything that looks incongruous, does the carpet go with the fittings? Etc etc.
3. Customer Service - This really is the numero uno of retailing. This is one area where the independents really really really have a chance to compete with larger stores, where lets face it, the service is not usually the selling point of the stores offer!
People buy from people - and if yours are nice and helpful - you'll get more sales! There's a quotation I love, "People buy the seller, not the salt! But make sure your staff know what they're supposed to be doing, what the targets are? How many sales should take place in an hour, day, week. If you don't already have one, please put an incentive scheme in place. Just try it, you will be amazed.
4. Needs, features and benefits - Firstly establish the customers needs. You can't sell them anything until you know what their needs are? Once you've done this and don't try to skip this vital stage.... Make sure your staff know the difference between features and benefits. The features might be fun, but it's the benefits that sell the products. Ie, this will save you time, money or make you look great, cool or sexy!
5. Sell on Value - In a recession economy people place more emphasis on value ! which is not dissimilar to benefit, ie the value of this product to you is x y z. Make sure your staff can convey the value of products, e.g. if you were selling a stereo, you wouldn't bang on about the 120 features, you'd talk about how cool it would be to imagine yourself experiencing the music, like you've never heard it before, etc.
6. Soundbites - Make sure that you have soundbites to say about each range or collection you sell, so that even the most junior Saturday girl can say something sensible about a product. This also makes staff feel more professional and more likely to approach customers as they don't feel as if they're going to be caught out.
For example: These watches from XXXX they're an Italian company, they are very design orientated. The movements are swiss so you can almost guarantee there'll be no problems with them. They're often featured in fashion magazines. We loved the look of them, that's why we stock them, and they're so popular. You can see from the details why we love them. Let me show you this...
7. Don't lower your prices! The majority of the population don't make their purchasing decision based on prices. They think they do, but in reality they don't. If they did there would be no expensive cars on the roads, we'd all be driving Skodas (you know, the old styles, before they built proper cars!) Only 10-25% of the population decide on price alone, so you should very definitely focus on the other 75-90%. (unless of course you're a £1 shop - then all bets are off on this one)
8. Bundle offers - If you must move stock, bundle items together and make offers, but don't discount. You should be proud of your prices and be able to justify them. Instead of lowering prices, focus on your sales and marketing offers - this is where you have an opportunity for new customers and therefore growth.
9. Mailing list - If you don't already have one, start compiling a database of your customers. It took me 12 years to think of this blinding flash of the obvious. If you don't have a database or mailing list of your customers you'll have to wait for them to come to you, they'll have to negotiate their way past all the other marketing messages that are assailing them on the way to your premises. Its not good odds is it? Once you have a mailing list with very simple technology you can keep in contact with your customers - not too frequently, you don't want to be stalking them so they avoid you in the supermarket, but you do want to be reminding them of your existence!
10. Loyalty cards - There's a good reason why big stores use them - its because they work! In these days of computers and home printers its easy to rustle up a DIY loyalty card - and just try it. You can always refine it further down the line.
11. Extras - Throw in something extra, whether it's a voucher for future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a fantastic genuine smile. People love to get more than they thought they were getting. A gesture really doesn't have to be large to be effective...
Remember the old saying, "Tough times never last. Tough people do!"
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