Starting a new retail store is a very critical issue, it needs a large capital funds in order to set up everything in your store. For example, you need to spend money for decoration, you need to spend more on the merchandise you are selling and finally you need to spend money for the displaying fixtures.
Buying mannequins is one of the items that consume a lot of money. Some store owners would think of buying used mannequins but, is this good idea or not. Well, the answer for such question is not that easy because the word "used" includes several categories that come in different prices. Any store owner should make sure of what he is buying in order to be able to save money or else, he will end up paying more money than buying new mannequins.
First of all, you should inspect the quality and the status of the used fixtures and mannequins you are buying. It is imperative to get good quality mannequins or they won't be able to display the items you are selling in a good way. For example, imagine you are buying dented and scratched mannequins for a very low price and you are going to use such mannequins in your store, are they going to be good? The answer is definitely no.
If you are a retail store owner than you need to look at the liquidator stores in order to find those offering used mannequins with good quality. Try aiming for stores that are closing out and selling their stuff. This could be a good source of mannequins that are used but, with good quality. Avoid garage sales because all you would find there would be low grade mannequins.
Buying good quality pre-owned mannequins would save you a lot of money only if you are able to locate good quality ones. So, your primary goal is to find them and to make sure of the quality before you proceed with the purchase.
Before you start your search make sure that you determine how many mannequins you need, how many full length, how many upper half and how many lower half mannequins you need for your store. This is very important because most probably you won't find all what you are looking for in one place. This means you need to collect your mannequins from different stores and locations.
The last point is determining which type of mannequins you should go for. Wooden mannequins show wear and tear easily. A used one of this type would show many dents and scuffs if they have been used before. On the other hand, plastic mannequin is a better choice as they won't show the same level of wear and tear even if they have been used before.
Finally, make sure that you have checked the fixtures of your used mannequins as you may need to buy some new fixtures for the mannequins that you have purchased with a good price. Make sure you are getting a good deal for your mannequins and buy some extra ones as a reserve.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Employment in a Retail
Finding a job vacancy in retail can be a challenge. Many vacancies are not advertised. Those that are are quickly snapped up because of the number of people looking for work. This is why you need a plan to land a retail job.
It takes hard work and commitment to land the job you want, it will rarely just fall into your lap. Like anything good in life, that which you have planned and worked for is more appreciated. This is especially true in landing a retail job since many opportunities fly under the radar.
The following advice not only helps you identify roles, it also helps sell you since that is what is most crucial in finding a job in a retail store, selling yourself, showing that you are the person the business should hire to help them grow the business.
Before you start looking for retail work, get stuck into some preparation. Take your time to think carefully about and work through these four points:
1. What type of retail job are you looking for? What type of retail, the hours, the location and the position within the business? It is important to know exactly what you are looking for.
2. Prepare your documentation package. Your documentation package should contain the information whichsells you. This ought to include an introductory letter, your resume (or CV as it can be called), references from past employment, police or security check (if appropriate to the role) and and other information which sells you.
3. Prepare yourself for making the pitch. Do you look the part for the type of store you want to pitch yourself to? If not, maybe this retail store is not for you. Think about that carefully. There is no point in looking like someone you are not. Alternatively, some simple work could make you look more appealing and appropriate to the business. Remember, it is a buyers market.
4. How will you sell yourself? prepare and rehearse several pitches: the 30 second intro, the two to five minute pitch and the fifteen minute presentation where you reveal your skills and passion for the business. The different pitches will help you prepare for the different situations you encounter. Practise in front of the mirror and with friends who will provide honest feedback.
With preparatory work done, you can turn your attention to actually looking for your ideal retail job. Here are some simple steps to follow:
1. Walk the shopping malls. Look at retail stores from the perspective of an employee. Develop a list of retail stores which interest you. Make sure that your interest in them will make a good and believable story as it is bound to be covered in an interview if you get to that point.
2. Research opportunities online. Research your shortlist of retail stores online. Visit their website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, MySpace page, blogs and any other online forum where you can find out more about them. If appropriate, comment on their blog - a good comment could get their attention.
3. make the move, offer yourself. Visit the retail businesses on your shortlist. Drop off your package and make a brief pitch. Keep your initial contact brief yet memorable - you want the people you com in contact with wanting you working for the business.
4. Follow-up after your initial contact. A day or two after your first contact, make a second contact with the retail store by a different means. If you dropped in on the first contact, follow up with a brief letter. If you first contacted the business by mail, drop in. Keep your follow up light.
The key message about finding a retail job is that you know what you want, have a plan and pursue your goal relentlessly, professionally and with passion. Passion is the key as this is what is more likely to win you the job.
It takes hard work and commitment to land the job you want, it will rarely just fall into your lap. Like anything good in life, that which you have planned and worked for is more appreciated. This is especially true in landing a retail job since many opportunities fly under the radar.
The following advice not only helps you identify roles, it also helps sell you since that is what is most crucial in finding a job in a retail store, selling yourself, showing that you are the person the business should hire to help them grow the business.
Before you start looking for retail work, get stuck into some preparation. Take your time to think carefully about and work through these four points:
1. What type of retail job are you looking for? What type of retail, the hours, the location and the position within the business? It is important to know exactly what you are looking for.
2. Prepare your documentation package. Your documentation package should contain the information whichsells you. This ought to include an introductory letter, your resume (or CV as it can be called), references from past employment, police or security check (if appropriate to the role) and and other information which sells you.
3. Prepare yourself for making the pitch. Do you look the part for the type of store you want to pitch yourself to? If not, maybe this retail store is not for you. Think about that carefully. There is no point in looking like someone you are not. Alternatively, some simple work could make you look more appealing and appropriate to the business. Remember, it is a buyers market.
4. How will you sell yourself? prepare and rehearse several pitches: the 30 second intro, the two to five minute pitch and the fifteen minute presentation where you reveal your skills and passion for the business. The different pitches will help you prepare for the different situations you encounter. Practise in front of the mirror and with friends who will provide honest feedback.
With preparatory work done, you can turn your attention to actually looking for your ideal retail job. Here are some simple steps to follow:
1. Walk the shopping malls. Look at retail stores from the perspective of an employee. Develop a list of retail stores which interest you. Make sure that your interest in them will make a good and believable story as it is bound to be covered in an interview if you get to that point.
2. Research opportunities online. Research your shortlist of retail stores online. Visit their website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, MySpace page, blogs and any other online forum where you can find out more about them. If appropriate, comment on their blog - a good comment could get their attention.
3. make the move, offer yourself. Visit the retail businesses on your shortlist. Drop off your package and make a brief pitch. Keep your initial contact brief yet memorable - you want the people you com in contact with wanting you working for the business.
4. Follow-up after your initial contact. A day or two after your first contact, make a second contact with the retail store by a different means. If you dropped in on the first contact, follow up with a brief letter. If you first contacted the business by mail, drop in. Keep your follow up light.
The key message about finding a retail job is that you know what you want, have a plan and pursue your goal relentlessly, professionally and with passion. Passion is the key as this is what is more likely to win you the job.
Satisfaction Survey
Your customers will have perceptions, impressions, and ideas about your business. What they think about your business can only come from one source and that is their experience of dealing with you. The information they have about your business is very important and it doesn't matter what sort of business you have, the perceptions of your customers deserve to be recognized. Customers can give you direction and ideas about improving their perceptions through better service, better appearance, inventory range, staff training, speed of service, accuracy of service and so on. Without this information you are, at best, guessing what they want.
One of the ways of getting this information so you can apply it to your business, is to conduct a survey. Unfortunately, a lot of the recent surveys that are carried out, have an inherent flaw. The questions, whilst important, can never drill down to the right place. This is because that when you ask a question, the answer often requires another question and it is impossible to anticipate the subsequent question. This means that a written survey form will always fall short in comparison to a verbal discussion with the customer. You can compromise by asking prepared questions and then posing subsequent questions to clarify or to amplify the answers.
Another reason why asking questions face-to-face is more likely to reveal important information is very simple. 85 to 90% of all communication is nonverbal. This means that the written questionnaire or survey form will never pick up this missing communication. The written survey form is used because it is more efficient in gathering a lot of information in a short space of time. However, as you can see, it is severely limited. Interpreting the results of a written survey on customer satisfaction is mainly guesswork or statistical. Either way, the outcome will be of limited value and may be, you should hesitate to make major decisions on the strength of a written survey.
Typical questions in written surveys tend to follow a predictable pattern and include assessments such as, "Please rate the helpfulness of our staff." The writer then has to circle and number between one and five to indicate their rating. "Please tell us how easy it was to find items in our store." And again the customer has to indicate their perception on a scale of 1 to 5.
However, the number one question to ask during a customer satisfaction survey is this, "If you had a magic wand what would you change in this store?" You can imagine that this would create the need for a lot of subsequent questions. Furthermore, this question is best asked face-to-face because of the potential information that can be gathered at this time. It has been suggested that this question should be asked frequently by the manager to people who are leaving the store having completed their purchasing. As you can imagine, it wouldn't take too long to compile a picture of how your customers perceive your business by asking this particular question.
One of the ways of getting this information so you can apply it to your business, is to conduct a survey. Unfortunately, a lot of the recent surveys that are carried out, have an inherent flaw. The questions, whilst important, can never drill down to the right place. This is because that when you ask a question, the answer often requires another question and it is impossible to anticipate the subsequent question. This means that a written survey form will always fall short in comparison to a verbal discussion with the customer. You can compromise by asking prepared questions and then posing subsequent questions to clarify or to amplify the answers.
Another reason why asking questions face-to-face is more likely to reveal important information is very simple. 85 to 90% of all communication is nonverbal. This means that the written questionnaire or survey form will never pick up this missing communication. The written survey form is used because it is more efficient in gathering a lot of information in a short space of time. However, as you can see, it is severely limited. Interpreting the results of a written survey on customer satisfaction is mainly guesswork or statistical. Either way, the outcome will be of limited value and may be, you should hesitate to make major decisions on the strength of a written survey.
Typical questions in written surveys tend to follow a predictable pattern and include assessments such as, "Please rate the helpfulness of our staff." The writer then has to circle and number between one and five to indicate their rating. "Please tell us how easy it was to find items in our store." And again the customer has to indicate their perception on a scale of 1 to 5.
However, the number one question to ask during a customer satisfaction survey is this, "If you had a magic wand what would you change in this store?" You can imagine that this would create the need for a lot of subsequent questions. Furthermore, this question is best asked face-to-face because of the potential information that can be gathered at this time. It has been suggested that this question should be asked frequently by the manager to people who are leaving the store having completed their purchasing. As you can imagine, it wouldn't take too long to compile a picture of how your customers perceive your business by asking this particular question.
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