Five tips for more sales and profit with your store

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I recently spoke with a large number of retailers in the context of an assignment. It didn’t come unexpectedly, but I was shocked by the negative image they shared with me. Declining turnover, decreasing customer loyalty and decreasing margin, while expensive lease contracts are often still concluded in the right time. It is therefore no wonder that more and more colleagues are throwing their heads away.

Of course, the economic crisis is also affecting Dutch retail. And it is difficult to take action against customers who postpone purchases or no longer buy anything. But I dare to say that retailers also partly owe themselves. Too often they do the trick they have been doing for years in the way they have been doing for years. And in a crisis like this, they get it back twice.

Other recipes

This time requires different recipes. Not necessarily complicated situations that require a lot of investment. But there are initiatives that lead to sharper positioning and a better relationship with customers. Five things that help you achieve more sales and profit with your store:

1. Make your store a ‘meeting place’

Shopping is not just buying mechanical stuff. For many people it is an outing, an event. Make your store a part of that outing. Often stores are only designed for the ‘transaction’ of products. A counter and shelves with stuff. That does not contribute to the role of your store in shopping as an outing. A couch, table and some chairs are. With of course a nice cup of coffee. It is of course very nice to offer people something extra. A clothing store can organize a small fashion show or have a stylist give advice on clothing and / or makeup. A do-it-yourself store can offer a ‘small repairs’ work-shop. The possibilities are endless. Result: people stay longer, they like your store, you build a better bond with them. And not to forget: chances are that they will shout to others that your store is so nice! Preferably of course on Twitter or Facebook (see below).

2. Know your client and do not wait until he or she comes to you: go to your client

Knowledge of your customers is crucial, especially at the moment. Collecting data has been taking on increasingly larger forms for years, but not with retailers (except for large supermarkets). A clothing store in my neighborhood shows that it is possible and that it generates money: the owner keeps a small booklet about the preferences of the female customers (Alexandra: long skirts, scarves with wild prints) and then calls those customers as she has something that suits their taste. With that she does something that is at odds with how most retailers act: they don’t know their customers and wait until the customers come to the store. Not handy in my view: right now you have to know customers and go to your customers. By doing that, you as a retailer have contact with your customers again, pays attention (‘You are important’) and also creates a buying moment. So simple and so effective.

3. Be aware of your value!

Shopkeepers flock to the madness of the discounts. The Netherlands no longer has a fixed sale, it is always a sale. This erodes the value of things: discounts unknowingly suggest that things have no or less value and shopkeepers miss out on a huge margin. In addition, people who miss promotions or offers often turn away from a store or provider. The moral of the story: with promotions, discounts and offers, you as a retailer must also be selective. ZARA only has two short periods per year discounts. That is one of the reasons why the brand remains popular, because it does not go along with the madness of every day discount. 
Instead, try to offer value through what I suggest at points 1 and 2.

4. No products, but services

Both research and practice show that, oddly enough, retail is not about products, but increasingly about services. White and brown goods are the best example of this: hardly anything is earned on the devices themselves, but service subscriptions, extra guarantees, etc. If it works here, why not elsewhere in retail? My piano tuner complained about dramatic sales of pianos, but I had to call him three times to get my piano tuned … My diving teacher hardly sells courses or diving gear, but I pointed out to him that he has hundreds of customers who have their equipment every year have to have it checked. Something with which he can achieve a substantial turnover.

Services is also about developing things together with your customers. Why not have a night out with a number of customers to think with them about how you could better respond to their wishes. Interestingly, the question is: what should you do to make them recommend your store to others? Great chance of good ideas, extra sales and recommendations to others. What is stopping you from trying?

5. Social media also work for the store around the corner

Open the average local newspaper and it is full of advertisements from local stores. Just like twenty years ago. Advertisements, however, cost money – and often not little. In addition, they are not selective (anyone can see them, even people who are not relevant to certain stores) and they are not interactive. Social media are free, selective and interactive. In short, something that you as a retailer simply have to do!
Digibetic and afraid of computers and the internet? You can have your child or a smart nephew or girl next door create accounts for Facebook and Twitter. On the web – for example YouTube – you will find all sorts of tips on how to create a Facebook page and get started with social media. In practice it is just a matter of doing, it turns out. The owner of Localheroz from Rotterdam is in any case booking record sales with his clothing store that is definitely not in a prime location. And that in a crisis. How is that possible? Because he is smart with social media, but also does a number of other things from this blog just right.

We do take care of the strategy and the plan for many of our retail customers, but you can do the execution yourself. Social media are much more accessible and easier than many retailers think.

Good luck!

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