How to Increase Retail Sales
The economy is in a slump and retail businesses are the first to suffer. People are afraid to spend their money. But, they will need to buy school clothes and work clothes, so use these tips to ensure that you snag some of these precious sales dollars.
Customer service is your number one concern. If someone has a bad experience in your store, the news will spread. Train your sales team on how to provide good customer service. They should avoid commonly overused phrases and start to see them as sales or branding opportunities. Additionally, negative phrases should have a positive spin. For example, instead of saying, “Hold on for a minute while I look for that” a prepared customer service person would say, “We do keep that in stock, I will be right back with it for you.” There is only a slight difference in what was said, but think about the customer’s impression. In the first statement, the customer is asked to “wait” while the employee “looks”. If it were me, I would think that it could take forever and I would probably leave once the sales person was out of sight.
Merchandise your store in a way that will lure in the right customers. You don’t necessarily want everyone and their dog to come inside. You mainly want the people that may actually spend money to enter. Arrange your displays to target the demographic that you want to enter. If you want higher paying customers, don’t put fluorescent lights and giant sale signs at the door. If you want to clear out old merchandise for cheap, bring your garment racks out onto the sidewalk. People will respond to the mood that you set.
Reduce theft to protect your investment. Lighting, mirrors, strategically placed sales representatives and theft deterrent signs can be very inexpensive and save you loads of money due to losses. Loss prevention should become even more of a priority when the economy is down and people are more willing to take a risk shoplifting.
You may have heard that when sales are down you should be spending more on advertising. This is true, but how much and in what area should it be being spent? If you only have a small advertising budget, you might use it to get information about your competition. Doing some research yourself or paying for a competitive analysis can help you to define your edge and publicize it. You may be able to identify a target market that has gone untapped, problems with your competitions customer service or holes in what the competition offers and what their customers are looking for.
Finally, realize that you can use what you’ve got without spending a dime. If there aren’t many customers in the store, use that time to train employees on high level customer service. Rearrange your store displays and work on new and exciting merchandising. Your store can rotate new inventory towards the front of the store every day if necessary until you figure out what is drawing customers in. Utilize mannequins in your front window to keep the scene changing. Not only will you spark interest, but you will help customers see what all you have to offer.
About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.
Customer service is your number one concern. If someone has a bad experience in your store, the news will spread. Train your sales team on how to provide good customer service. They should avoid commonly overused phrases and start to see them as sales or branding opportunities. Additionally, negative phrases should have a positive spin. For example, instead of saying, “Hold on for a minute while I look for that” a prepared customer service person would say, “We do keep that in stock, I will be right back with it for you.” There is only a slight difference in what was said, but think about the customer’s impression. In the first statement, the customer is asked to “wait” while the employee “looks”. If it were me, I would think that it could take forever and I would probably leave once the sales person was out of sight.
Merchandise your store in a way that will lure in the right customers. You don’t necessarily want everyone and their dog to come inside. You mainly want the people that may actually spend money to enter. Arrange your displays to target the demographic that you want to enter. If you want higher paying customers, don’t put fluorescent lights and giant sale signs at the door. If you want to clear out old merchandise for cheap, bring your garment racks out onto the sidewalk. People will respond to the mood that you set.
Reduce theft to protect your investment. Lighting, mirrors, strategically placed sales representatives and theft deterrent signs can be very inexpensive and save you loads of money due to losses. Loss prevention should become even more of a priority when the economy is down and people are more willing to take a risk shoplifting.
You may have heard that when sales are down you should be spending more on advertising. This is true, but how much and in what area should it be being spent? If you only have a small advertising budget, you might use it to get information about your competition. Doing some research yourself or paying for a competitive analysis can help you to define your edge and publicize it. You may be able to identify a target market that has gone untapped, problems with your competitions customer service or holes in what the competition offers and what their customers are looking for.
Finally, realize that you can use what you’ve got without spending a dime. If there aren’t many customers in the store, use that time to train employees on high level customer service. Rearrange your store displays and work on new and exciting merchandising. Your store can rotate new inventory towards the front of the store every day if necessary until you figure out what is drawing customers in. Utilize mannequins in your front window to keep the scene changing. Not only will you spark interest, but you will help customers see what all you have to offer.
About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.
Labels: customer service, increase retail sales, mannequins, retail sales, sales tips
posted by Ron Maier, Jr. at
8:43 AM
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