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| 2006 | July |
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ED-Central
July has all but come and gone and before we know it kids will be heading back to school. In the stores, all the summer clothes are on sale and the new fall merchandise is moving in. Sometimes it seems like seasonal changes in retail come way too soon, but clearly the method works for retail – an entire industry is built on these and other standard practices. Small retail businesses may struggle to keep up with best practices or know how to place product, hire employees or survey customers in order to maximize sales and remain viable. In this issue of ED-Central, we offer tips and introduce several new articles in the Economic Development Resource Library dedicated to retail best practices for small communities. This is information for you to know and share with small businesses in your communities. Please, let us know if it’s useful and if there are other topics you’d like to see addressed.
Enjoy your summer!
Use Question of the Week to Gather Ideas Have sales associates casually ask customers a specific question. For example, Monday through Friday of a certain week, sales associates could casually ask customers if there is a product they would like to see added to the store. The following Saturday, switch to a new question; perhaps inquire if they had any trouble finding what they were looking for or ask if the store hours are convenient (and if no, what hours would be convenient.)
The questions should be asked as though it were part of the store’s customer service policy. Thus, the answers would be recorded in a notebook near the cash register after the customer left.
Count Heads to Identify Peak Hours Assign an employee to stand at the front of the store at various days and times and pay attention to the people passing by the store. The employee can record the gender and approximate age of passers by; if they looked at the window display; whether or not they come into the store. In addition, it may be important to note if the people passing by where walking casually or if they appeared more focused on reaching a destination. If this is done after each change in the window display, you will gain some ideas on how to improve your window display.
Survey Online for Inexpensive Market Research Gather inexpensive market research and stay in touch with your customers via email. Once you’ve gathered email (through a guest book in the store, perhaps), send an email message asking for assistance in improving customer experiences. You can point customers to a brief (7 questions or less) online survey or put the questions in an email and simply ask them to reply with their responses.
Better Signs for Better Business Large colorful signs are a great way to attract attention to your store but keep in mind that the average customer will have less than five seconds to read it. Signs that are designed to be read from the road, such as those in a window, should have no more than four words on them. Signs that are colorful, have a picture, and/or have movement attract the most attention. In fact, some people go so far as to say that a neon "open" sign is crucial to a retail business. Bottom line is, a store’s signs should be easy to read and fit with the overall theme. Displays to Make the Right Impression Window displays are often the source of first impressions. Take advantage of this by creating a display that has a large sign visible from the road along with merchandise that will catch the attention of people walking by. The window display should have a theme. For example, a display with a summer theme might have mannequins wearing t-shirts, hats, and sunglasses. If the store caters to men and women, it is important to have mannequins dressed for each gender. There could be a beach ball on the floor and a yellow sun suspended from the ceiling with fishing line. The display will be most effective if the windows are clean and not heavily tinted. Once a window display is created, make a point of looking at it every day before the store opens. By doing this, you will be aware of things such as a sign that has fallen. Plan the displays ahead of time so that the window is bare for a minimal amount of time between display changes. By planning carefully, you can avoid having to make more than one trip to purchase items needed to display your products and reduce the amount of time required to change the displays. Many storeowners find it helpful to have a box of items previously used for creating displays. Over time, this will reduce the amount of time and money required to create impressive displays. In Store Signage Draw Customers In Generally speaking, signs closer to the front of the store should be larger and have fewer words. Some of the best signs have a picture on them. A clothing store may have a giant picture of an attractive woman in clothes the store sells off to the right. Off to the left, there may be a similar picture of a man. If there is a section for children, there should be a sign for that area as well. Large pictures often capture the customer's attention more than a sign with words. Some small business owners worry that a large picture will take up too much space. If this is a concern, consider hanging the sign over an aisle in a way so that the bottom is above the top of the shelves. This creates a very eye catching sign. Signs for the restroom and dressing rooms should be easy to spot since many customers will be looking for them. A woman with a young child will appreciate being able to find the restroom without having to hunt for it. A man will put clothing back if he cannot find the dressing room quickly. All the signs in the store should be similar in style and framed unless they are hung. They should also use colors that create a contrast easy for someone with poorer vision to see. This is why so many signs use red and white or black and white. Further back in the store, signs should have slightly more detail. Once the customer has committed to walking toward the back of the store, she is not in as much of a hurry. This makes a good place to put products that are on sale. People will stop and read the sign explaining the sale. Part of the purpose of signs is to convince customers to slow down and look at a particular product. Signs are not the only way to accomplish this. Mirrors will slow a customer down. Even if the customer is not interested in the products near the mirror, she will usually glance at them after looking in the mirror. Some retailers find other creative ways to slow people down. One retailer painted a hopscotch area in front of a tall bookcase. The items located at the bottom of the bookcase were toys which appealed to the kids. The items at the top of the bookcase were children’s clothes which appealed more to the parents. Regardless of the type of arrangement, special attention should be spent on exactly where to put the signs. A difference of two feet can be the difference between many people seeing the sign and very few people seeing the sign. The best place for a sign is where people are all facing one direction and are standing still such as a cash register. These signs should pertain to something that would be a logical next step such as a gift-wrapping, delivery, or shipping merchandise to the customer's home. They should be targeted at the second or third person in the line. The first person is too focused on being ready for her turn to pay attention to any signs. The people behind her are a captive audience that is happy to look at anything to take their mind of the wait. Use signs to encourage impulse buys and make sure products are handy so shoppers don’t have to leave the line to pick up last minute items. One thing the movie rental business has learned is the profitability of beverages and snack food near the cash register. This same concept works in any store targeting tourists since snack food is a staple on most road trips. Candy is a popular type of snack food, but other types of snack food should also be offered. Try to come up with foods that are easy to eat in the car and tie in with your part of the country. Cold drinks such as water and soda are equally important. To be successful selling beverages, the beverages must be in a cooler with a clear or open front that is at eye level. In the summertime, cold drinks are a hit with locals and tourists alike.
About the Author: Allison McKee is a marketing intern with the Texas Engineering Extension Service and currently pursuing her MBA with a focus of marketing brand management at LSU. Information sources for this article include Specialty Shop Retailing by Carol Schroeder & Why We Buy by Paco Underhill.
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