Everyone is familiar with the retail business.
Everywhere you go, there’s some kind of a retail store.
It’s usually much easier to learn and start a retail business, than the other types of businesses.
This also makes the retail business very common and very competitive.
On top of that, the profit margin is low; it’s hard to stand out, keep customers and consistently make sales.
Especially for small retailers like you.
But, it’s not all doom and groom.
If done well, you could still build a strong retail brand – and eventually, the business you want.
Success will rely on your ability to be strategic, innovative and creative – and not just having products to sell.
Here are some few tips to help you do that.
1. pick a niche
Selling everything is a no-no; because no business can sell everything.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a small store or a big supermarket. You simply can’t sell everything under the sun.
So, first things first, pick a niche.
Pick something that you really love selling and is profitable enough to help your chances of success.
And, it should also be something you can build your business on.
It could be clothes, food, groceries, toys, appliances or anything that go with your skills; and you really enjoy and comfortable selling.
2. don’t try to be an ice cream
Avoid trying to sell to everyone.
It’s a big mistake that leads to lots of problems.
Remember, you’re not ice cream; you can’t please everyone.
So, pick a market that you want to target and serve.
Target a specific group of people who:
- are willing to pay for what you’re offering,
- can easily afford it,
- will benefit from your unique shopping experience,
- and will likely increase in numbers – in the near future.
3. don’t just buy and sell. offer a solution
Every business exists to make money by solving problems.
By offering something of value that makes people’s lives better.
Without value, no business can exist.
Besides, shoppers today are spoilt with choices.
They have abundant choices of products to choose from.
So, don’t just offer them products. Offer them a solution.
A solution that:
- solves a shopping problem.
- solves what your target market wants and needs.
- gives people an exciting reason to buy from you – and keep coming back.
- makes your retail store different but better.
4. define your positioning
Shoppers today don’t really care about your store or products.
That’s because, they can buy whatever they want and need at any time, from anywhere and at any store.
Shoppers rather care more about:
- what your business stands for,
- what your business promises,
- and how it consistently deliver on that promise.
Whether it’s quality and good prices; or luxury and expensive prices; convenience and quick service, – or whatever.
That’s why, it’s very important to define your positioning.
Set yourself apart from the others; and let shoppers know exactly what your retail business is about and what it has to offer.
5. offer a remarkable shopping experience
Right now, there’s nothing that you can sell, that no shopper can’t get anywhere else.
So, don’t just get a store and fill it products.
Offer a remarkable shopping experience.
Make sure your shoppers always have a great experience before, during and after they buy from your store.
That is, if you want your shoppers to keep coming back to your store.
6. curate like a museum curator
Filling your shelves with everything you think your shoppers will buy, only creates waste and lose of money.
You don’t need to carry every product under the sun to offer a remarkable shopping experience.
It’s rather about putting together a collection – like a curator.
Always look for things to remove and simplify the number of products your store puts on its shelves.
Make a conscious decision on what should stay and what should go.
Besides, you can always add stuff back in later, if you need to.
So, just stick to what’s truly essential to your shoppers and you’ll be Ok.
7. adapt to changes
Never expect what you’re doing right now to work forever.
Things are always changing in this business.
And what might bring you success today won’t do the same tomorrow.
So, always seek new ways to:
- improve
- be different but better
- deliver on your promises.
And the best way to do that, is to always have a plan in hand.
Especially, a simple marketing plan to keep you on top of your game.
8. don’t try to build markets that don’t exist
For any product to really sell, it’ll first need a large group of people who truly want or need it.
So, never carry any product with the aim of building a market for it.
You can’t force anyone to buy something that they don’t want.
The best approach is to always offer things that are created for people within your target market.
Things your shoppers want to buy.
Selling something no one wants is a waste.
9. always keep up with your customers
Your customers are the market.
They decide whether you sell or not.
So, always understanding what they want and need, is the key to creating a remarkable shopping experience.
Yes, it’s good you know what they need or like today.
But those things won’t last.
They’ll all quickly change come next week or month and even the next change in the weather.
So, be sure to always spend time with your customers to understand the things that make them change their needs, tastes and preferences.
10. play a good pricing game
First off, don’t use your prices as your only advantage.
Any of your competitors can easily match or beat your prices.
Besides, you don’t want to start a price war. It never ends well for everyone.
With that said, you must always set the right prices at the right time.
Your prices must always be right enough to:
- get shoppers excited
- push demand and sales up
- and make you profits
But, to do that, you’ll need more than just one pricing strategy.
You need at least three different pricing strategies to able to always offer the right prices.
11. be proactive in sales
Always display your products beautifully on your shelves and website – or wherever.
But, don’t just sit there, waiting for shoppers to come and buy.
All is for nothing until a sale is made – you need sales to drive your business.
So, you have to be proactive in sales.
Which is also another reason to always have a good marketing plan.
It’ll help excites customers to take action and buy – whether demand is low or high.
12. your favorite word is “traffic”
First off, never set up your store in a neighborhood, just because there are no shops around.
There might be a valid reason why there are no shops around.
And, you shouldn’t set up at a location where your shoppers have to go out of their way before they can buy from you.
You need a location where shoppers can easily access your store.
A location with lots of foot traffic and a captive audience.
13. invest in social media marketing
Social media is a great tool to help you gradually:
- build an audience.
- attract potential buyers,
- turn them into buyers
- and even advocates for your brand.
You could also use social media as part of your unique shopping experience by offering tips and recommendations and so on.
Social media is free and perfect for a small retail store with a tiny budget for advertising.
The only thing you need, is time and lots of relevant content.
But, don’t to try to sell or post sales pitches on your timeline.
You’ll quickly lose your audience by doing that.
14. do mobile marketing
For start, it allows you to engage and nurture people who are already interested in your offers, but not ready to buy.
Thanks to that, you can directly push sales pitches and offers to potential shoppers who are excited to hear from your business.
With that, you can:
- send personalized messages
- do transactions
- sell special offers
- and add another shopping experience to your brand.
15. promote everything
Your retail business is not only selling products; it’s also selling a solution – always remember that.
So, don’t just promote your products or prices.
Promote everything.
Promote your service delivery, sales team, location, customers, community, suppliers, your business – E V E R Y T H I N G
And when I say, “promote everything”, I don’t mean just say or list them.
I mean use those things to tell a story of:
- why your business exists,
- what it promises to your shoppers,
- and why you’re the best store to solve their shopping needs.
16. get your own supply chain
Don’t buy your goods from supermarkets and other big retail stores.
It’ll prevent your business from being unique or offering anything different but better.
Yes, you may be a small retailer; but, building your own supply network will allow you to:
- always deliver on your promises
- have more advantages
- make good profits
So, do your research, find your own suppliers and work with them to become a key part of your operation.
17. put your brand in the little things
Yes, your logo, name, colors and slogan are all part of your brand too.
But then, those things just represent your brand in a visual and sound form.
Your actual brand is rather the essence of your retail store; what it stands for and what it promises to your customers.
So, make sure your customers always feel that essence in every little thing, every time they engage with any part of your business.
First off, that’s the only way to prove you’re who you say, you are.
Plus, it builds trust.
And you need that trust, if you want people to see your store as the best, unique or iconic.
Or else, shoppers will become dissatisfied and see your store as not true to what it stands for and promises.
It’ll break their trust and you’ll easily lose customers.
18. try not to run out
Telling today’s shoppers “we’re out of stock” or “we just ran out those items” is like saying:
“I give you permission to go shop elsewhere and never come back”
You can run out of stock but shoppers today will never run out of other places to shop.
And it always costs money to win them back.
So, try as much as possible to always keep track of your inventory and limit the number of times you run out of stock.
19. do some shopping entertainment
It could be a fun event for a new product launch or sample tasting or a karaoke night or even a free cooking or pottery classes, etc. – on a Saturday or Friday night.
People love fun; but most of all, they love to socialize and feel like they’re part of something or a group.
So, for once a month, host a fun shopping event.
It won’t only pack your store with customers. But it’ll also bring people together and make them feel more connected to your brand.
20. work with small manufacturers
Small manufacturers don’t make excessive demands; and don’t ask for big order purchases before they work with you.
They’re only looking for good retailers to work with (big or small) and also help grow their manufacturing business.
Besides, you can work with them on special projects and they can become one of the key suppliers in your supply chain – which brings us to our next tip.
21. try to carry your own store brand
One of the major benefits of working with small manufacturers is that, you get the chance to design and build your own products from scratch.
It’s a great way for you to offer something very unique from anything on the market and also put your own name on something you’re selling.
Anyways, it’s a strategy that has reduced costs for many big retailers and help put their names on the retail map.
22. tell a visual story and tell it good
Visuals do a lot in retail.
It pleases the sight and drives shoppers’ interests and desire; plus, it also tells a lot about what your small business stands for.
So, always keep your visuals very clean and simple enough to tell the story you want to tell and drive shoppers to buy.
Don’t overload each online post with images or clutter your shelves and window display with products – and you will tell one great story every time.
23. be a local hero
For a small business, your local community is everything – if your community flourishes, you also flourish and vice versa.
Which is why it’s very necessary to be more than just another business in your local community – you must always try to be a local hero.
Always reach out and engage in activities that helps the people in your community – be it economically or socially or politically and so on.
Besides, it bonds people emotionally to your brand and it’s a great way to get free publicity.
24. build a strong team
Trust me, there’s nothing wrong with hiring cheap help for your small retail business.
However, you need people who can play their role in delivering your unique shopping experience.
That’s because, shopping experiences don’t deliver themselves. People deliver shopping experiences.
It’s very important to build a strong team – made up of people who:
- believe in your vision and brand
- have passion for what you do
- have creativity and can be trained
- and will stick around for a while.
Wrapping Up
A lot has changed in the world of retail over the last decade – new tech, new innovations, new marketplaces and more products choices.
In other words, anyone can easily start a retail business today.
Which means you have more and new competition to deal with every single day
And, it also makes it more difficult to build the retail business that you want.
Your best bet is to rely more on your strategies, innovations and your ability to be different – but better.
Small To Sprout 