If there is an upside to the current economic situation it’s the fact that retail business owners and managers must be more vigilant in finding new ways to increase retail sales. Unlike times past, it’s not enough to take a “me too” approach to getting word of what you sell to the public. Instead, owners and managers of retail establishments must be on the constant look out for new and better ways to give the consumer public the perception that they are not only the best, but the only business in town that can fill their needs for what they sell. This is, of course, a tall order, but one that with the right approach can be done. This article will serve as your primer to accomplish this mission.
It All Starts with a Mindset.
You have probably heard the old saying, “Fake it ’till you make it,” and although it has probably gotten well past the point of being trite, it’s true. Before you can create a business that exceeds itself, you have to first decide that you can accomplish just that.
It’s All In the Set Up.
After you firmly establish your mission to grow retail sales, you must create something that will agree with the image you will build. Plainly said, you need to create an establishment that will match the expectations of your business that you want your customers to create when they enter your place of business.
Establish Your Market.
The chances are good that if you have ever entered a business that just seemed like a it was just a jumble of unrelated products and services, it was because the owners and managers had failed to establish one key parameter for their business: a clearly defined market. Without clearly defining who your client is, all you are doing is guesswork.
Plan. Plan. Plan.
It’s been said that a person who fails to plan is planing to fail. It’s true. As much as possible, you need to plan out not only the differences you want for your business, but also the approach you want to achieve
Execute Your Plan.
After you have planned the changes in your business that you wish to promote to the public, the only thing left is to implement your plan. After all, you can only get excited about lifting 300 lbs until you get to the gym. It’s then that you have to have a new source of motivation: your ability to get done what you plan to do. That will be your new excitement.
Debrief.
Any mission executed by a military or police unit is followed by a thorough debriefing and after-action report. Why? It’s simple. It is only by way of a thorough analysis of what happened when the final action took place can you determine what both the benefits and drawbacks were of those actions. The same methodology is true of your business. If your goal was reached, congratulations, but what will you do to keep this trend going? If it was not a success, what will you do to change that outcome in the future? It’s your ability to ask and clearly answer these questions that will change the course of your business for the better.
The final evaluation of all your actions related to increasing sales at your establishment is whether your efforts were successful. Don’t trick your mind into believing that anything else will substitute for accomplishing that goal. Don’t, for example, settle for an “increase in name recognition” or some other effect when your goal was to increase sales. One does not equal the other. On the other hand, if you were successful at increasing your sales, you have accomplished your mission.
