In the online shopping era the specialty retail store owner is suffering. It is so easy for would be customers to hop online and get what they want and need without making a dedicated trip to a specialty store. As a specialty retailer, how do you survive this? We have some tips that can help you keep business booming.
Customer service
The base of EVERY good business is customer service. When you make people feel good about spending money, they will want to come back and spend more of it at your store. Every bit of a customer’s shopping experience in your store is affected by customer service, from being greeted at the door, being helped locating items, checking out and everything in between. The friendliness and attitude of your staff will have a major impact on how the customer views your store. So, make sure if your staff is having a bad day (or week) that they leave that at the door. Satisfying customers is their number one job.
Customer relationships
One thing that keeps people coming back again and again is the relationship they’ve built with you and your employees. I frequent my favorite fabric shop more regularly because the women who work there know who I am and always ask how I’m doing, how’s my family, and most importantly “what are you making this week?”. They make me feel at home as I shop. This goes hand in hand with customer service, but building relationships and having emotional ties with customers is what creates brand loyalty.
Sell online
Meet your largest competitors at the only storefront they have. Sell your products online. This works in your favor in a few ways: No longer is it inconvenient to shop at your store when your customers are lacking time or effort to make the dedicated trip, but this also helps loyal customers who have relocated and can no longer pop in for the products they need. In addition to online shopping, you can offer in store pick up. For the customer that just doesn’t have time to come in and shop and certainly doesn’t have a week to wait for their order it can be a huge selling point when choosing you over them.
Manage inventory well
One of the biggest struggles with specialty retailers is inventory. If you have too much that’s not selling, your money is tied up in inventory for who knows how long. Be more perceptive to what is selling and don’t over stock your store with specialty items that don’t sell as quickly.
Offer competitive prices
My favorite thing about specialty retail stores is that they don’t always have a HUGE overhead and can offer items at competitive prices. One of amazon’s biggest selling points used to be that you could find items at way lower prices if you just waited a few days, but that is no longer the case. Specialty retailers are able to compete for customers more easily and you can set your own sales to bring customers in.
Advertise well
Don’t you hate it when a customer comes in and says “I never knew you were here! When did you open?” If you hear this often, or at all, and you’re not a new store, you need to rethink your advertising strategy. Advertise where your target demographic will see it. From billboards to Facebook ads, it’s vital to reach your target audience so that they know you’re there.
Offer hard to get merchandise
Sometimes customers want things that are hard to find or low on stock even online. Offer a few of those items so that your customers know to come to you first. If you don’t have the item they need at the time, offer to special order it. Keep them coming to you for these specialty items instead of turning to your online competitors.
Specialty retail is resilient. If you need funding to help you implement any of these no fail solutions, consider a merchant cash advance from Quikstone Capital Solutions. Quikstone Capital Solutions helps small retail businesses to prosper in an ever changing marketplace.
