Some Keys for Success in a Small Retail Business

You will find that successful small retail business owners do certain things that are present in virtually all successful small retail businesses, and they do them over and over again.  In this article we will explore some of them.

I believe one of the most important practices for any retailer – both small and large – it to think like a customer.  Sound simple, doesn’t it?  Yet it is extremely hard to do.  Most small retail business owners think like small retail business owners.  Most owners are more concerned with the features of their merchandise than the true benefit to their customers.  As an owner, you must learn to stand back from your store and your employees and look at them the same way your customers do.

As a small retail business owner you must shop for your products the same way your customer would shop.  To be a good small retail business owner you must first be a good customer.  Shop your competition!  Look at your competitors with an eye for what they do right and that you could copy and/or improve on.  There’s nothing wrong with being a fast second.  You don’t always have to be first with an idea.  You will find that competitors’ stores and other stores in your category of merchandise can give you lots of new ideas and fresh approaches to merchandising.

Train your employees.  Look at training as an investment in your small retail business because that is exactly what it is.  Well trained employees will pay off in spades for you because they will sell more merchandise for you!  They will also build a “book of business” – a group of customers that will come back to your store on a regular basis and ask for a particular sales associate.  Everyone in retail knows that training is important.  But in retail, the small business owner that makes training a top priority and works with his/her employees in an organized fashion is more successful.  Customers can fell and sense and feel the difference.  You employees will know what to say and so in any situation that comes up.

It is true that turnover in small retail businesses is high.  I’ve had many retailers say to me, “Why train ‘em?  They’re just going to leave.”  My response to that is, “What if they stay?”  Training is a constant battle and as a small retail business owner you must remain vigilant.  You will have to repeat the same messages over and over, but training is something that winners do and that employees as well as you customers appreciate.

I have had some seasoned retailers tell me that you should never sell merchandises for less than you paid for it.  I couldn’t disagree more!  Profit in the small retail business is predicated on turnover in inventory.  No one wants to sell merchandise at below cost, but you “‘gotta do what you ‘gotta do.”  Don’t let your merchandise gather dust.  Turn your investment into something that’s going to sell.  As soon as you see that a item is a slow seller (a dog), move on it.  The first markdown is the cheapest.  Turn the dog into cash and buy something else that will sell.

Some small retail business owners think that a newspaper ad will bring in all the business you need.  That might have been true many years ago, but unfortunately, people don’t read newspapers as much as they once did because folks have so many more places to get information today.

Today, you should have a website.  That is imperative in today’s marketplace, even for the small retail business owner. A web site gives your business credibility as being a real business.  One of the most effective forms of advertising today is direct response marketing (direct mail or e-mail).  Television gets great returns, but the expense of a T V ad is usually prohibitive for most small retail businesses.  Radio is a good option, but you must run an entire campaign on the radio.  It will do you no good to run 5 or 10 spots.  Don’t think about radio unless you have the money to do an entire campaign.