A retail business is one of the favourite ideas for people who want to start a business after retirement in Nigeria. Setting up a pharmacy, clothing store, supermarket, or corner shop seems like an easy way to make money.
This is because people think that all you need to succeed is for the owner to be present in the store.
So, you invest your savings in setting up a retail business and wait for the profits to start rolling in. Instead, what you see are low sales and missing items. At the end of the year, you cannot even account for the money invested in the business. ☹
Nobody wants that type of situation.
This blog post will share three (3) insider secrets you can use to increase your sales.
Table of content
- The location of your store matters.
- Make sure that you offer good customer service.
- Put in place a good recordkeeping practice.
The location of your store matters
As real estate people say, location is everything. Therefore, the success of your retail business will depend to a large extent on where you choose to position it.
The first factor to consider when you are choosing a location is your customer. Your site will determine the type of customers you will attract. For example, if you are in a housing estate, most of your customers will be people who shop for their families.
When you choose a location for your retail business, consider the following factors:
- Human/ vehicle traffic.
- Parking space.
- Security
Human/ vehicle traffic
A place with heavy foot or vehicle traffic will likely succeed more than a location in a quiet street. It would help if you chose an area where there is heavy traffic of cars or people. A good parking space will increase the number of people who will patronize your business.
Parking space
You should also make sure that you have a parking space attached to your store where your customers can easily park. Many of us drive past stores that we wanted to buy things from because there is no parking space. No one wants to park their car by the side of the road where it can be bashed or towed.
Security
The security of the location is also an essential factor in attracting customers. For example, nobody will stop by if your store is in an area where many robberies occur.
The internal security of your store also matters. For example, it would help if you considered installing a CCTV to discourage your workers or pretend customers from stealing from you.
If you can’t afford a CCTV when you begin your business, you can arrange your display shelves so that your staff always have a view of customers if your store is a small one.
Recommended Reading: Top 3 reasons why you should consider registering your retirement business with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria.
Make sure that you offer good Customer service.
Secondly, make sure that you offer your customers good service. This is one of the things that makes customers happy. Happy customers will always come back. Oh, and they will bring other customers. So how do you make your customers happy?
The first thing is the way your staff treats them. You must train your staff on how to speak to customers. You should also train your team on how to talk to an unpleasant customer.
The second way to make your customers happy is to introduce a loyalty program to reward regular customers. A customer loyalty program is a system to reward people who buy from your store regularly.
You don’t have to wait till the end of the year before offering your customers something in exchange for their loyalty.
You can give them discounts or gifts for a certain number of times they buy from you. You can also offer discounts if they spend a large amount of money in your store. It will make them feel appreciated and increase the number of times they come to your store.
The third way to make your customers happy is to introduce a customer feedback system.
A feedback system allows your customers to send their complaints (if any) to you. The feedback system is also a way to get information on how to improve your business.
Recommended Reading: 51 businesses that you can start with 2 Million Naira or less when you retire in Nigeria.
Put in place a good recordkeeping practice
The third insider secret for a profitable retail business is to have a good system of keeping records. A system of keeping records will help you keep track of:
- How much do you sell daily? Financial records will help you keep track of the amount of money that enters your business daily.
- How much is in stock and the expiry date of products? Regular stock-taking will help you reduce the problem of expired food items. You will also avoid running out of stock for fast-moving consumer items like soap and cereal. You should identify products that people buy a lot and make sure that you always have them in inventory.
Bonus Tip: E-commerce/online adverts.
We live in a digital era where any business owner who wants to survive must be online. Therefore, you should have a website for your business. Your website should have an e-commerce store. The store is where your customers can place their orders online.
Finally
You can improve the customer service of your business by using engaging a mystery shopper. A mystery shopper is someone who disguises as a customer to experience the quality of service in your business. The mystery shopper should come to your store when you are not around.
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