Successful retail management, or the control of your brand at a
retail location, is crucial for success. Meeting your customers’ needs and
wants is one of the major ways to increase both your bottom line and customer
retention and brand loyalty. But what does this include? What are we talking
about as far as retail management?
Firstly, what do we mean by retail management? Well, simply, the
management of your brand. When you rely on a retailer for everything from
stocking/restocking shelves to pricing you have to be sure that they are
meeting your expectations. In order to retain as much control as possible in a
situation such as this, knowing what is going on in-store is vital. This is a
key component – make sure that you are able to keep tabs on what is going on on
the ground.
Another important aspect of retail management is distribution resource planning. This includes establishing
inventory control parameters to measure inventory requirements over time. When
you rely on a retailer, you have to make sure that your product is on the
shelf, otherwise it isn’t going to sell. There are many factors requiring
attention when it comes to this planning, including on-hand inventory,
back-ordered demand of a product, required quantity of a product, and
constrained quantity of a product. Keeping on top of these will help ensure
that your stock is where it should be, when it should be there.
When your retail management is effective, this in turn positively
impacts your customer retention and brand reputation. For example, what if a
consumer enters a store intent on purchasing your product but then cannot
locate it in-store or it is not stocked on the shelf. Instead of asking an
employee they may choose your competitor’s product. What if they like your
customer’s product just as much as they like yours? Or what if they feel it
offers the same quality at a lower price? Companies lose, on average, 20% of
their customer base annually, and this is one of the ways that this comes to
pass.
Yet another important factor in effective retail management: social
media community management. When you take advantage of the many benefits
offered by social media, you also have to be aware of the impacts that this can
have. Setting up a Facebook page and developing a following, only to ignore it
once this has been accomplished, can be problematic. Complaints going unanswered or a loss of
interest will reflect poorly on your brand. Keep up with what is going on online.
Treat complaints as a gift – if you respond to customer concerns it shows an
awareness and interest and a commitment to making things better.
Be smart about your retail management – make sure that you are
always aware of what is going on in-store.
Want some help accomplishing this? Storesupport has you covered –
contact us today at 1-877-421-5081.
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