Operating a Retail Business

The essence of retailing is buying something and reselling it for a profit.  What you sell, where you sell it, how you price and display it, and who you sell it to are all factors that help make retailing an extremely interesting challenge.

The old retail business expression “Retail is Detail” is as true today as it was 50 years ago and as bright new entrepreneurs enter the retail arena, each one brings a new Detail to Retail. Retailing is about change and if you like change then you will love the retail business.

Although retailing can be fun, if you want to succeed you have to make sure you are on the right track, here is a handy to-do list of the five basic steps you must take to create a successful retail business.

1. Plan Your Business
   
   First of all develop a Business Plan that forces you to document every aspect of your business.  Early in the planning stage, define what type of retail business you want to open and what’s going to make you special. Decide what type of merchandise you want to carry and what type of customers you want to attract, you must also decide where to locate your shop and how to design it to attract those customers.
   
   
2. Validate your ideas
   
   Ask everyone you know what they think of your idea to start a retail business, show them your business plan, but be prepared for negative feedback. Now is the time to talk to as many professionals as possible and contact your local associations that service your industry. Many of these groups can refer you to people who will give you an honest opinion. Obviously now is also the time to share your plans with your banker – even if you do not need to borrow money. After your plans have been ‘validated’ by the appropriate authorities, it’s time to execute them.
   
   
3. Orchestrate your grand opening.
   
   Your next goal is to open the shop. You must set two dates – one for the ‘soft’ opening and the other for the ‘big splash’. For the soft opening simply open the doors and whoever comes in, comes in. Doing this gives you the chance to work out the bugs before the grand opening and no matter how hard you try, preparations usually are not complete by opening day.
   
   
4. Create your routine.
   
   It will take about a year to establish the way your business does things – your policies and procedures are they working in practice? Every time you think about a better way to do something, document it.
   
   
5. Grow your Business.
   
   When the newness of the experience starts to wear off and the start-up phase is complete, it’s time to focus on growing your business. You must now concentrate on advertising, building your brand, buying the right merchandise and attracting the right personnel. In order for your business to stay afloat and maintain your success you must master the art of selling and keep on top of your finances.

Finally customer service will make or break you and there are 21 Rules for Excellent Retail Customer Service, most of them are not that hard to follow. However, they can be hard to follow consistently. To work with customers in retail, take a look at the list and ask yourself how closely you follow the rules.

1. Smile when greeting a customer in person and on the phone.
2. Use age-appropriate greetings, do not refer to older customers and women as ‘guys’.
3. Be proactive and ask how you may be of service.
4. Stay visible and available, but don't hover.
5. Don't turn away, walk away, start to make a phone call, or duck beneath the counter as a cusstomer approaches.
6. The live customer standing in front of you takes precedence over someone calls on the phone.
7. Never judge a book by its cover – all customers deserve attention regardless of their age or appearance.
8. Leave food and beverages in the lunch room.
9. A customer doesn't want to hear about your upcoming holiday.
10. Make any personal phone calls when you're on a break or out of earshot.
11. The correct answer is never "I don't know" unless you add to it, "but I can find out for you."
12. If a customer wants something that isn't on display, go to the stock room and try to find it.
13. If the item isn't in the stock room, offer to call another store or order it.
14. Learn to read body language to see if a customer could use some help.
15. Don't let chatty customers monopolise your time if others are waiting.
16. Call for backup support if lines are forming.
17. Be discrete if a customer's credit card is declined by asking if there is another method of payment he or she would like to use.
18. Never discuss customers in front of other customers – they'll wonder what you're saying about them once they leave.
19. Inspect merchandise before wrapping it to make sure it's not defective or the wrong size.
20. Make sure customers receive everything they've paid for before they leave your store.
21. Smile as you are saying goodbye and encourage the customer to come again.

And here's one more tip: if you can, give people more than what they expect.