Top 5 Tips for Successful Retail Start-Ups
John McE writes articles on a number of subjects including credit card processing and business start up advice. For more about this see http://www.cardsave.net/
Preparation is very important. This is in the form of business planning, cost evaluations and cash flow, as well as making sure your shelves are always fully stocked. Buying in bulk and buying at wholesale prices should go hand-in-hand. When you buy bulk items for wholesale prices, you’re getting large quantities of items for a lower price than you’d spend if you bought the items individually or in smaller quantities and it’s important to keep on top of this so that you save money on buying your stock and don’t miss potential sales by always having full shelves.
Location – Another very important point is the location. Even if you have the best products in the world, if no one can find your shop then they’ll all go to waste. So choosing the right site for your store is a big decision, and of course the better the location i.e. the more central it is the more expensive rent will be, so finding a balance between the two isn’t always easy. Choose a place with a high traffic count, new retail stores rarely have a big following in the early days so you want to attract as many passing customers as you can.
Marketing – Getting the marketing right is essential to draw attention to your new service. How you do this highly depends on your target demographic and the resources available to you. A list of contacts for an email newsletter is an excellent way of directly talking to your customers, informing them of discounts, new merchandise and special attractions for very little cost to you. Utilising online tools such as social networks and blogs is an excellent way to raise awareness of your brand for relatively low costs.
Finance – this refers to not just the capital you’ve invested from whatever sources such as the bank, friends or family but also how you handle on going finances in store. Getting the payment terminals in your shop running smoothly should be a top priority well before you’ve opened your doors. For your business to thrive it is vital that the credit card processing system works properly and although it may sound blatantly obvious it’s an issue that has lost retail outlets thousands of pounds due to even just temporary glitches with the system.
Keep ahead of the trends – ensure you stay abreast of the latest fashions as you never know what latest fad may help you sell more merchandise. Of course this won’t be as relevant for antique dealers, but keeping up to date with what’s ‘in’ can at least give you new ideas for staying in touch with your current customers or attracting new ones depending on their demographic.
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