Make your retail business rock steady
By Gordon Hecht, YSN Contributor
Whether you are writing, fixing something, cooking or even reading, few things are more frustrating than a wobbly work surface. Everything rolls all over the place and you gotta work twice as hard to get half as much done.
At a minimum, if you were designing a stable table or desk, you’d include four legs. Each leg would bear equal weight distribution.
It’s not that different from a logical business plan. You probably have the components to build a rock-solid retail business already; the task is to make sure they are all the same size and of equal importance. There’s no need to be on shaky ground with a balanced plan.
The First Leg
Take care of the doors. Even if you only have one retail location, you have two doors to maintain. The first is the physical door to your store entrance. The front door of your store extends past the parking lot all the way to the street. To attract drive-by traffic you need an attractive entrance. That means a freshly painted and completely lit and lettered sign with up-to-date promotions on your reader board.
Next is the parking lot and sidewalk. If they look old and weathered, then your shopper is expecting the same look in your store. Clean glass with limited decals will look more inviting to guests than sun bleached and cracked signs that are taped to the window.
The second door is your digital door, also known as that annoying Inter World Wide Webby thing. Yes, you’re required to maintain that just like your physical front door.
Fresh and current promotions, new attractive signage and essential information like your store phone numbers and addresses with landmark locators (“across from Ginorous-Mart”).
Here’s the wild thing: All advertising you do drives people to your website, not your shop. Shoppers are far more likely to see your digital door before your physical door! If that door is boring, they won’t move forward towards transitioning from shopper to buyer.
The Second Leg
One costs $2.50 and the other costs $250, but they both have mastered the second leg. Taco Bell and Disney World are on opposite ends of the price spectrum, but they both attract customers with bright displays, a friendly greeting and something new. While one is mixing talking mice with space people and the other creates yet another combination with cheese, beans, rice and tortillas, they both drive loyalty and new visitors by offering a customer experience.
Your store can’t have fireworks and a parade or even free drink refills, but you can offer a unique shopping experience. It starts with a warm greeting at the door, mixed with a little showmanship (entertainment and lively music) to enhance your appliance or mattress trials.
Just like Disney, you should ensure that all your cast members are dressed and groomed neatly and have a goal of providing a memorable experience. It’s also OK to mimic Taco Bell, which will tailor their offerings to match their guests’ desires. Delete this ingredient, double something else, it’s all good at The ’Bell. They even offer some packages to give their shoppers some value. Surely you can do that!
The Third Leg
Key Bank, a large multi-state financial institution, once did a survey to see what services their customers wanted from a bank. They already offered checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, car loans, home loans, investment and retirement accounts and foreign currency exchanges. Here’s what they found out is most important to their customers: People wanted to be sure that when they put their money in the bank, it would be easy to get it out! In a few short words, their customers expected them to do what they said they were going to do.
It seems simple, but many retailers, online or in-store, break that promise every day. When you say a purchase will be delivered in 10 days, they expect it in 10 days! If you discuss a hassle-free exchange program, then you better remove the roadblocks when you’re called upon to change out their purchase.
Selling is easy, delivery is hard! We collect money in the front of the house but we earn it in the back. Be sure your operations team can live up to the promises of your sales team. Make this your rule: under promise and over deliver.
The Fourth Leg
This leg is the one that grows your business. It’s called follow up and referrals. The gentleman who sold me my last suit sent a thank you card and called to see if it still fits well. But the dude who sold me my last new car forgot about me as soon as he saw the taillights. Customer Loyalty is reciprocal. You gotta give it to get it.
There is plenty of time in our retail lives to contact a customer after delivery. Just to see how they like it. Chances are good that their new items suit them fine. On the rare occasion that something doesn’t meet their expectations, the follow-up call can help you fix the issue before it appears on Facebook, Instagram and Google Reviews. Remember, it’s easier to put out a burning bush than a forest fire!
Another reason for follow up is to ask for referrals. Legendary customer service is like common sense; neither is very common. When you have done a remarkable job of fulfilling your customer’s needs, you have earned the right to ask them to remark about it. A simple request like “If you’ve enjoyed working with me as much as I’ve enjoyed working with you, I’d appreciate your telling a friend or neighbor about our store” can gain you untold additional store traffic. You can even ask for a review on Facebook, Google or Yelp.
Start by creating a QR code that leads to your Google Review page. The ideal time to get a review is when the shopper is in your store. Some savvy retailers offer an incentive for reviews on the spot.
Retail is detail. There are a lot of moving parts that need to be worked on daily. Starting with a four-leg foundation will help you deliver solid results. Look for your missing leg, or the one that comes up short and remove that shaky wobble.

Gordon Hecht is a business growth and development consultant to the retail home furnishings industry and a regular contributor to YSN. You can reach him at Gordon.Hecht@aol.com.