Let’s start with the first four
By Gordon Hecht, YSN Contributor
The retail business may seem simple and easy to your shoppers, neighbors and even some of your employees, but those of us with long-term involvement know it’s hard!
In your Circle of Concern, things you have little or no control over include your competitors, interest rates, the weather, advertising costs and the local economy.
Inside your Circle of Influence — those things over which you have some or total control — lie the Seven Deadly Sins. Address these factors and your business can flourish. Ignore them and you will miss opportunities for growth, profit and comfort.
Many factors can be fixed with little or no cost; others require investment. Business is a game of invest wisely and reap returns.
Deadly Sin No.1: Offer less than Legendary Customer Service.
Ask an owner or manager. They’ll tell you it’s a sin not to give good customer service. The problem is that many companies give good service, and that’s just not good enough. Companies with legendary customer service will win the war for scarce retail dollars.
To be legendary, you must remember that a shopper is not an interruption in our day; they are the reason for our existence. Give them their money’s worth. And a little more. You’ll win every time.
Deadly Sin No. 2: Fail to invest in your building.
Houses and stores have a lot in common. Farmers know to “put the barn before the house,” meaning you must keep the structure where you earn your money in top-notch condition if you want to be able to build your castle.
Starting today, look at your carpet, walls and windows. Chances are if you haven’t painted, steamed or cleaned since 2020, your structure is dirty — and who wants to buy a clean mattress in a dirty store?! Make sure your store sign lights up completely, and if you are lucky enough to have a reader board, be sure the message is timely and changes weekly. Also fix that leaky roof, and keep your restrooms clean and well stocked.
Here is a simple test: Imagine you were going to lease a new building for a store. Would you lease yours?
Deadly Sin No. 3: Never recruit until you need someone.
Take a tip from major retailers, recruiting is a 365-day-a-year job. Walmart, 7-Eleven, McDonald’s and Macy’s recruit every day. It’s sinful for a personnel manager at any of those businesses to not have a folder full of resumes and applications.
It’s time to recruit today if you are:
- Opening another store any time this year.
- Are not 100% delighted with the performance of anyone on your team.
- If you have another competitor opening a store in your market.
- If you don’t have a $500,000 to $1 million writer on your sales team.
You can start recruiting by posting a sign in your window. Then add a recruiting box (“Come Grow with Us, Business is Great”) in every print ad.
Deadly Sin No. 4: Turn your store into your home.
I don’t know about your house, but at the Hecht home we’re not prepared to receive guests 363 days out of the year. We don’t vacuum the floor daily; sometimes there are dishes in the sink; and other times we write “I love you” in the dust on the coffee table.
You and your sales team spend a lot of time in your building, including evenings and weekends. Store owners that allow the front desk to get littered with food wrappers, coffee cups and pop cans (soda cans for those not in the Central Time Zone) signal to customers that they are an interruption, not a reason for existence.
Same goes for playing computer games, having a TV on a news channel, reading the newspaper or not standing up before the customer enters the building. There are a lot of empty hours in the home goods business; try to make them productive — place or write a “thank you” call or card!
Up Next: Three more of the biggest retail blunders.
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.
