If your candle shop is out of red candles at this time of year, you may as well tell your customer to shop elsewhere!
Read about our new series of articles designed to help us all be better, more profitable merchants! Bill Shelton has the talent and insights to lead us through these muddy retailing waters with clarity and vision.
Robby Meadows
Nashville Wraps
A good merchant is now checking on all of his staples for the fourth quarter whether it’s everyday or seasonal. History should be your measuring stick. It’s so crazy that most owners don’t use the computer to track these items and yet these are the products they most often run out of when they are needed the most.
All stores survive on two things: REPEAT CUSTOMERS & BEST SELLERS. It’s the best sellers that the repeat customers come in for and usually get overlooked for all the “new items” that are really only speculation vs. tried and true best sellers.
Owners need to look at each department and reorder items the computer shows as “Best Sellers”. If a person comes in for Vanilla candles, a pen refill, or a replacement bulb for their Christmas village, and you are out, that customer is gone. That customer is angry and will not shop the store for anything else. If you have developed a customer for a certain product and they can’t get it during your busy season, they will develop new shopping habits for stores that do have what they want. This sounds so simple, but every one of us has experienced this problem and too many owners downplay its importance. Retail is detail. Pay attention to your customers or they will pay no attention to you!
I actually had this conversation with a retailer yesterday and she asked me to point out some products and areas. After 7 or 8 major areas she got the message and had some staff take some counts and order. Too many owners are scared, and by cutting back too much, they are actually chasing customers away.
Bill Sheldon, President
Creating Lasting Memories
Bill Sheldon Designs Corporation
888-736-2400
[email protected]
P.S.: Don’t forget the front counter. This list includes, wrapping paper, tissue, tape, gift bags, gift tags, mailing supplies, packing materials, extra large shopping bags, roll wrap bags, and any “Front Desk” supplies like register tapes, pens, phone pads, credit slips, gift boxes, and wrap dispensers. See the folks at Nashville Wraps for these items and more.
I find it hard to know what to order when sometimes! I try to keep all my best sellers in stock and it never fails that one customer still comes in when her favorite product is out! It is frustrating but I appreciate the inspiration and I think I will start making a list of must haves and check inventory of these items weekly!
My sentiments exactly. As republican, there have been a few times, the democratic candidate seemed the most qualified and of course that was the way I voted. I am too will make the best of the situation we have in our country. And hopefully we will be pleasantly suprised by the performance of our president elect.
As a small business, I will continue to keep my head up. And I thank you for the words of encouragement.
Nancy
This is so true!
A couple months ago a long time repeat good customer had wanted a perfume so I ordered it. After a couple weeks it still had not arrived and I received an email that the company I purchased from had ran out. So I let my customer know and she ordered another size so we were waiting on that one. For about a week I got caught up doing inventory and hadn’t communicated with her. She bought the perfume from someone else and didn’t stop there.
I have since repaired that relationship. Prior to this she hadn’t bought any beauty products from anyone or anywhere else in over a year. A demonstration of how fragile the relationships we have with our customers. No matter how well they know us or how much they enjoy the service they receive if you don’t have what they are looking for they’ll find it somewhere else and they may never find their way back.
Good post!