A key
factor of any successful business is to know your customers, including
potential customers. Who is shopping in your store? What do they buy? When do
they buy it? What else would they buy if you sold it? How can you enhance what
they already buy? How can they benefit from buying more of it?
You want
to blend in with the community, not just exist in it. Who lives and works
nearby? Are they older, younger, native-English speakers, or college students?
Are there schools or parks nearby? What kind of employment is in the area?
Get to
know your customers by talking to them. During transactions you can ask them
how they are doing and how they enjoy the store. Ask for suggestions about
service and products. It may surprise you how many people have made great
observations or have perspectives that did not occur to you. Ask them and
yourself what is ideal for them to consume at work and at school.
Don’t take
customer loyalty personally. If their preferences are not among the choices
that you provide, then don’t expect them to buy what they don’t want from the
great little store down the street or around the corner. Let the customer have a say in what kind of
store you are, based on what they say they will buy.
All
customers, no matter the demographic, need space to shop. The general consensus
for ideal space is about 6,000 square feet. Your store needs the space to
accommodate a satisfactory amount of product, and your customers need space to
turn around and take in their options. Unless your smaller space is somehow an
authentic representation or you monopolize a particular product, then you
should seriously consider increasing your space when moving or investing in
additional sites.
No matter
how much space you have, maximizing the use of it is important. Space is a
premium and should be respected. Saving it can be accomplished by using wet,
dry, or cool displays and dispensers. Containers are conducive to organization
and may facilitate inventory maintenance. They also invite your customers to
engage in user-friendly products and make incentive-based buying easier as well
as.
Incentive-based
buying is a good place to apply customer demographic. Incentives are
encouragements. You want to encourage the target customer to buy a specific
thing, and your decisions should be based on who’s buying what and when they
are buying it.
RCS Plastics is here to help you develop an inviting store for your customers. We can help bring organization to your coffee counter, pastry area and even provide you with attractive displays for impulse buys. Be sure to check out all we have to offer today!