How To Attract More Customers To Your Retail Electronics Store

Looking to attract more customers to your retail store? I think most retail business owners would say yes to this question. Common sense should tell you that the more customers your store has, the more sales it will produce. Rather than relying strictly on word-of-mouth and 'dated' marketing methods, however, you should consider some of the high-tech methods listed above.

Create a Smartphone App

One incredibly effective high-tech solution to attract more customers is to create a smartphone app for your store. Dozens of the country's top retailers currently offer their own apps for Android and/or iOS, allowing them to reach out to a new customer base. There are a couple of different ways to approach an app for your retail store, one of which is to create a game. Smartphone users love to pass the time away with simple games, so this idea is bound to generate some downloads. Another option is to create a smartphone app consisting of sales, promo codes and discount news for your store. Penny-wise shoppers will download and use this app to save money on their next shopping trip.

Of course, some retail store owners may turn their head at the idea of creating a smartphone app simply because they have no previous experience in this field. While coding a functional app is a painstaking process that require skill, you can always hire one of the many companies out there to handle it for you. Don't be afraid to email various app development companies for custom quotes on your project.

Social Media Engagement

If you aren't actively updating your social media networking accounts on a regular basis, you're missing out on of the easiest ways to attract new customers to your retail store. Facebook is a powerful marketing tool that store owners oftentimes overlook. if you haven't done so already, take a few minutes to create a business account here. Use the official name of your retail store so customers can easily find it. Also, be sure to add a custom profile pic and cover page to add more depth and professionalism to your account.

A Facebook page is only useful for retail stores if it's updated frequently. Allowing your page to grow stagnant will discourage customers from viewing it. So, how often should you update your Facebook business page? There's really no easy answer to this question, as it depends on your specific niche, clientele, etc. A good rule of thumb, however, is to update it at least a few times a week. This should keep customers interested and engaged, which also increases the chance of them sharing and 'liking' your posts.

5 of The Biggest Productivity Killers In Retail Stores

Does your retail store or business suffer from a general lack of productivity? There's nothing more frustrating than investing all of your time, money and energy into creating a solid retail business only for your productivity to come a crawl. In the highly competitive world of retail, this can spell disaster for an otherwise profitable business. To learn more about some of the biggest productivity killers in retail stores, keep reading.

#1) Poor Employee Work Ethics

One of the biggest productivity killers in retail stores comes from poor work ethics among employees. Some store owners hire employees based on a 'gut feeling,' without taking the time to analyze their applications and perform in-depth followup interviews. While you may get lucky and find a hard-working employee on occasion, chances are you'll end up with slackers who simply want to earn a paycheck for showing up to work each day. And in turn, this lowers the productivity of your store.

#2) Accounting

Of course, another major productivity killer for retail stores and businesses is accounting. When you're busy analyzing sales, expenses, revenue and profit, it's easy to overlook other steps of your business. Rather than performing all of these operations yourself, a better option is to invest in a professional accountant. The additional money it costs to hire a professional accountant will prove to be well worth it in the long run.

#3) Not Using a Computer System

In today' fast-paced world, there's no reason why any retail store or business should not be using a computer system for performing transactions. Unfortunately, however, some store owners sill prefer to do things the old fashioned way, writing down transactions and customer card numbers by hand. Not only does this take more time, but it also leaves the customer vulnerable to card theft and identify fraud.

#4) Poor Management

A fourth productivity killer in retail stores is poor management. You have to remember that management is there to set an example for other employees to follow. And if they are constantly slacking off, exhibiting an unenthusiastic attitude, or a general lack of professionalism, your entire store will suffer from a loss of productivity.

#5) Taking Personal Calls

Last on our list is taking personal phone calls at work. If you currently allow employees to use their cellphones while working, you may want to reconsider this position. Even if it 'appears' your employees are able to multitask while using their cellphones, it's almost certainly lowering their productivity levels.

Retail Grand Opening Marketing Tips and Ideas

Once your retail store is stocked and ready to go, you'll want to throw a grand opening to inform potential customers about the new business. Overlooking this critical stage could spell disaster for your newly opened store, resulting in a lack of customers and sales. Thankfully, you can set your retail store on the patch to success by throwing a grand opening. To learn more about how to market a retail grand opening event, keep reading.

Am I Ready For a Grand Opening?

Grand openings aren't events that you should rush. If your store isn't completely ready for a wave of eager customers, postpone the event for a future date. So, how do you know if your store is ready? Ask yourself -- is my store 100% complete with all of the products, fixtures and decorative accessories? Throwing a grand opening when work is still being done in your store will send the wrong message to customers and clients. And instead of visiting your store again in the future, they may send their business to one of your competitors.

Perform a thorough inspection of your retail store before throwing a grand opening event, double-checking all of the products, fixtures and displays. If you believe a particular product will be a 'hot seller,' then it's probably a good idea to stock up on it for the grand opening event. Running out of an advertised sale item will undoubtedly upset some customers, so make sure this isn't a problem by stocking up on the appropriate products.

Know Your Target Demographic

Store owners should research their target demographic to determine who exactly they are selling to. Using this information, you can better market and advertise your products, resulting in more customers and higher sales. Don't be afraid to spend some time driving around your store's location to get a better feel for the market. Pay attention to the amount of traffic in the area, competing businesses, nearby highways, etc.

Spread The Message

Retail grand opening events are only successful if people know about them. You can have the most extravagant, well-planned grand opening for your retail store, but it's not going to have much of an effect unless people know about it. This is why it's so important for store owners to invest some of their time and resources into marketing their grand openings.

Here are some effective solutions for marketing a retail grand opening event:

• Mail advertisements
• Phone book advertisements
• Sponsor a local sports team
• Hand out fliers
• Use online marketing platforms
• Social media networking
• Radio commercials
• Television commercials

How To 'Go Green' In Your Retail Store

There are several benefits to creating a 'green' retail store. Owners who place an emphasis on reducing energy and waste will end up saving money on monthly utilities. This alone can yield a savings of thousands of dollars per year. But the real benefit of creating a green store is the positive message it sends to your customers, competitors and your employees. So, how exactly do you create a green retail store? Keep reading to learn how any retail store can accomplish this.

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!

You can't expect to run a green retail store unless you have a proper recycling program in place. Far too many stores and businesses throw away recyclable materials like cardboard, aluminum and plastic without thinking twice. Tossing a couple pieces of plastic or used cardboard boxes into the trashcan may not seem like a big deal, but you have to realize that all of these materials begin to add up over time. Rather than clogging the landfills with unnecessary items, you should implement a recycling program in your retail store. This is a great way to reduce waste while setting a good example for your employees to follow.

A recycling program is only useful if your store's employees follow it. Set up individual bins in a convenient location and inform your workers about the program. You can then contact some of the various recycling companies in your area to schedule a pickup date. Most recycling companies will be more than happy to set up a pickup schedule with your store. And depending on the type of material, you might even receive some financial compensation for your recycling efforts.

Lighting

Store owners should also examine their current lighting situation. Does your store use energy-hogging incandescent bulbs to illuminate the floor? If so, try swapping them out for LED or CFL bulbs. Both of these are energy-efficient alternatives that will reduce your monthly electric bill while lasting longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. It's a common assumption than incandescent light bulbs are the best choice simply because they are the cheapest. While they typically cost less than LEDs and CFLs, incandescent bulbs burn out faster and use far more energy.

Of course, you can also bring in natural light to help illuminate your retail store as well. Try pulling back the curtains so the sunlight beams through the windows. This isn't a suitable replacement for overhead lighting, but it will help to illuminate your store without the use of electricity.

How To Choose Customer-Friendly Fixtures For a Retail Store

Fixtures are an integral part of any retail store or business. The right fixtures will maximize your space while offering a more enjoyable shopping experience for customers. However, the wrong fixtures will limit your display space while clashing with the surrounding elements in your store. This is why it's important for owners to carefully choose their store's fixtures. In this post, we're going to reveal some simple steps on how to choose the best 'customer-friendly' fixtures for a retail store.

Ease of Setup

Unless you want to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a professional contractor, it's recommended that you choose fixtures which are easy to set up. There's nothing more frustrating than finally acquiring your new fixtures only to be faced with the nightmare of trying to piece it together. This is one of the reasons why gondolas are such a popular choice in retail stores. They feature just a couple different parts which connect together to form a simple yet highly effective shelving system.

Space Requirements

Of course, you'll want to take into consideration the space requirements when choosing fixtures for your retail store. For instance, there's no better way to display apparel and fashion accessories than by using a full-body mannequin, but the downside is that mannequins take up a lot of space. Think about how much space you have available in your store and choose the right fixtures to match. If you own an apparel store with limited space, perhaps you could strategically place a couple mannequins up front and use a basic shelving system for the remainder of your product.

Gridwall and Slatwall

Both gridwall and slatwall offer two excellent fixture choices for retails stores. They are easily installed directly on the wall and use a basic hook system to display product. Store owners can move product around to achieve the best fit. If you're looking for an effective way to display product without consuming an unnecessary amount of space, you can't go wrong with either gridwall or slatwall.

Hopefully, this will give you a better understanding as to which fixtures are the best choice for retail stores. The truth is that each and every store has different needs; therefore, it's best to go through all of the available options before making a final choice. Gondolas, slatwall and gridwall are all popular choices that allow store owners to effectively display product without wasting space.

Important Social Media Networking Tips For Retail Businesses

Retail store owners can benefit from the use of social media networking in a number of different ways. If you aren't actively engaging users through social media on a regular basis, you're missing out on a simple yet highly effective way to attract more customers while drawing more exposure to your brand. Whether your store sells apparel, sporting goods, groceries, home furnishings, collectibles, convenience items or practically any other 'retail' product, you should take advantage of the social media's massive reach.

To put the power of social media networking into perspective, an article published on Nielsen.com states that Facebook users alone share over 2.5 billion pieces of content each day. And Facebook is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the various social media networking sites on the net. Once you begin to create accounts on other social sites, you'll boost your exposure even more.

Choosing The Right Social Media Sites

Facebook is by far the most powerful social media networking site available; therefore, you should begin with it. Users can create a 'business page' while logged into their personal account. The process is pretty straight forward and should only take a couple of minutes to complete. Facebook will ask you some basic questions about your business/company/brand. Do your best to enter in the correct information, but don't worry if you are unable to accurately answer some of the questions, as you can always go back later to fill it in.

Of course, Facebook isn't the only social media networking site that's beneficial for retail stores. Here's a short list of our picks for the 'top' social sites:

• Facebook
• Google+
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Include Contact Information

I can't stress enough the importance of adding your retail store's contact information to your various social media accounts. Some customers may try to find your store's phone number or physical address by scanning your social accounts, and if it's not there, they may take their business elsewhere. It only takes a minute or two to add your store's contact information, but doing so could yield more customers and ultimately more sales.

Update Frequently

If there's one thing that ALL successful business social media accounts have in common, it's the simple fact that they are updated frequently. You can't expect your accounts to generate 'buzz' or 'likes' unless you're adding new content to it on a regular basis. Try to get into the habit of updating your accounts at least once every other day. The more you post on your accounts, the better your chance at attracting new friends and followers.

The Do's and Don'ts of Hiring Employees For Your Retail Store

Employees are the backbone of any successful retail store or business. In addition to offering another set of helping hands, they'll represent your store's brand when you aren't along. This is why it's important for owners to choose dedicated, passionate employees who are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty at work. To learn more about the do's and don'ts of hiring employees at a retail store, keep reading.

Don't: Hire on a 'Gut' Feeling

One of the biggest hiring mistakes retail store owners make is hiring candidates based strictly on a 'gut' feeling. It's easy to feel the need to hire a candidate on the spot when he or she maintains a positive and energetic attitude. However, you need to set your feelings aside to perform a more thorough analysis of the candidate. Only then can you decide whether or not they are a good match for your retail store. Basing your hiring decisions strictly off a 'gut' feeling could have disastrous consequences for your business in the long run.

Don't: Under-Hire

Another all-too-common hiring mistake among store owners is not hiring enough workers. Yes, the more workers you hire, the more money you'll have to spend on payroll. However, under-hiring could place you between a rock and a hard place. In the event that one or more of your employees is injured, becomes sick or quits their job, you won't have enough workers to effectively run your store. It's always good to over-hire employees rather than under-hire, so keep this in mind when you're going through the stacks of applications.

Do: Perform a Followup Interview

Performing followup interviews on job candidates will give you a better assessment of their personal traits, work ethics and characteristics. Use this time to ask candidates more about themselves, including both personal and professional goals. Ideally, you should hire candidates who are eager to learn more about your store and work their way up the ladder. This is especially important if you plan to open additional stores in the future, as you'll need someone to manage the current location while you handle the second store.

Do: Ask For a Resume

If you really want to cover all of your bases with hiring employees, ask job candidates to submit a resume. Just because the job is retail business and not office-oriented doesn't make resusmes any less important. On the contrary, resumes offer a more in-depth look at candidates' backgrounds, allowing you to see what type of education they have, where they've worked in the past, character references, etc.

How To Prepare Your Retail Store For The Upcoming Holiday Rush

The holiday season is fast approaching, which means shoppers are going to be out in full force. Most retail store owners report their highest sales during the months of November and December. The single busiest shopping day is the day after Thanksgiving (also known as Black Friday), but retailers can expect huge numbers throughout the remainder of the year. So, how exactly do you prepare for large customer turnouts? Keep reading to learn some important tips to help prepare your retail store for the upcoming holiday season.

Stock Up!

I can't stress enough the importance of stocking up on produce before the holiday season hits. If you wait until the months of November or December, there's a good chance you could find yourself out of stock with certain products. And when a customer visits your store only to discover that you're out of a certain product, guess what they'll do -- yep, go to one of your competitors. When it comes to the retail holiday season, it's better to be over prepared than under. Contact your distributors to order a surplus of product that you expect to sell a lot of this holiday season.

Offer Holiday Sales

Shoppers expect to see huge sales and promotions during the holiday season, so make sure you are incorporating this into your retail store. When customers get a good deal on a certain item or product, they'll likely tell their friends and family members about it, drawing more customers to your store. As the word begins to spread about your store's holiday sales, the customers will keep pouring in through the doors. The bottom line is that you need to give shoppers a reason to choose your store over your competitors, and one of the most effective reasons is through special sales and promotions.

Holiday Marketing Done Right

Of course, you shouldn't overlook the important of marketing this holiday season. Relying strictly on word-of-mouth marketing will only take your business so far; it's up to you as the store's owner to attract shoppers through other mediums. Whether it's sending out advertisements in the mail, setting up promotional booths at local events or even purchasing ad spots on the radio, you need to advertise your store this holiday season. Contrary to what some people may believe, advertising doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. There are dozens of low-cost advertising mediums available, so spend some time researching the available promotional methods to determine which ones are suitable for your business.

5 Questions To Ask Before Opening a Retail Apparel Store

Are you a fashion fanatic who loves to meet and interact with new people on a daily basis? If so, then you might want to consider launching your own retail apparel store. Since people are always in need of clothes, this is one industry that's considered "recession-proof." Launching your own retail apparel store will give you the opportunity to earn a living while helping people achieve greater self-confidence through fashion.

Question #1 - Is The Store Location High Traffic?

If there's one thing you shouldn't try to save money on when opening a retail apparel store it's the location. Sure, there's a good chance that you'll save a couple hundred dollars or more by leasing a store in a hidden part of town that no one knows about, but unfortunately this will hurt your customer base. Spend the extra money to lease a store in a high-traffic location next to a major road or highway.

Question #2 - How Am I Going To Find Employees?

Even if you plan on doing most of the work yourself, you'll still need a couple of employees to run a successful retail apparel store. Perhaps you can place a classified ad in the paper stating that you are looking for hard-working employees for a new retail store. Another option is to place a "help wanted" sign in the front of your store. The bottom line is that you need to find hard-working employees which are dedicated to helping your store succeed.

Question #3 - Are Loans Necessary?

The cost of opening a retail apparel store from the ground up can easily place a heavy burden on your finances. Thankfully, banks and lenders have numerous loan options available for hopeful entrepreneurs looking to launch new businesses. If you don't have 100% of the necessary cash on hand, do some research into the different types of business loans.

Question #4 - Do I Have a Reliable Supplier?

Of course, you can't expect to run a successful retail apparel store without a reliable supplier. And by "reliable" I mean someone you can always count on to deliver the product on time. Some store owners spend countless hours networking with factories and dealers overseas. Having a strong relationship with a good supplier is essential to running a successful apparel store.

Question #5 -  What Kind of Fixtures Do I Need?

A fifth question you should ask yourself is what type of fixtures are required for your apparel store. Setting up half a dozen or so mannequins is an excellent way to show customers exactly how a particular garment looks when worn on the human form, but it's not an effective method for storing large quantities of product. Instead, consider using something like gridwall, slatwall, gondolas, or a combination of the three.