5. Now, deal with that other 80%. Moving goods and services is harder during the in-between season. Herewith, three ideas for dealing with the inventory that's not part of your hit parade.
Lower profit margins. Pricing should be based on what the market will bear, and customers buy from merchants that price below major retailers. The lower margins may be worth the boost in sales, customer retention and reducing inventory.
Bundle products like the big boys. Cindy Brown got the idea from Wal-Mart and Best Buy. "We'd purchase a computer system and it was, 'Buy this component and you'll get a free printer or buy the printer and you'll get a free monitor upgrade,'" says Brown. "So I thought, why can't this work for jewelry?" If a customer buys a pricey necklace, she offers discounts on second and third items.
Go online and auction. Some retailers find the fees associated with eBay or other virtual marketplaces to be a bit of a pain. On the upside, though, it's a way to visually clear your store of slow-moving goods, get new customers for your database and – however painful – obtain broad market feedback.
Dig Deeper: Low Hanging Fruit, Sludge and Everything Else
6. Evaluate your curb appeal. Sometimes, the problem isn't goods or services, but their presentation. That's something Nelson King has learned first-hand, in his earlier career doing store design for Cartier's and now as the owner of White Dog Hill Restaurant in Clinton, Okla.
Named a 2010 "Success Story" by the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center, the restaurant is a labor of love that began in 2000 when King bought a decrepit former country club built in 1925 and began renovating it. Doing much of the work himself, he poured his knowledge of customer-friendly design into the place, creating inviting nooks and giving a distinctive feel to different rooms.
White Dog opened in August 2007 with just two items: a steak and a burger. Yet almost immediately, customers became possessive of the place. "Even very early on, folks would come in and say, 'Oh, that's my table' or 'We want that view over there, it's really us" says Nelson. Fast-forward to 2011 and White Dog is a local institution; so far, every Friday and Saturday except one has been sold out.
The restaurant does not have a website nor any plans for one. But one of the employees set up a Facebook page and posts updates on reservation availability. Which proves that you don't have rush out to hire a pricey architect or web designer. Often, solutions are simple and guided by customer feedback. Was the customer able to find things? Then think of ways to make shopping more inviting and fun: color, coziness, a website with a first-person voice.
Dig Deeper: Five Steps to a Retail Makeover
7. Get the best out of your employees. It's a cliché, but you really do want to foster a sense of family, which breeds initiative. Employee assessment and attitude checks lay the foundation for success.
In a business known for turnover, most of the young staff at White Dog Hill Restaurant has been there since it opened three-and-a-half years ago. Consequently, they know customers and their preferences. They've taken it upon themselves to support White Dog with Facebook and Twitter postings. A former dishwasher is now a bartender with a fan base because of the customized music mixes he plays.
King's management philosophy is, "Every single cog in the place is horribly important. I preach ad nauseum that I can't make the place work without you, and you and you."
Back in the olden days when shops closed at 5 p.m. and owner-employee ties were more formal, teamwork wasn't as essential. But in today's 24/7 retail environment, relationships have to be 24/7.
Dig Deeper: How to Get Feedback From Employees
