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The Giants want to Eat You

Written by: Bob Janet

Article Overview: The big box discounter, the many cable shopping networks and the large chains know they can only attract a very small percentage of each other’s customers. So they are continually after your customers. And they will eat you alive, unless you …Stop reacting and ACT

The Giants want to Eat You

Stop reacting and ACT, with these…

10 ACTION STEPS TO OUT PERFORM THE GIANTS

1. Do not compete on price, You cannot do it and stay in business.
Instead add value by adding benefits and build relationships with your customers.

2. Become 100% Customer Centered: Do not add to the customer's problems by having anything but the greatest service, greatest positive attitude toward servicing the customer, and the greatest ability to solve the customer's problems. You must always; in everything you do, solve and not add to the customer’s problems. Everything you say and do, must be about the customer, not about you.

3. Be the Expert in your market: Be the place that customers think of first for answers about products, financing, installation and service. Salespeople must know everything about the products they sell in order to sell benefits. Being an expert includes looking like an expert, acting like an expert and knowing how and why a product benefits the customer.

4. Make it easy for the customer to buy:
• Arrange all like and related items in the same area.
• Line items up in progressive price, feature and benefit order.
• Use clean, neat signs to direct customers to products and
educate them about your products. Skagg's institute of retail management tells us that a price sign will increase a product's sale by 24%. A benefit sign increases sales by 49%.
• Offer every possible payment plan. Accept cash, all national credit cards,
store credit cards, short and long term financing, same as cash financing,
lay-a-way, you name it. Make shopping at your store faster, easier, more personal, more convenient, and hassle free.

5. Service, Service, Service: Although the giants are adding more and more service to their operations, you can still “out-service” them on their best days. Fast, effective polite 100% Customer-Centered knowledgeable people will impress even the toughest customer. Prompt, fairly priced repair service will win added sales and gain repeat business. Apply all 100% Customer-Centered attitudes to every service opportunity.

6. Get help: You are not alone among the giants. Join local, regional,
and national support groups. Almost every industry now has at least one
buying group. Here's where you'll find special deals, educational
opportunities, availability of private label merchandise of promotional and sale items unavailable to the giants, or items you can carry to be more competitive against the giants. Learn to network among your peers.

7. Advertise & Promote: Build store traffic through different and unusual
promotions. Promotions other than the normal holiday sales. Don't try to
out advertise the giants in their media, because you can't do it. Advertise in different places where the giants don't. Use telephone marketing, direct mail, trade shows and exhibits, free seminars, car bumpers, park benches, and anything else you can think of. (Contact me for Special Report, 112, “New Low Cost Places to Advertise.”)

Consider your advertising as an investment in your business, not an expense. If you budget your advertising as a percentage of sales you will increase advertising in high selling periods and reduce it in slower selling periods. It is less expensive to increase sales during good selling periods than in slow selling periods.

8. Survey your customers: Find out why your customers are shopping at your store. Ask them where they heard of you or the promotion you are running. Question them as to what they like and dislike about your operation. Then use the answers to plan your attack on the market.

9. Clean and neat: The giants are new, clean and neat. Keep your store
clean inside and out. The aisles, displays, pricing, counters, floors,
walls, windows, ceilings, everything including personnel must be clean. Make it easy for the customers to find what you sell. Make the pricing easy to read and understand. Make sure your people stand out from the customers. This is easily accomplished by being professional looking and using name tags. (Contact me for Special Report # 133, “Clean It Up.”)

10. Stay in contact with your customers: If they bought from you once, they will buy from you over and over again and send their friends and family to you. Contact your customers at least once a month with special sales and store announcements,

And remember, “Probably no one giant is going to come along and eat you. It's a swarm of gnats in the form of complacency and fear that may ultimately take you down."

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Article Tags: action steps, benefit, giants, hassle, national credit cards, positive attitude, price feature, relationships, retail management, salespeople, service service service, shopping, signs, store credit cards



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