Times are tough nowadays, and retailers are feeling the pinch as much as other businesses. However, while working with certain brands, I’m seeing a few habits that, left to fester, will be the death of any business. It’s my duty to point these out to you in a way that’s designed to get your attention. Hang on, because class is now in session.
You insist on having the only opinion about your store. By this I mean all the force-fed pontificating at the consumer about what they should know or feel about your brand, like "Our boutique is all about individuality and a desire to be true to oneself." You know who you are! So what’s the reason why I should come to shop there? What’s in it for me?
Solution: Get with the unique selling proposition already. Invest time and energy into getting inside the heads of your most loyal patrons. Find out enough about them to be able to draw up a profile of the type of person most likely to shop with you. Then examine your competition and see what they don’t offer and in which way they’re not servicing the person most likely to shop with you. Make sure you call out those differences in every marketing tactic you implement so that your target customer knows what’s in it for THEM.
You refuse to take online networking sites seriously. Social media is the wave of the future, and it’s tailor-made for small brands that need to dominate a niche before spreading out. It allows you to microtarget and start authentic relationships with people who are most likely to feel that your brand represents them. But if you don’t do what’s necessary to connect with them online, why would they bother?
Solution: Conduct a small survey with your customers, and ask them where they like to hang out online. Since “birds of a feather flock together,” your likelihood of connecting with groups of people that fit your target customer profile will be greatly increased. Make sure you maintain a consistent, active presence at those sites, and make sure that you build real relationships that show an interest in your customers as human beings, not cash registers with legs.
You will not properly research your competition. So many of you are saying Hot Topix or Intermix or some other brand is your competition. News flash: they’re not. You’re not in the same category as those big brands because you cannot compete on the open market with them.
Your real competition has a good relationship with the sales reps in the region. She goes to the right markets for her niche. Your competition is networking at concerts, at community events, and with every person that walks in the door and is kicking your butt because you’re too proud to roll up your sleeves and make an honest assessment of the situation and go to where your target customers are.
Solution: Do your research and react to the real data from real interactions you have with your customers, not your gut-level reactions. Take the time to network with other boutiques, online if you must, and exchange ideas on loyalty reward programs and other promotions that create a loyal fan base out of the customers you have. Make an honest assessment of where you are today, set proper goals, and stop setting your sights on competing with the chain stores.
The bottom line is that even though people appear to have slowed down their purchasing, they haven’t stopped buying altogether. It’s just that they are not wasting money on things they don’t have a connection with. But you can survive and even thrive if you take the time to understand your niche and build a profile of your most likely customer and use that information to create connections with them. Learn to create a shopping experience for them that will bring them back every time!
