Retail business in India is very popular. Most of the Indians purchase goods & services from small and big retailers. This article will help you to improve your retail business. I will discuss how to deal with your customers and competition, managing your online presence, and sustainable long-term strategies for more expansion. So, before going ahead there are some mistakes to be avoided in this business.
Mistake #1: Not building long-term relationships with customers
Many retailers just try to treat their customers as one-time buyers and don’t try to make good relations with them. That’s why most retailers face problems in attracting more customers.
Mistake #2: Bad Customer Experience
A good experience is an ultimate thing that a customer expects to receive. Sometimes there is a lack of skills among the member or they don’t give genuine advice. Also, the service they receive after buying the product is average. Giving the highest customer service should be your ultimate goal. And that brings us to the first point.
Mistake #3: Taking unnecessary loans from investors
Unnecessary loans can take you in huge losses. Because of the pressure of investors, you couldn’t focus on your business and you make short-term gains but a long-term loss these mistakes should not happen.
1. Provide Excellent Customer Experience- Giving a free trial or good experience of your product to your customer is important, give him the best advice for the product he’s looking for. Whatever the customer’s intention is whether he’ll buy or not, your job is to treat him best and building relations with him.
Get their issue resolved within 24 hrs. Help him in every manner so that your shop’s image remains in his mind and that attracts more customers.
2. Technology in the retail business- Using updated technology in your business is necessary as you cannot remember everything. Technology will give you more advice like customer buying behavior, stock management, working of other branches, finance & billing, margin, wastage, Flexi-payment methods, and many other things. Some software is given below, take a look at them.
a) Marg ERP+9 – This software is suitable for every type of business just go and take a demo of it.
b) Vastralaya– This is suitable for only the clothing industry
3. Effective Skills of your Manpower- Training your team members well and making them customer-centric is important. Skills like giving the best-suited product, leaving a good impression in a short period, and maintaining the highest transparency with your consumer are important.
Make the members feel secure like a family. Let them bring innovative ideas and make mistakes that will build your business. A healthy environment, no work pressure, and enjoying the work should be practiced in your business. So, that your foundation will be strong.
How to handle competition in the retail business?
1) In this digital age, many online stores are selling lower than other retail businesses. But if you cannot sell at that price don’t sell, just focus on other products that give you a good margin or your special products.
2) Focus on yourself, not on your competitor. Build your reach through different mediums like a strong customer base, trustworthy team members, and do something special for the customer like arranging extra activities for passive customers, or more warranty from your side. Build more loyal customers that will refer you everywhere.
3) Strong relationships with customers will make the customer stay with you forever. This connection is not available online. Focussing on your business and immediately working on consumer’s feedback can keep you away from the competition.
How to Manage Finance in Retail business?
1. Debt Management- First, clear those debts whose interest rates are high. Don’t take unnecessary loans that are not possible to pay. Take debts with an interest rate lower than your margins. Don’t grow without sufficient margin. Sell assets that are just waste for you. Keep good relations with your supplier to manage your debt properly.
2. Giving Credit- While giving credit to others businesses see his character, past history, reputation in the market. Give credit on high gross margins.
3. Payment of Taxes- Pay your taxes regularly. Get your business licenses and timely fill your GST returns. Assemble new technology that take cares of all the things like stock management, expiry, theft, loans, etc.
4. Inventory turnover- Keep the stocks that have a high turnover ratio. If another product gives you a high margin, see its turnover. Keep the products with high turnover which gives you overall higher profit.
How to market your brand?
1) Marketing Strategies- Use Low-cost marketing ideas to capture consumer’s attention for a long time. Conduct some type of activity in your shop like events on special occasions, celebrating festivals, or gifts for first-time buyers.
Every customer that visit’s your shop should revisit again & again, for that a special contest, personalized service or something extra benefit should be included. If you are just started then you can use the local ad campaign, make your branding everywhere ( like on t-shirts, caps, banners, and overall shop look), and scale gradually
Tell your brand story to your customer and promote it everywhere as Tesla stands for a safe & secure environment, Amazon stands for fast delivery and best service.
2) Ask only 1 question to your customer- Asking only 1 open-ended question allows him to explain his views and a great seller listens to them carefully and builds a relationship.
3) Always move ahead- Getting a certain growth is not enough for your business. Read more, research, and invest your time in your business to achieve sustainable growth. Improve your business areas at a time, avoid multitasking.
How to Expand your retail business in India?
1) First, the retail business should tend to become big in the market and expand widely, don’t just be a king of your area. Take the right steps daily that will lead to great success for your business.
2) While expansion, calculate what amount of capital you will need, and if a loan is needed take the loan in your capacity. Don’t take extra, take calculated risks for your business. Make a good strategy for further expansion to make it successful.
3) Focus on small works daily. Give importance to your customers, employees, and your vendors. This small thing turns out to be the big one in the future. Initially, let the owner serve their customers then you can appoint a trustworthy person who handles ahead.
4) Focus on your internal capabilities and work on them to continue to get the best results. You need to build processes, systems, and a trustworthy team to manage your business so that you focus on the main work.
These were some of the practices that every retailer should follow to make their business successful and expand widely. Share this article with other retailers having problems in managing their business. Thank you for reading my article and see you soon!