Business is down across India.Retailers - What can you do ?

What did you say today ?

Across the Indian Retail Market, Industries, Brands, Un Brands, have all started feeling the pinch of the drop in walkins to the stores, in a significant manner. Whether they are consumer durable brands, investment categories like the gold jewellers or the stock markets, every thing is down and going down signficantly.

Retailers had seen the bad patch in March, did some recovery in April due to festivals like Akshaya Tritiya. The market seems to be so down, that even my neighbour who is a Doctor is coming home early ! as he sees less patients these days ! And more and more hoardings are blank.

That for me a good thumb rule of businesses being down these days...

We have been discussing many things retailers can do( for the past 50 blogs) , on how Retailers can improve their business at this blog http://www.RetailGurukul.blogspot.com.

Generating walkin through new advertising, new discount schemes dont seem to be working as well as before.

Therefore, we need to " maximise" every walkin to the store. The very definition of walkin to a store is many a times difficult to be agreed upon in national chain stores today, but that is a topic for another day !

Current Situation :-

The Standard method of Greeting is a "smile" and may be a mumbled "How may I help you ", if at all. But in these days of multiple floors of stores , multiple types of "staff" - company, brand, contract, security etc , it is increasing difficult to "standardise" even the greeting at the stores, even in shopping malls like LifeStyle or Central or Shoppers etc leave alone speciality stores of apparel, consumer electronics etc. In fact, until one goes to a particular "shop in shop", the rest of the staff can just walk by, without even bothering to look at you ! You could possibly enter and leave a store, without any one making a direct contact with you !

In such a situation, an article by Jeff Mowatt “The Art of Client Service: Influence with Ease”, Jeffmowatt.com  caught my attention. One of the 5 tips he says is a new method of greeting . And I quote him for his simple easy to understand explanation...                      

by Jeff Mowatt

Greeting Walk-In Customers: Can I help you? That's the typical greeting offered to customers. And the typical response is No thanks, just looking. These tips can ensure that your greeting makes customers want to buy and keep coming back.

Quick, what’s the typical greeting used most often by 60% of retail stores? You’re right if you guessed, “Can I help you?” The visitor’s usual response, “No thanks, just looking.” The problem is the walk-in customer is never “just looking.” They came into the premises because at some level they perceived a need. This greeting only reminds visitors that they’re not here to buy. Lousy selling strategy.

The way you and your front line employees greet walk-in customers has a huge impact on your bottom line. Here are some tips to ensure that you and your employees greet customers in a way that makes them want to buy and keep coming back.

1. For another day !

2 . Ask if they’ve been in beforeOne of the best money making greetings is, “Hi, have you been here before?” Michael Gerber, author of the best seller, The E-myth, says that his clients who have switch from, “Can I help you?” to this greeting have seen sales increase by 16%. While Gerber claims to have no idea why this works so well, I think it’s because this greeting reminds the customer that they’ve been at your business before, so it’s a familiar place. Familiar means safe. Safe means trust. And trust means buy.

“If saying, ‘Hi, have you been here before?’ can increase sales by 16%, then it’s certainly worth a test.”

With this greeting the employee can also add, “Welcome back, we appreciate your coming to see us again.” That provides that all-important recognition. They can ask the customer about what they bought on their last visit and how they like it. That provides the opportunity to provide positive reinforcement and/or clear up any concerns.

If this is the visitor’s first visit, then the employee has a great excuse to show them around, identify needs and point out specials. At any rate, if saying, “Hi, have you been here before?” can increase sales by 16%, then it’s certainly worth a test.

Unquote...

I thought this is a very simple idea, that can be implemented inmediately, without having to change any thing significant.  He quotes another author,  of a 16 % increase in conversions..

While we can argue that, the data is for America and we are in India, this is probably one of the ideas, that actually require "zero money" to try out. And the results are visible at the end of every transaction itself.

Retailers and Sales staff - Change you "Welcome" today..

Are  you ready to try it out with the next customer and let me know what was the result ?

Best of luck...

Shivaram

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Online vs Offline ! What physical retailers can learn from online stores…

Physical stores don’t seem to have picked up one of the fundamental best practices of the online trade. Tracking their walkins . Websites do it all the time ex. click through on their pages, their links and an entire industry has even been built on the pay per click model !

Tracking Walkins in a store.
As we have been observing, the number of stores managed only by employees of the Brand  is ever increasing. As customers becoming increasingly more and more knowledgeable than the staff at the store, as investments increase, the challenges of taking on competition increases, the need to improve the returns of these investments is again increasing every time.

Walkin tracking :-If the marketing budget of the company is divided by the estimated walkins into the store, we would get the “cost per walkin “ number. And this number is likely to surprise the Corporate Office staff as much as the store staff. A value of Rs. 1000 per such consumer for a consumer durable brand is a good indicator. This large Rs.1000 is the money that is being spent to get the “consumer” into the store, whether she ultimately does any shopping or not.

What are retailers doing about this ? The walkin tracking is hardly given the importance that it deserves. Speciality retailers claim a walkin conversion of over 80% and shop in shops or mall counters claim a “check in – conversion ratio of about 35 % to 40 %.

What are current practices and what new options are coming up ?
The current practices include a. an estimate by the store staff b. A “manual walk in counter” by the security which is clicked c. A “auto” clicker in some stores which uses a “beam” of light that counts the walkins. None of this is really accurate.

New options include infrared tracking devices.

Using infrared walk-in tracking technology, stores have found
a. Opportunities in improving the assortment mix ( a mobile store in an business district had a skewed mix towards trendy phones  vs business phones and obviously had poor conversions). By  tracking walk-ins into the both the sections they were able to convert the trendy areas into the business areas and improved the sales
b. A coffee shop in a mall , used to open at 11 am  But by tracking the walk-ins for a continuous 24 hours cycle, they found out that workers coming into work, at the mall would  be a good target and began opening the coffee shop at 8 am . This alone helped increased the business!
Learnings and Results :-Businesses should work to get accurate walk-in and conversion data and evaluate the impact of tracking monitors on their business. After having invested huge sums of money and time in building the store, it is surprising more technological inputs are not being used to track walkins ! which is the fundamental health indicator of any business.

A good analysis of time of walkins, number of walkins, day ( weekdays vs week ends ) all can help improve the business in multiple ways.

Check out more such business improvement ideas daily here on this blog
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Forward this opportunity to your retailer friends…

 

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Retail Metrics - Can they change suddenly ?

Dhirubhai Ambani :-

The story goes, that Dhirubhai Ambani, Reliance Group Founder Chairman, could just put his hand on any machine in his VIMAL textile plant and just by feeling the vibrations, he could tell what was right or wrong with the machine.

I am not so smart, but some thing similar happened to me today. I do a 5 minute run on the tread mill, at my gym, and on an average burn about 50 calories,  but more importantly, I will be sweating by the end and trying to catch my breadth.

Today, I seem to do 50 calories in less than 4 minutes and with hardly any effort ! While I was happy at my improvement, something told me the machine was not moving fast enough . I told my Trainer Irfan about my opinion,  he checked and confirmed, that the machine was not working properly and should be taken down for maintainence.

Learnings for a retail store :-

It is a similar instance in retail as well. Walkins are a very good indicator for a retail business. If a store is getting an average of say 50 customers ( how to measure walkins is a good subject for another day ), then if it either suddenly drops or goes up in explicably ( exceptions are advertising campaigns, weekends, holidays, festivals etc) then it shoud immediately ring alarm bells whose responsibility is to track it . Whether it is the greeter, the CSA, the store manager or the area manager. Sooner or later, you will find out the reason for the abnormal changes in the tracking format.

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Akshaya Tritiya on April 24th.Learning from the jewellers..

Akshaya Tritiya or Akshaya Trithiya is one of the most auspicious days for Hindus. In 2012, Akshaya Tritiya date is April 24. It is celebrated on the third day of the bright half of Vaishakha Maas (Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya or Thadiya). Akshaya Tritiya 2012 is even more auspicious as it falls on Rohini Nakshatra (Rohini star) day. As per the Hindu traditions and culture, this festival is considered as the most significant day to perform sacred deeds (Punya Karya).  In Sanskrit, the meaning of Akshaya is never diminishing. As the meaning says, on the day of Akshaya Tritiya people never feel the dearth of happiness or bliss. Akshaya Tritiya Muhurat 2012-Best time to buy gold or silver on Akshaya Tritiya 2012

The photo below is a jewellery store on the day of Akshaya Tritiya.

The marketing success:-Any body who has been reading newspapers or hearing the radio, could not have missed the bombarding of the Akshaya Tritiya by the jewellers of the city.
As recently as about 5-7 years ago, the festival of Akshaya Tritiya as a harbinger of prosperity was limited to a few jewellers in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it was a very local festival. Realizing the benefits of such a great business opportunity, the jewellers and World Gold Council, began to market it with all their capabilities behind it.
In just a few years, it has actually transformed the industry , with a significant amount of the annual purchases coming in on that day. This year, Akshaya Tritiya (AT) falls on Tuesday the 24th of April.
What opportunities are there for other categories ?
A recent advertisement for the Nano car , has taken a leaf out of the jewellers, and is offering a special scheme for NANO purchases.
What can other retailers to ride on this wave ?

1. At  its simplest, phone up , sms, email your customer base, wishing them a Prosperous Akshaya Tritiya.
2. See if some special offers, ( not just discounts ) can be offered for that one day.
3. Decorate the store in a festival  like atmosphere on the 24th April
4. Discuss with the customers, if they are planning to buy gold and diamond jewellery on this day why and with which jeweller ?
5. Do find the time to go and visit a couple of these jewellers on 24th. You would be amazed at the crowds that are at these stores.
6. Get ready to exploit the next years AT, with the inspiration from the jewellers.
Do share your experiences  http://www.retailgurukul.com  or write to us retailgurukul@gmail.com.

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Anniversaries - Another Business opportunity for Retailers.

Anniversaries were celebrated for long associations of 10, 25 years ! An Anniversary invitation meant, some old couple was celebrating their Silver (25 years) or Golden Jubilee (50 years ) of marriage. No longer, now companies and even Malls have joined in celebrating their anniversaries.
The Royal Meenakshi Mall @Bangalore invited customers to join in its Anniversary Celebrations, with special offers, parties, music, etc  . Guess how old is the Mall. ? All of 1 year . Thought one year meant a Birthday, not an anniversary .

Opportunity:-
The occasion should be converted into a Special Event, to improve the Brand value, Consumer connect, and an overall atmosphere of joy and oneness for the staff at the Mall or Store or Company.
Planning:-1. Form an Core Organizing committee with a Senior person in charge.
2. Negotiate with the many brands for special offer well in advance. With most brands available in many Malls, they are likely to resist making an offer only at one store in the City @ your mall. But advance planning will help them to turn around.
3. A good way to get all brands and consumers  interested is a Lottery with lots of prizes, which will generate a lot of incremental walkin.
4.  See if the food court can offer something special, like a “themes” across various restaurants. This will generate additional footfalls as well, as regular customers will find this also a reason to come in.
5. Set an objective like a walkin increase of 10 % and announce it to all concerned.
6. Monitor the event carefully, and correct for any short comings along the way.
7. Finally, and this is rarely done after the event, get the group together for a “ Review  session on what went right :), what went wrong :( and how to improve it " . Share the results of the objectives.
8. Make it a point to finally invite all the concerned for a special Thank You :) event, and invite all those who have contributed to the success on stage, including the sponsors, support staff. If possible get a VIP for this event. The entire team will remember this  and will support your for the next Anniversary, in 365 days time !

The above planning can also be used for a single store ! In fact it is easier to do .

Share your ideas at www.retailgurukul.com

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