How To Kill Your Business Without Even Trying

If you are like most retailers, there are several things you could and should be doing to make your business more profitable. Part of this process is avoiding costly mistakes. Retail experts Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender of Kizer and Bender Speaking! have identified 10 fatal, yet very common mistakes that retailers make. Here are just a few that you might be making in your retail space:

1. Getting strangled by inventory expenses. Old merchandise will clog the system and keep you from buying new and important merchandise. Keep your inventory at a sensible level, liquidate problematic items, and reinvest in new trends and hot sellers. Ask yourself if it’s necessary product or fringe items you can do without. Review the cancellation dates on orders. If possible, cancel orders for product that just doesn’t make sense right now.
2. Allowing your sales floor to become stale. Speed bump displays, power walls, hot spots – refresh these areas at least every two weeks. This will give your store a new look and make older merchandise look fresh. If you’re low on stock, do some creative displays to fill the space.
3. Not holding in-store events. Out-event your competitors with a ladies craft night that features hands-on demos, professional crafters teaching how to use new products and giving hot tips and new uses for old favorites, plus a glass of wine and a pedicure.
4. Allowing your store to become a vending machine. Keep customer service a top priority. Make sure that every single shopper in your store is greeted and then escorted to the product he or she is looking for. Out-service every competitor by doing things in your store just a little bit better than everyone else.
5. Ignoring Kizer and Bender’s “7-Tile Rule.” Whenever anyone working in the store comes within seven floor tiles of a customer, they must acknowledge that customer, no matter how many times they pass them. Owners and managers, hold your own feet to the fire: you have to do it, too. Studies show that customers who are greeted by the owner or manager are up to 12 times more likely to return.

You can learn more about the best retailing practices at the CHA 2009 Summer Convention & Trade Show. To register for the Show and educational sessions, visit www.chashow.org. There you will also see a complete schedule of all Show programs and events. You may be surprised to find out what fatal mistakes you’re making in your store!