Recently I had the chance to meet some amazing people who have a different type of retail. These retailers regularly attend markets or have pop up stores, they don’t have long term bricks and mortar stores. [Tweet "How To Make Your Market Stall As Effective As A Retail Shopfront"] Our discussion turned to how you can make the most of these events and ensure that you give your customer a professional experience they will come back for, along with boosting your business systems.
If you’re not quite at the stage of opening your retail store, you can still build the foundations a professional retailer, this episode is for you.
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So, just how can you ensure that you give your customer a professional experience they will come back for, and boost your business systems?
My first suggestion to these ladies, and yourself, is to implement a point of sale system. Yes, it’s a cost, but it is worth SO much money to you, trust me. All cloud based point of sale systems can be used with a tablet or iPad.
By utilising a point of sale system, you can accurately track the inventory that gets sold at each event. This will allow you to trend and forecast what products, and how much of each, you should take to each event.
A point of sale system will also allow you to email receipts to our customer. I mean, when was the last time a market stall holder offered you a digital receipt? As a customer, that sends a message that you’re professional and instils confidence in future purchasing. And of course, you’ll need an email address to send that receipt to, won’t you. Oh, an email address, yes please. As long as you let a customer know that the emailed receipt also allows them insider access to future offerings, you’re able to add them into your customer database, and if you haven’t watched previous episodes, let me take a moment to remind you, that your customer database is THE most valuable part of your business. [Tweet "When was the last time a market stall holder sent you a digital receipt?"] Next up, have an online store. Apart from the obvious of bringing in relatively passive income, a website allows you to advertise where you’ll be next, and what you’ll have with you.
You can also use your website to develop a relationship with your customer, let them get to know who you are and what you do.
My favourite point of sale system comes with an inbuilt website. Simple, easy to track inventory, and updated in real time, no matter where you’re selling. You can find out my recommendation in today’s download. Do you have regular customers? By adding them into your point of sale database, you can allow them to order online and pick up on the day. Who doesn’t want a guaranteed sale?
Take customer service up a notch and provide a gift registry.
Say what, Sal, are you crazy, a gift registry at a market stall? Well, Why not? [Tweet "Can a market stall holder offer a gift registry?"] If you attend markets on a regular basis, why can’t you offer a gift registry?
When you’ve provided amazing customer service, your customer will have that trust that you’ll be around for a while.
Add the online store into the mix, and you’re a retailer to love. If the idea of a gift registry is just a little bit too out there for you, you can still ask customers to recommend you to prospective gift buyers. Simply look up the past purchases of a client and put together a pack they would love. Again, how many other stall holders would offer this service? This week’s download not only includes my favourite point of sale recommendation, but also 9 simple strategies you can implement to provide a professional customer experience, PLUS 6 systems you can start putting in place to grow your hatchling business. Interested in a FREE 30 day trial of my favourite Point of Sale System? Simply click here.
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