Owing and running a small retail store is a big challenge, given the cut-throat competition in the US market.
It is hardly a wonder, then, that retail store managers have a lot on their plate. They have to juggle with all sorts of duties and responsibilities such as customer care, HR, supplies manager, disciplinarian, website editor, social accounts manager … you know what I mean.
As many small businessmen across the USA have discovered the numerous advantages of multi-channel selling, the number day-to-day responsibilities retail store owners have to take is growing bigger.
In this article I shall give you some valuable tips about how you can keep your retail store business afloat and even increase your profits!
Your Staff Needs Positive Encouragement To Stay Focused and Motivated
According to POSQuote.Com, One of your most important functions as a retail store manager is to coordinate, organize and control the everyday work of your staff in such as way as to keep them happy and willing to walk the extra mile for you.
The hard-working ones should get a small pay rise once or twice a year, even though they’ve never asked for it, while those who seem to be lagging behind should be provided with extra training, and maybe some small incentives
Hiring the Right People
Hiring the right people from the start is the single best way to ensure the smooth operation of your retail store business.
Therefore, you should not spare your efforts during the selection process. Make sure to sift through all applications and pick up those who belong to battle-hardened pros in the field of retail sales.
As a store manager, you play a key role in hiring those individuals, and making sure that they are happy to be onboard.
It is a good idea to establish clear expectations for the role during the screening process, and ask candidates hypothetical questions to give you a sense of how they’d react under pressure and other challenging situations in the store that may occur.
Staff Training Is a Perpetual Process
Once you’ve hired the A-Team of retail sales, do not be fooled to think that your job is done. The one thing that most old-hands in the business will never share with you is the fact that training your staff and increasing their qualifications is a never-ending process.
A major part of this is training your staff to to speed up every operation from sales tips to how to keep in-store displays on-brand.
As you simply cannot do without the latest tools and technology, remember to train new employees properly on how to use these applications and hardware. Perhaps the most important piece of tech you’ll want them to master is your POS.
People Management
As a retail store owner, you’ve got to deal with different people all the time – suppliers, accountants, employees. Perhaps it is a good idea to take a serious consideration of your interpersonal skills and maybe sign up for one of those courses that they say may help improve them?
As a manager, you are responsible for the performance of every single employee, so one-to-one meetings should become a regular part of your schedule.
And as much as it’s your job to lead and delegate responsibilities, it’s just as important to remember to listen to your staff. Hear what their day-to-day challenges are and address them accordingly.
Never lend a deaf ear to their ideas and proposals for innovations, because some of these can make you a millionaire overnight!
Shoplifting Plights 36% of The Retail Stores Across The USA
Recent research suggests that over a third of the retail stores across the USA are plighted by constant shoplifters’ raids.
A way out of this conundrum is to install security cameras on the premises. Also, install a panic button right under the till and directly link it to the local police station.
The initial investment in surveillance technology will pay off in just a month or two, you can trust me on that!
Dealing with Internal Theft in Your Retail Store
As much as shoplifting is a threat to your retail store business, so is internal theft. To think that your employees, whom you probably trust with your life, can steal from you is enervating!
Yet, as soon as you realize such an incident has occurred, you must spring into action! First, you should Get your staff involved: Just because you’re the store manager doesn’t mean you have to tackle this issue alone.
Do not be afraid to openly communicate with your staff about what has happened and encourage them to carry out an “internal investigation” among themselves and identify the perpetrator.
If this does not help, call in independent labor mediators and investigators to help you sort this out. Once the culprit is identified, do not hesitate to fire him or her on the grounds of breach of trust. You can even press legal charges against the said employee, if the caused damages are substantial.
The Importance of Inventory
Performing regular inventory checks is essential for the financial health of your retail store business. Fortunately, you can use automated reports to determine which items are selling fast, and which need an extra boost.
Identify the differences between the online sales and the brick-and-mortar ones, and look for opportunities to give sales a boost through creative promotions and email marketing campaigns.
Today’s data-driven world simply cannot do without reliable information channels, so make sure you always receive up-to-date feedback from your customers s are the fastest-growing and most sustainable ones.
POS systems for retail stores can also provide you with some basic understanding of metrics like sell-through rate, sales per square foot, and gross and net profit.
This can help you make more insightful recommendations that make a real difference to your net profit. With the right tech package, you don’t have to be an analytics guru to understand how your retail store business is doing!
Final Thoughts on How To Keep Your Retail Store Running Efficiently
I know how little time you have for reading articles online, and therefore I thank you very much for reading this one! I truly hope that mi tips and comments have helped you obtain a clearer vision of your business’s future!
