Tuesday 29 September 2015

#SHOPTALK - SEEING IS BELIEVING...

SHED - seeing is believing...

Creating a good visual impression is a significant advantage if you’re running a shop, but my question is, are your customers seeing what you’re seeing? I can answer that, they’re probably not!

Clearly, whether its work or pleasure I visit lots of shops, so it’s inevitable that I’m always making mental notes about what I’m seeing. Sometimes, if its work, the purpose is to show a business how to improve their retail offer and increase their profitability, at other times it’s just me observing. You can probably guess what I’m looking at, windows, shop layout, merchandising plan, product selection, price point and of course, customer service!  There are other areas of interest but these tend to be the main thoughts at the forefront of my mind.

I’m always surprised when I can see retail businesses loosing money because parts of their offer are poorly communicated. It’s frustrating when you can see where gains can be easily achieved.

Occasionally, it’s very obvious to see where opportunities are missed, money is being lost and where a few tweaks in the right place will increase turnover. On the other hand, some retailers get it just right and every part of their customer facing retail offer is tuned to perfection. In these instances usually the only way to increase turnover and profitability is with creative marketing and well considered buying!

Good visual communication may not be the only key to retail success but it sure is a very important one. Retailers need to be certain that their customers are seeing what they think they are seeing. Visual content is paramount; retailers have to get this right to make it easy for customers to shop their shop. Individually we human beings see things differently and we’re only capable of absorbing so much visual content at any one time, believe me, this is much less than you think!  Weak visual content will deliver the wrong message to your customers. This is not an option if you want to succeed in retail! 

We know there’s always room for betterment but this doesn’t have to be about working harder, just smarter. So I ask you, is there room for improvement in your retail offer? Does your shop deliver a clear visual message? 

I'm sure you would like to see an increase in turnover (without loosing profitability) so this week have a good look at your shop and make sure the visual message you’re conveying to your customers is what you want them to see. In retail there is no room for misinterpretation, seeing needs to be about believing...

All the best

Peter
#visualcommunicator  #retailconsultant  #designer
tel      07907 691711

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