Back-to-school truths for resilient retailers

Barely two weeks into the holidays, summer is waning fast. Stores have begun their clearance sales in order to make room for “Back to School” inventory that’s already raring to go. Next comes Halloween, then Christmas: the pressure on Canadian retailers never lets up.

And sadly, many retailers lack the strategic and marketing savvy to make the most of their short seasons. “Retail is detail,” store owners say, but short-term trouble shooting always seems to trump longer-term planning and the more purposeful approach that business demands today.

With the crucial Christmas season looming even as retailers strive to sell out the last of their summer lines, now’s a good time to share offer the same products at largely identical prices. Your key to success is to outthink the competition on the details: location, decor, product displays, organization, cleanliness, checkout speed, ease of return, and the knowledge, service and politeness of your staff. “The details we miss would have been our profit,” says Averwater.

Nothing exists in retail that can’t be improved: “Displays can be more attractive and descriptive,” Averwater writes. “Salespeople can know more about the products and about human relations; marketing can deliver a more stimulating message to a more promising audience; selection can be broadened; stock-outs can be reduced; paperwork can be more efficient; customer relationships can be broadened and deepened.” The hard part is finding the energy to keep improving.

Selling is 90% preparation, 10% presentation: “Salespeople need knowledge , training and rehearsal — before helping customers,” Averwater says. Unfortunately, many retailers don’t invest in prep time. But what is the cost when sales staff learn on the job, “searching for information and answers beside our customers, and learning their communication skills from their mistakes?”

There is no magic close: “A customer buys when all the pieces are in place,” Averwater says. “He has a need, the need is correctly identified, suitable products are shown, he feels the price is fair.” Once that happens, there is no one

❚ some outstanding retail tips from one of America’s smartest merchants. Chip Averwater, chair of Amro Music Stores in Memphis, Tenn., is a third-generation retailer, and author of the 2012 book Retail Truths: The Unconventional Wisdom of Retailing.

Here are some of the lessons that Averwater hopes to pass on:

You’ve got to be the best: There’s much more to retail than stocking shelves. “We’ve got to do it better than all our competitors,” writes Averwater. “Each shopper chooses only one store for his purchase, the one he feels offers the best value — not just quality and price but convenience, selection, security, atmosphere, etc. The winner takes all. Second place gets nothing.”

So few ways to succeed, so many ways to fail: If the only way to win is to satisfy customers better than your competitors do, there are innumerable traps waiting to kill your business: bad buying decisions, unmotivated employees, theft and fraud, off-the-mark pricing, inaccurate forecasting, even the weather.

Look for small edges everywhere: Many rival retailers proven way to close the sale. But salespeople can maintain their focus on the buying decision and ask what else needs to be done to facilitate the sale.

Be open and positive about returns: retail is all about customers’ confidence. “Smart retailers don’t reluctantly offer return policies — they promote and advertise them,” Averwater says. Forget about the few who abuse return policies, and focus on the many more who will buy from you based on the assurance that you stand behind what you sell.

Be-backs don’t come back: When a customer says, “I’ll be back,” rookie salespeople count it as a future sale, but veteran retailers know it’s a missed sale. Before the customer walks out, encourage your staff to ask if he or she has been shown the correct product and been given relevant information.

No retailer ever won a battle with a customer: When shoppers ask for too much, flawless logic on your part may win an argument, but not the war. “If we show customers they’re wrong or how much they don’t know, we only embarrass them and increase their unhappiness with us,” notes Averwater. Swallow your pride and make it right, he advises.

While it may be hard to see in the short term, retail is a long-term game.