Consistency in your image is crucial

Communicating a consistent message is absolutely imperative to any business, from your marketing materials, to your on line marketing to the look of your business.  That includes the visual layout of the store, the cleanliness of the store and the attire of your staff.  Many small businesses just kind of wing it when it comes to marketing, not really knowing what to do when and not having a lot of money to play with.  But no matter what kind of business you’re in, the first impression a potential customer has when they walk into your business is an impression that will stay with them.  So what kind of impression do want to make?

·         Merchandise your products in a way that is appealing to your target market.  For example, a discount store can put racks of clearance stuff out front and centre because that is what that customer is looking for.  As soon as you put a clearance rack in a store that is geared to the wealthy and affluent customer, they’ll be insulted and walk out.

·         Make sure your company signage reflects your brand.  It doesn’t have to have your logo all over it.  It just needs to reflect the core values of the company.  I have a client that sells all natural products to a very elite target market who expect exceptional quality and service at any cost.  With this client, we needed to develop different sets of signage, some that could be used year round and some that could be used seasonally or during a particular occasion or event.  The signage that she uses everyday shows the products along with a description of the product and the manufacturer.  The other signage reflects the feel of the store with earth tone colours and pictures, without overdoing the “natural” theme or plastering her logo everywhere.

Creating that consistent image doesn’t need to cost a ton of money.  Get creative with decorating your place of business.  Better yet, make sure your place of business is clean and inviting.  Make sure your staff is dressed professionally and they greet your customers with a smile as soon as they walk in the door.  The last thing you want is for your customers have a consistently “bad” image of your company.

Is Your Merchandise Safe?

Sure, your store visuals need to look pretty, but have you really given much thought into the loss prevention side of merchandising? I recently met with a client for the very first time.  The instant I walked into that store, I noticed several things that needed to be changed; not for aesthetics purposes but for loss prevention reasons.  As soon as you walked in the door, there was short slat wall with a rack of pyjamas on it.  Now, the store has 3 levels to it and they generally only staff one employee at a time in there, so the opportunity for someone to step in that front door and swipe all of those jammies is huge. 

I hate to say it, but I’ve seen it time and time again, where people get desperate, especially at this time of year.  If they spot an opportunity to take something and think they can get away with it, they will.  Here are some tips for safeguarding your merchandise while still making your store look nice.

·         Don’t merchandise anything too close to the entrance of the store.

·         If your store is an odd shape, with sections that are sometimes difficult to monitor, consider filling that space with large signage, mannequins or decorative stuff like empty boxes wrapped like Christmas presents.  For example, if you have a sporting goods store, put a snowmobile in there.  Nobody’s going to steal that!  The point here is to put something in there that isn’t going to be easily swiped or if it does, there isn’t any monetary loss from it.

·         Keep the change room area free of displays.  Things can go missing from there very easily unless you have a staff member delegated to monitoring that area at all times.

·         As you’re going around throughout the day straightening things out, putting items away and organizing sections, do a quick check to make sure there aren’t empty spaces where there shouldn’t be, empty hangers or items stuffed under racks.  If there are, that’s an area that will need to be more closely monitored in the future.

·        Be careful where you put small, easy to pocket items.  I’ve seen stores with slat wall on the front of their cash desks.  Big mistake!!  Putting small items there is easy target for someone to easily slip it into their purse or shopping bag all while they’re casually chatting with the salesperson who is ringing up their actual “purchases”.

I could go on and on about loss prevention merchandising, but this gives you a good start in terms of things to think about when designing the layout of your store or place of business.  The majority of us would never dream to take anything from a store, but unfortunately there are people who do.  So you need to think like the thief when displaying product.  Think about how easy you’re making it for them.

One of the things I was most proud of when I was managing a clothing store was when our store was recognized from head office because we had the lowest inventory percent loss in the entire company.  Not only was my staff diligent about shipping and receiving product accurately to reflect accurate inventory counts in the computer system, but we were very creative in our visual merchandising strategies.  We sort of followed the visual sets sent to us by head office, but we always had to get creative because our store was an odd shape.  I was really excited to share with my staff the results from our inventory count.

You too can have the same results.  Take a few minutes to draw out a diagram of your store and decide where you want to position things.  When you’re done, step back and look at it from the thief’s point of view.  Adjust things accordingly and you’ll have a store that is a deterrent to thieves. 

The Importance of Visual Merchandising

With Christmas only 24 days away, retailers everywhere are working their butts off to get through the craziness.  But customers are doing the same thing… just trying to get through the craziness.  So, from a consumer point of view, I want to get in and get out of the store as quickly and efficiently as possible.   But if I’ve never shopped in that store before how would I know whether or not I should go in or not?  Well, for one thing, it needs to be attractive to me.  That’s where some creative visual merchandising comes into play.

When the giant nineteenth century dry goods establishments like Marshall Field & Co. shifted their business from wholesale to retail, the visual display of goods became necessary to attract the general consumers. The store windows were often used to attractively display the store's merchandise. Over time, the design aesthetic used in window displays moved indoors and became part of the overall interior store design.

Visual merchandising has several purposes.

·         It makes it easier for the customer to find what they're looking for

·         It makes it easier for the customer to self-select

·         It makes it possible for the shopper to co-ordinate and accessorise

·         It gives retailers a chance to recommend, highlight and demonstrate particular products at strategic locations

I was in a clothing store recently that I’d never been in before.  This store has only been open for about a year and half and they market themselves as a high end boutique store.  So, needless to say I was a little shocked to walk in the store and find that the store was merchandised like a stock room full of merchandise.  I walked in, spent all of 3 minutes in there and walked right back out. (It didn’t help that the sales clerk couldn’t even take the time to say “hello”.)  It was so frustrating to find anything.

So, how does your place of business look?  Take a serious look at the space that your customers see.  Whether it’s a retail clothing store, a service station, a law office or a car dealership, your business needs to reflect the brand you have been marketing to your potential customers.  Is it attractive?  Is it organized?  Is it clean?  With Christmas just around the corner, more and more people are out and about.  Do you want them to come into your store?  Of course you do.  But you want them to stay there, too.  Don't add to their frustration.