Retail
success is an elusive commodity in today's business climate and, although there
is no shortage of advice from various retail commentators around the globe, we
may have to look no further than our own market for solutions. In fact Monday
night's trader awards gave us some great guidance.
Retailing
has always been a bit if a buzz. Actually that is an understatement. Retailing
is currently a mind blowing challenge of huge proportions as we turn the industry
upside down to cater for new consumer attitudes fuelled by new technology.
There are lots of challenges. Trying to keep track of consumer preferences is a
bit of a nightmare. These days consumers kick out politicians at the drop of a
hat (The Melbourne Lord Mayor seems to be an exception) and they are adopting
similar principles with their purchasing. Products only last until the next
social media message about an alternative, a new supplier, or a new trend.
Retail
commentators bang on about retailers providing new and exciting offers and
entertaining customers. These are seen as key ingredients to success. If you
apply the "kick out politicians" philosophy to retailing then you
really need to reinvent your product offer on a regular basis or consumers will
simply look for something better. And what about this "entertaining"
bit? It is no accident that many of our award winners at the Inaugural Queen
Victoria Market Trader Awards were entertainers. Those who have seen Yianni
Yiannatzis, Kris Robinson, Robyn Faulkner, and Bruce Pham in operation will
know what I mean.
Entertaining
customers doesn't necessarily involve song and dance. You might entertain with
your insight to customer needs, or your level of customer service, or your
knowledge of your products. Each of those traders mentioned above show
outstanding customer focus and product knowledge. If you can do that with a bit
of flair and humour then the impact can be even greater.
And
changing your product offer, keeping it fresh and exciting, doesn't necessarily
involve wholesale product changes. You can refresh with simple things - new
products, new merchandising, new online links, new customer services.
Let's
be honest, each of our award recipients probably do another 10 or 20 retail
things really well, but if we can all concentrate on those two key ingredients,
refreshing our offer and entertaining customers, we can also expect to reap
rewards, and not just the glass trophy kind.