Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM DECEMBER 2018 52 M ost independent retailers face constant pressure to react and adjust to whatever the Big Box and Internet Giants are offering. And as I'm sure you're aware, that typically means low price points and near-instant delivery. But if you play to your strengths and stick to your core competencies, I think you'll find you have more to offer than you might have thought. Here are some areas I suggest that our buying group members keep focused on. • Know your market position. Our buying group includes luxury, high- tech, high-service, high-touch operations. As a result, we're somewhat exclusive, and when clients step into our world, their expectations are high. So everything we do should meet or exceed that high bar. • Know your customers. As specialty retailers, most of us are delivering solutions and products to one customer at a time. This means your retail space and your staff should personalize every aspect of the customer contact from the moment they enter the store, including how you greet them and how you're completely focused on their individual needs. This carries over to the questions you ask, the solutions you run down with them, and how you present a customized, personalized solution that will meet or exceed their expectations. We hear people talk about the "experience economy." But experi- ence isn't only about letting customers play with the products in your store. The experience economy is about delivering a great retail shopping experience and giving the customer exactly what they need, even if they weren't aware of the solution. To exceed your customers' expectations, you need to know them—which means you need to focus all of your attention on them, one sale at a time. • Deliver the experience. It's no longer enough to sell with a PowerPoint presentation delivered in a featureless conference room. Rethink your showroom or retail space to show your customers what they don't know they don't know. Give them a hands-on demonstration of products they might not have been aware of. Experience drives excitement. It opens the door to conversations about the best solutions that will meet the customer's needs. • Social media and market awareness. Bottom line: we aren't mass retailers, and our media spend needs to be targeted at our specific customers. Solution: go local. If you understand your customers, you'll know where to find them online. Local events, community news, and the brands they shop for – these are the micro-targets your social media manager can zero in on and tie into. Optimize your SEO keywords locally, not globally, and translate those messages on your social channels. Speaking of social channels, continually evaluate your social platforms. Discover which platforms your customers are using, because that's where you'll find them. • Don't be afraid when products evolve and change. Step back and ask: what did your business look like five years ago? What has changed? Where do you expect you'll be in a few years? Possibly the best advice I can give you is not to fear change. It's inevitable. Be continually aware of how products are evolving, and identify the best tools to meet your customers' expectations. If a new category will help you stand out from the Big Box sellers, embrace it! Consider offering new services that will differentiate you from the pack. Staying relevant and unique means realizing you're a specialist. Start defining your customers and personalizing solutions they might not have considered. Deliver exciting, innovative retail experiences. Talk with them personally on social media. Evaluate your product and service mix. By focusing on your strengths, you can continue to be an invaluable resource and solutions provider. Dave Workman Consumer Electronic Trends Dave Workman is CEO and President of the ProSource Buying Group. RO STAYING RELEVANT World Wide Stereo's upgraded Philo Farnsworth Theater in the greater Philadelphia area — valued at nearly $400k — incorporates the industry's most advanced theater technology: JBL Synthesis powered by Mark Levinson amplification.

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