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SPN DEC 2010 Pool&SpaIndustry
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
‘HOW TO TURN RETAIL SPACE INTO A MONEY MAGNET’
Independent retail and sales expert and trainer Ellen Watts writes exclusively for the BSPF on taking a fresh look at showrooms in a bid to improve customer attraction and profits during the winter
s spring is synonymous with a good clean up, so autumn is the time to really get your showroom in order and really make the most of your retail space to keep the business flowing and the profits high throughout the winter months and the diary filling up for the spring with new projects. First, analyse your first impressions. TV’s House Doctor Ann Maurice used to call this your ‘kerb appeal’ and it’s even more important for retail showrooms than it is for selling your house. If your showroom is not ‘attention grabbing’ then potential customers may pass you by and people who do visit will be making judgements about you from the minute they arrive. I remember reading that Freddie Laker once said that if people got on one of his
A
aeroplanes, pulled the tray down and saw it was covered in coffee stains they’d wonder how often the engine was serviced – even though that’s someone else’s job – it’s just how our minds work.
If a company lets down in one area, where else do they let down? Try and have some fun with this – I recommend starting with a clipboard and some A4 paper and with your partner or a member of your team, start from the roadside, walking towards your showroom making notes on the way. Try to look at it with fresh eyes as if you’ve never seen this place before. Try to imagine yourself as a new customer. What do you see? Is it clean and tidy? Does it look fresh or tired? Are the signs clear and meaningful? What can you see through the windows – fab displays
or piles of stock or shelves of chemicals? or the tills? Does it look light and inviting or dark and dingy? You might even go as far as getting in your car and driving in from a number of directions (this is when it definitely pays to have someone else taking notes for you.) Is there clear signage to your showroom or are you easily missed? What else can you do to attract passing trade? Is parking easy and accessible?
Are your doors clearly marked and easy to operate? – What about if you were a family with a pushchair or in a wheelchair? It’s important not to judge or blame while you make this list even if you spot things that shouldn’t be so, just add them to your list. And don’t get despondent if you haven’t got the best site in the
world, very few retailers can boast the perfect site. It not about having the biggest showroom or the most displays. It’s always about making the best of what you’ve got and there’s always room for improvement. Now walk in – what catches your eye first? Is it an exciting pool or spa display, demonstration or well stocked and colourful retail accessory stand? It should be. Notice where your eye flows (and rests) around the showroom, where do your feet want to go first? Regular consumables such as spa and pool chemicals for example, should have easy access, be clearly defined and labelled, but they shouldn’t be your first eye-fall or at the front of the showroom. Have you ever thought why most supermarkets often have their milk and bread in the farthest corners of their stores. An extra tip here is if you have ‘SALE’ items, consider having them in a back corner rather than at the front, but make sure they are clearly highlighted with ‘SALE’ or ‘20% off everything’ or whatever your offer is. OK, so now you have some notes about your first impressions and your customers flow (and no matter how fantastic your showroom this ‘seeing it all the way from the road through the customer’s eyes’ never fails to bring up a few action points). Here are a few more tips about displays and engaging the customer that you might find useful to add to your ‘to do’ list:-
A reason to come in What’s your compelling offer? – Can people see it from the roadside? Make it time bound so I have to bothered to swing in – today!
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