Jeweller - March 2020

Retail Strategy
could be tremendously different from the
customers’ perception.
We undertook this exercise with a retailer
who thought his store was the ‘best’, so
we took him to visit a new competitor’s
store, and then came back to do the same
exercise in his store. It was an eye opener;
he realised how much work he had to do to
bring his store up to speed.
You don’t have to do it all by yourself. If you
are uncomfortable or may be recognised,
send a friend or family member. You could
even ask one of your loyal customers to visit
the competitor for an appraisal.
However, some good advice is for you to
occasionally visit the store just to say
hello, and casually look around while
you are there.
Another strategy is what we call the ‘How
Did It Feel‘ exercise. Assign your staff to visit
your various competitors posing as typical
customers. Have them go through all of the
steps outlined in this article.
When the staff member returns, ask them
to document their visits, breaking down
everything they experienced in each area of
the store.
After each comment ask, “How did it feel?”
You’ll learn what those competitors did well
and where they fell down. Compare those
findings with your own store.
Note your first impression: is the
competitor’s store interesting from the
minute you approach it? Are the displays
and store windows compelling? Shoppers
view your window displays in eight seconds
or less, so they can’t be too elaborate.
The average shopper makes a value
judgment about a store – positive or negative
– in 10 seconds or less. Ask yourself, what
vibe does your store present to potential
customers? What happens just beyond the
decompression zone – that is, the first 2–4
metres inside the front door?
Rate the in-store experience. Is it a fun place
to shop or merely a place to ‘buy stuff’?
• Analyse the customer flow: Does
the store layout create and control how
customer traffic flows through the floor?
A retail study found that 50 per cent of
shoppers never see the entire sales floor.
Do customers linger in the store or get in
and out?
Stop and watch shoppers; try to see the
merchandising and customer service
through their eyes.
Observe how shoppers enter the store,
which way they go and why, plus what they
look at, and how long they linger in specific
areas, along with what they buy and return.
• Rate the overall appearance of the sales
floor: Does it motivate shoppers to buy?
What do your competitors do to highlight
important product? Is the merchandise
fresh or dated? Is the sales floor neat and
clean? Are displays well maintained and
dust free? Are they unique?
Where are the important basics and hot
sellers located? Are displays merchandised
as a destination product – think milk and
eggs in a grocery store – or as impulse
purchases? Are the displays clearly
signed and is the merchandise clearly and
competitively priced?
How does your competitor differentiate
between full price and markdown
merchandise?
Note where it is and how’s reduced. How
is clearance product merchandised – is it
in its regular department or in a special
clearance area?
Does the store have signage and is it
effective? Does it reinforce the overall
feeling of the store’s brand?
Are signs well placed and legible and
is there a standard format or are they
handwritten and taped to fixtures?
You should also assess the perception of
the store’s pricing compared to yours. Is the
retailer trying to convey an upscale, quality
service combined with a unique experience,
or as a discount merchant?
Are the staff attentive to shoppers’ needs?
Are there trained staff members available to
help with difficult customer questions?
Put the store staff through their paces to
find out if they possess specialised skills
and strong product knowledge.
Online exploration
You’re not finished yet. It’s critical to visit
your competition online, too. Check out
Review
your goals
1 Make a list
of everything
you need to
know about
each rival store
2 Determine
where you
stand in your
marketplace
3 Analyse the
customer flow
of competitor
stores
4 Rate
the overall
appearance
of your
competition’s
sales floor
5 Explore their
online presence
and customer
reviews
each competitor’s Yelp business page and
Google reviews on a weekly basis. Review
yours, too.
Don’t have a Yelp or Google My Business
page? You may have one even if you didn’t
set it up because if a customer decides to
review your store, that becomes your page.
Claim it, and see what is being said.
When setting up the page, complete all the
information fields, add high-quality photos,
and respond to comments – good and bad.
Monitor it weekly – or daily, if you are getting
lots of reviews. And don’t worry about cost;
Yelp and Google My Business are free.
Monitor the ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ – a
term that describes the moment when a
consumer researches a product or store
online prior to purchase, or prior to visiting
the location in person.
You should consider establishing an
account with Mention.com and TalkWalker.
com to learn what’s being said about your
store online.
Both sites will email you a link each time
you are mentioned, plus a link to take you
to the comment. We have alerts set up for
ourselves, our company, and everything
else we want to monitor.
Meanwhile, Facebook Pages to Watch
– found on your Facebook Page Insights –
allows you to do an anonymous, automatic
daily comparison with your competition’s
Facebook pages. Your competitor will
receive notice that someone is ‘watching’
their page, but they won’t know that it’s you.
Utilising these techniques will give you
an accurate picture of where you stand in
relation to your competition. It will allow
you to see your store through your
customers’ eyes and identify your strengths
as well as weaknesses.
With that knowledge, you can develop
new strategies to improve your existing
customers’ experience at your store, as
well as encourage new customers to shop
with you instead of your competitors.
RICH KIZER and GEORGANNE BENDER
are retail strategists, authors and
consultants. kizerandbender.com
March 2020 | 47