“If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin

In Retail Marketing Failing To Plan Is Planning To Fail

Retail marketing can be a challenging endeavour for business owners, especially those who are just starting out. The competition can be fierce and it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. However, with a solid plan in place and a focus on the right target market, businesses can achieve success.

One important concept to keep in mind when it comes to retail marketing is that failing to plan is planning to fail. It's essential to take the time to develop a comprehensive marketing and promotions plan that includes a clear understanding of your current situation, a focus on the right target market, and a well organised and structured approach to implementing marketing as part of every day life running your store.

To help guide small business owners in their retail marketing efforts, we use the acronym "S T O R E SUCCESS" to break down the five key steps involved in successful retail marketing: Situation, Target, Organise, Refocus and Engage. 

Situation: Looking at Your Current Situation

The first step in developing a successful retail marketing plan is to understand your current situation. This means taking a hard look at your sales over the past 12-24 months and identifying the highs and lows, as well as what's working and what's not. 

To get a clear picture of your sales performance, you are hopefully tracking your sales on a weekly and monthly basis. This will help you identify any patterns or trends in your sales data and enable you to adjust your marketing efforts accordingly.

You'll also want to look at other factors that may be impacting your sales, such as changes in the economy, shifts in consumer behaviour, or changes in your competition. This information can help you identify areas where you may need to adjust your marketing strategy to stay competitive. 

Sometimes this step can be quite confronting and you really need to be honest with yourself and what the numbers are telling you.

Also evaluate what marketing, promotions and advertising you have done during this time, what has worked, what has not and well maybe you don't know the answer. Be sure of what you have previously invested, what percentage that is of your turnover and how much you are prepared to invest moving forward.

Target: Identifying Your Target Market

Once you have a clear understanding of your current situation, the next step is to identify your target market. This involves looking at your customer base and determining who your ideal customer is. We will give you a hint here your customer is not everybody.

One way to think about identifying your target market is to use a metaphor like fishing with bait, rather than casting a net.  Rather than trying to attract everyone, focus on the specific types of customers who are most likely to be interested in your products or services.

To identify your target market, consider factors such as age, gender, income level, interests, and location, what do they like doing, where to they hang out, what TV shows do they watch. You may also want to consider conducting market research or surveys to get a better understanding of your customers' needs and preferences. 

Organise: Importance of Having a Plan and Structure

Once you have a clear understanding of your current situation and target market, it's time to organise your marketing efforts. This means developing a clear plan and structure for your marketing activities.

Your marketing plan or simply put "calendar" should include all retail calendar events, all events specific to your local market and your target markets interests.

Once you have established the natural flow of the retail calendar and what you can leverage it's time to slot in your store activities/promotions. These don't have to be expensive or elaborate, the point is to give you something to talk about that's relevant to your market. It should also include a budget for your marketing activities, as well as a plan for measuring and tracking your results.

One key element of organising your marketing efforts is to make marketing a priority. Many small business owners make the mistake of treating marketing as an afterthought, but it's essential to invest the time and resources needed to create a successful marketing and promotions plan that leads your store operations.

Refocus: Mindset and Motivation

The next step in successful retail marketing is to refocus your mindset and motivation. This involves not only motivating yourself, but also motivating your staff and creating a culture of learning and growth within your business.

One key element of refocusing your mindset is to invest time in staff training and education. This can help your employees develop new skills and knowledge that can be applied to your marketing efforts, using your "calendar" as the prompt to educate your staff with what is relevant to your target market.

It's also important to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments in your industry. This can help you stay competitive and ensure that your marketing efforts are effective in reaching your target market.

Engage: Bringing it all Together

The final step in successful retail marketing is to engage your customers and bring everything together. This means implementing your marketing plan and promoting your products or services through a variety of channels, including advertising, social media, email marketing, and instore promotions. Now you have a plan it should make booking your advertising or saying no to advertising reps much easier.

To engage your customers effectively, it's important to focus on customer service and creating a positive shopping experience. This includes training your staff to provide excellent customer service, as well as creating a welcoming and attractive store environment.

By bringing all these elements together, you can create a successful cost effective retail marketing plan that leads to increased sales, less stress, and a feeling of accomplishment.

In conclusion, successful retail marketing requires a comprehensive and well organised approach that considers the situation your business is currently in, your target market, getting organised and putting in place a structure, a refocus of mindset and motivation plus finally engagement of customers and staff.

By following the S T O R E acronym and investing the time and resources needed to develop a solid marketing plan, any business can achieve SUCCESS in the competitive world of retail.

Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail, so take the time to develop a comprehensive marketing and promotions plan that sets your business up for success.

Laine Way Media specialises in retail marketing with over 28 years award winning experience.  In the current retail environment, we understand how challenging it is for business owners to have time to work on their business as they are just so busy working in their business.  If you need help, we can assist you by putting together a tailored Store Success Marketing Package and mentor you along the way so please reach out for help.