The Internet has changed the face of retail. It empowered customers with information to help with their buying decision and has created a platform allowing consumers to provide feedback to retailers about the quality of their products.

Consumer shopping habits have changed drastically over the last few years thanks to the explosion of eCommerce especially Amazon and AliExpress. Consumers no longer need to go out and shop. eCommerce has made the shopping experience more convenient and accessible right to their fingertips (computers and mobile devices). This completely changed the way consumers shopped.

Customer experience is the new battlefield. Being able to provide the best customer experience is how you can boost customer loyalty - the backbone of retail businesses. If you are able to increase your customer retention by 5%, it can improve your sales by 25-95%.

Here are the 6 major challenges that retailers face today and how to overcome them.

• How to Stay Relevant and Be the Best Option in a very Competitive, and Small Market

Making your brand name stand out can get really challenging especially if you are just starting out. The best way to create a competitive advantage and stand out is to niche down.

With giants like Amazon and Alibaba, brands are unlikely able to compete on price. However, highlighting unique differences such as sharing your brand story, company mission and vision, and relating product benefits directly to customer pain points can definitely help your brand get noticed.

• Provide Outstanding Customer Service

Create an amazing customer service from pre-selling to after purchase. Make customer interaction a part of your process. Focus on creating an environment, be it online or at your local store, that will make customers feel comfortable and heard.

Offer undecided customers with good choices and reliable comparison of similar products. Make sure you have visible signages in your local shop that help customers quickly identify promos and product prices. Investing in signs also make it easier for customers work their way around your store.

At Assured Signs, our business hours signs have helped small retail stores communicate their opening days and hours of operation to customers. This makes information more convenient, which adds to great customer service.

• Gathering Feedback and Reward It Appropriately

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Love it or hate it, feedback is the key to understand how your service fairs to your customers. This provides you with a clearer perspective about what your customers expect from you and what areas they want you to improve.

Feedback can come in form of user-generated content like social media posts. If your customers like you, they’ll likely express it on Facebook or Twitter. Monitor social media mentions and respond appropriately on a timely manner. This can further improve your customer service.

• Sell Experience

Customers go to your store not just because your products are good and high quality. They also visit your store because of the experience. To improve your customer experience, host in-store events and create community events around new product launches.

• Optimize the Experience

When customers buy online, they are literally a click away from not buying your product. Inside a physical store, however, it’s harder for customers not to buy especially if the atmosphere and the environment is designed to make customers feel that way.

To optimize the customer experience in your store, improve your store’s aesthetics and atmosphere. Install informative and well-designed signs that guide customers inside the store without overwhelming your staff.

Visible signs are also essential during emergency situations like fire breakout. Fire safety signs make it easier for customers and staff to locate fire extinguishers and exit doors.

• Don’t Skip on Digital Marketing

If you are not yet online, what are you doing? Improving your digital is important now more than ever especially with the current health crisis. Everyone is literally shopping online to stay safe.

Develop a strong online presence by having a website or a Facebook page. This can help tremendously in marketing your brand online.

Post relevant and consistent content that not only sell your products but also add value and educating people as well. Having influencers represent your brand can also draw more customers and improve the reputation of your brand online.

Takeaway

By learning the major challenges you may face when starting a retail business, you can easily identify your weaknesses and turn them into strengths.