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Retailers have many choice to attract the customers, now a days nothing is called season , one follows after another and same is with festivals .....I am surprised the way days are named after like father's day, mother's day, sister's day, Valentine's day, yoga day etc you have365 reasons to make offers ...............Maintain quality, surprise customers with attractive gifts and develop the taste among customers ....
what can business do? They can study what they are doing in two areas. The first is to look at and analyze the firm's five inventories. The second is to inaugurate "Business Calisthenics" -- practices in business that keep business healthy.
Every business has five inventories, although most people don't regard all five as inventories. These five inventories are:
1. Its outputs of products, services, ideas, and information. Are there places to make sales that we have overlooked?
2. Its staff and salary structure. These are usually looked on as costs. They should be considered inventory. Like inventory, the staff is an asset and their activities should be generating a profit. If not, why not? Every two weeks the firm gets a shipment of inventory (the staff's activities) they have to pay for. An inventory of a too-low-of-a salary-structure may mean the firm doesn't have the best people for the job and/or may have a dissatisfied staff which isn't working up to their potential. Too high a salary structure means that the cost of the inventory prices them out of the market.
3. Its equipment, supplies, and suppliers. Normally, these are treated as capital or ongoing expenses. If any one of these categories is not generating more than it is costing, then why buy/use them?
4. Its policies and procedures. Seldom does anyone look upon these as inventory. In many cases, they hinder the sales process rather than promote it. Since all profits are generated by sales, policies and procedures are inventory and should be generating a profit.
5. Its customers. A firm's most important inventory! It is not what your firm has been selling them that's important, it's "What haven't they been buying from the business?" that's important. A business can only grow two ways: sell to more new customers and/or sell more to current customers. Which is more cost effective?
Each inventory has to be bought correctly, then marketed (deciding to whom and how something is to be presented), presented and sold both internally to those working in the firm and externally to the firm's customers. When each inventory generates a profit, management can then do what they are supposed to do -- manage the profits generated by each inventory so these profits will not be squandered and can be reinvested in the business's five inventories.
The second activity to start is "Business Calisthenics" by making notes of information that will become vital inputs for the decision making process. Everyone should be looking for the following information to make note of:
A. What question was asked that had not been asked before? If more than one customer asks the question, it means there is a need to have it answered in the marketplace.
B. What product, service, or information did a customer ask for that the firm doesn't normally offer? People will ask for something when they believe the firm might be able to supply it. If enough people ask, it means that there may be a market.
C. What presentation (media, display, personal) did I/we make that did not conclude in a sale? What should I/we have done in order to make the sale? Not every presentation results in a sale, but every presentation should strive toward that end. Great salespeople don't make every sale; they just don't make the same mistake twice.
D. What products were returned and, what was our customer's complaint? What is important for the business is to understand the situation and then discuss the solution. Having something returned or receiving a complaint is an opportunity to improve the business; the second time it's a sign of indifference to the customer!
E. What do we share with our competitors? What do we do better and/or differently? What do they do better and/or differently? (One can never assume customers know that you offer many of the same things your competition offers.) How do we get this information to our prospective and current customers?
F. What do I/we offer that our competitors do not offer or that I/we do better than they do? What do they offer that I/we don't offer or what do they do better than I/we do? What can I/we do to capitalize on our strengths and emphasize what they don't offer or don't do well?
G. What have I been offered where I did/didn't like the way it was presented or the way I was treated? Are you doing the same things to what you offer and your customers? If so, what can or should we be doing to better serve your customers and/or present our products and services?
It is management's job to develop a program where everyone can bring in the results of their exercises without the fear of job security, political reprisal or embarrassment.
When business slows, all businesses have the opportunity to look at their business in a different way. The results of studying the five inventories and analyzing the answers generated by Business Calisthenics will help in counteracting the recession and will help you be better prepared for the time when the economy turns around.
Start pre sales in order to have a lower inventory. gives the customer the feeling they found a barge... with pre sales you still make a profit ... where as at the sales pricing after the holidays you may just break even or even have loses ,,, loses can be tax deducted and soften the lost
Right, Retailers do have seasons when they sell much more than usual and after season the sale is lower than usual. (Eid/Holly/or other special events). Retailers should try to satisfy the needs of the regular costumers rather than attracting new ones.
1. Offer "after holiday" discount.
2. Clearance Sale
Sales promotions
Discount offers
Free samplings
In such situations business try to keep the same level of sales as during holidays, therefore it is best to run:
1. On Sales
2. Discounts.
3. New Items/products
I endorse the answers given by other experts.
make discount to make more offer on his sales
I agree with Mr. Sashikanta Mohapatra good answer. Thank you.
Any Business would have a business cycle consisting of Peak Business Period and Lean Period.
to keep the pace of an average business it is advisable to run Sales/Promotions/Discounts/Offers during the lean period.
Sales/Offers impact the customers mind and those who were in a double mind would try to grab these deals.
