I break down the steps to making an effective action plan for the year!
Developing a Successful Business Plan for Your Retail Store
Whether you are a new Store Manager or a tenured one, having a business plan in place is crucial to ensure you are being proactive in driving your business, versus just waiting for it to happen. A yearly business plan serves as a roadmap for your retail operation, outlining your goals, strategies, and financial projections. In this blog, we’ll explore some key steps to develop a successful business plan for your retail store.
Define Your Vision and Mission
The first step in developing your business plan is to define your vision and mission. Your vision should be a statement that outlines what you want your retail store to achieve in the long term. It should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Your mission statement, on the other hand, should describe the purpose of your business and the values that guide your operations.I highly recommend collaborating with your team to come up with your store’s vision and mission to ensure everyone is onboard and aligned with the goals.
Conduct Market Research
Conducting market research is critical to understanding your target market, competitors, and industry trends. This step involves gathering data on consumer behavior, market size, customer demographics, and industry benchmarks. I find the best way to do this is to network. Take time weekly to meet other Store Managers in your market, get to know them, and share ideas or relevant information with them. You’d be surprised how effective it is to gather information! Analyzing this information will help you identify market gaps, opportunities, and threats and develop a competitive edge.
Develop a Clienteling Strategy
A clienteling strategy outlines how you’ll reach your target customers and promote your products or services. Your clienteling plan should include identifying your top customers, personalized outreach, in-store experience, follow-up, and customer retention programs.
a.) Identify top customers: I would review customer data to identify the top 20% who contribute to 80% of the sales. Then create a personalized plan for each of them to improve their experience with the brand. As the Store Manager, you should know all of these clients and they should know you as well! Remember, if you are not involved and taking the time to meet with your top clients, then it will be very difficult for you to be able to speak to your business and understand their wants and needs.
b.) Personalized outreach: Reach out to each of these top customers via phone or email to offer personalized styling advice and invite them to exclusive events or promotions. Map out weekly/monthly which clients you and the team will contact and what the reason is for the outreach. Be very specific when you map this out and I recommend planning this at least 30 days in advance.
c.) In-store experience: Ensure the sales associates provide visitors with a memorable experience. This would include personalized product recommendations, styling tips, and offering them complimentary services, such as alterations or a glass of champagne. Make them feel at home and take time to listen to their needs to build rapport and relationships with them.
Define Your Products and Services
Your products and services are the heart of your retail store. Clearly knowing your products is essential to ensuring that you’re meeting your customers’ needs and expectations. Identify your top selling product categories and know your market needs. Be proactive in partnering with the buying team to ensure you have the right sizes, colors, and styles in stock for your clients. Analyze your product reports and always think at least 6 weeks ahead. Are there any events going on in your market that you need special pieces for? Are your international clients visiting during certain months and you need to ensure their favorite sizes and styles are in stock. Make sure you are planning for this ahead of time so you will not get stuck, losing out on sales because you did not have their size or favorite dress in stock.
Create a Financial Plan
Your financial plan should outline your monthly sales targets, including any KPI, clienteling, or secret shop goals. Then calculate each team members’ average contribution to the sales and use this percentage to give them monthly goals each month. Basically, you are planning out as much detail as possible on how you plan to achieve that monthly sales goal. You can even break it down by units or department sales etc.. Get creative and thoughtful on how you plan to make it happen!
Establish and Events Calendar
In-store and offsite events are a great way to drive a significant amount of business in a short period of time. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to engage with your clients on a more personal level and strengthen the relationship. Think about what is happening in your market at different times of the year and how you can create an event around it to capitalize on extra traffic in the city or shopping center. You don’t need a huge budget, although I do suggest you partner with your marketing/events team to plan at least one big event every year. It could also just simply be a presale event where you have champagne and light bites available while they shop the sale before the rest of the public. There are tons of inexpensive event ideas you can do and I will lay these out in another blog in the future. Have fun with it and don’t forget to get your team involved, you might be surprised of some of the ideas they come up with.
Review and Refine Your Business Plan
A business plan is not a static document. It’s an ongoing process of reviewing and refining your strategies and goals to adapt to changing market conditions. Regularly monitor your financial performance, customer feedback, and industry trends to identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments. Be quick and agile and make the changes quickly.
In conclusion, developing a successful business plan for your retail store requires careful planning, research, and analysis. By following these steps, you’ll be able to create a roadmap that guides your business towards success. Remember, a business plan is a living document that needs to be regularly reviewed and refined to ensure that you’re staying ahead of the competition and meeting your customers’ needs.