Implementing strategies in retailing entails several factors you have to consider as a retailer. There is need for you to make strategic plans that would aid your competitive position in the market, while judiciously making use of the opportunities and overcoming the challenges in the market.
The retail marketing strategy helps you to set your eyes on a goal and direct you in making decisions in order to achieve that goal. It also helps you position your products well and engage in tasks that will grant you maximum customer satisfaction. So it is necessary for you to have a retail marketing strategy that would guide your actions in achieving a goal over a set period of time.
In conducting a strategic planning process, the first thing you need to do is to conduct a thorough survey of your environment so as to observe the trends in the market and opportunities laid out to you that you can take advantage of. You would then use the findings from this survey to draft out your retail strategy. Please note that the plan doesn’t have to be rigid as you would need to review them periodically and you can make additions or amendments where necessary.
Now there are some basic elements that should make up your retail strategic plan. They are the core elements that you should particularly watch out for and make your plans with. These elements include:
Market Study: Here, you make a study of the size of the market, level of competition, market stage, how appealing the market is and the common trends in the market.
Customer Study: In this analysis, you consider the shopping habits of customers, their behavior and ethics, the market segmentation, the particular needs and their choice of brand.
Competition Study: This helps you to make an analysis of the number of competitors present, their strengths and weaknesses, perpetual mapping and the method with which they compete with one another.
Internal Study: You consider the abilities of the personnel present with you, your financial strength, your technology usage level, economies of scale generation, your market positioning and reputation and your past records.
Product Mix Study: You also have to watch out for the rates of stock-turnover, products sold per square foot and the level of profit to be expected per product.
Distribution Channels
Study: You need to observe the distribution methods made available to you, their
efficiency in delivery, and the cost their service would demand from you
Strategy Economic Study: The overall cost the strategic plan would cost you and comparison with how much you can gain from it.
After completing these studies, you should by now have a clear idea of what segment of the market to target, how to go about it, the costs and other internal and external factors involved. By balancing every stage of the studies, the retail strategy helps you to position yourself in the market so strong that your presence is felt. The retail marketing strategy effectively highlights all the important factors and drives at guaranteeing you maximum success as well as optimum customer satisfaction.