Retail Business: Six Red Flags That Means You Need to do Customer Tastes/Preferences Survey And Evaluation

You have been in retail business for decades and you are probably waiting for the good old days when everything you used to put on your shelf sold like hot cakes. You satisfy yourself with different reasons like maybe it is because of recession, impending economic collapse so people are saving or you think you are just without luck these days.

But the fact is you just don’t have clue what’s going on and what you need to do. Well don’t worry I am going provide you the essential clues from which you can come to a valid conclusion about your customers, that is; you need to do customer preferences and tastes survey.

Once you assess your customers’ preferences you will be able to get right products on the shelf that will lead to increase sales which will consequently increase your proceeds.

Now let’s get to the red flags!

Six Red Flags that Demands Customer Tastes Survey

• Most of them look into the accessible variety and yet don’t buy anything

It means you are having dead wood, obsolete stuff at your shelves so you better get rid of them. Like offering discounts, sales, BOGO, bundle product strategy just do something ;p.

• They come in and get out without taking much in their shopping baskets

Perhaps you don’t have enough variety, the right variety.

• You always see new faces

So you think you see new guys everyday coming in to buy something and then you never see most of them coming back. And you always thought people really likes you and perhaps advocate about your retail, but you never thought that your business is located along the main road, or perhaps you are somewhere where they don’t find anyone else so they come in for the first and the last time.

There could be many reasons when you find that you do have most of the red flags. Indeed location, competition etc plays an important role in gaining market share and increasing sales but the thing is, it only works with the right products (those your customers would prefer).

• You are selling dozen things

If you are selling dozen things that are sold like hot cakes and you are happy because you are making good money and you hope that with passage of time the other stuff will get the same demand. Well you are deluded, first you are probably earning far lower than what you are supposed to be, second you are being considered by your customers for certain specific products and that is the secret of your “selling like hot cakes”.

•  Your feedback is great but still your sales are stagnant or shrinking

• You are being admired by your wholesalers/suppliers  

You are being told by your decades old wholesalers/suppliers you are a great asset to them,( they love you, admire you) and so you don’t want to make them upset because once you did earn a lot with their products. And you feel sympathetic towards them in their bad times so you kind of helping them by keeping their products, well Mr empathetic “There are no friends in business”.

And that’s flat ;p now your turn to share what I need to know!