Is Your Business Attracting Your Ideal Customer?
Is your business attracting your ideal customer? In the upcoming week, economic reports are due from major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Macys, Nordstrom, Kohl’s and Home Depot. The economy is getting better and other changes are taking place. Retailers are beginning to see more people who are making purchases again in a timely manor. This time around though, consumers are more price conscious than in a robust buying mood as they’ve been in the past. In addition, consumers are expecting more from the businesses that they’re doing business with.
Business owners have been going through a rough time for the past four years and now are looking into what they can do to move ahead of the curve. Some of the first questions that I ask clients are:
- Who is your customer?
- What is their demographic?
- What is your average sale?
- What is your average sales volume per square foot?
- What is the average sales volume per square foot for similar stores or business in similar locations and similar size?
- Is your business doing everything it can to create their ideal shopping experience for your customer?
A business is a lot like a home that you own – the best way to foster future growth is to invest in a long-term strategy for 5 to 10 years into the future.
A business needs to stay well maintained by regular upkeep and keeping your businesses in line with your target demographic and the “feel” of the neighborhood or local area. If your competitors or other businesses in the are remodeling like repaving their parking lots, adding a drive through, painting, making isles wider, investing in new shopping carts, or remodeling the bathrooms – than you really need to keep your businesses aesthetics in line with the other businesses in the area.
But if other businesses on the block dated, then most likely undergoing a remodel would not be positive return on your investment, unless something like a major shopping center is scheduled to go in or there is going to be a major revamp in the area in the next three to five years.
As with any investment, the longer your time frame, the lower the risk. Don’t take on a big project if your not being in business for less than 3 to five years. The chances are that the money that you put in, aside from the necessary repairs or superficial cosmetic work, could be lost while the market hasn’t completely rebounded.
Customers realize when a business is not well maintained and regularly choose to shop in other places.
Major retailers such as Target and Nordstrom, restaurants such as TGI Fridays, Wendy’s and Arby’s are going through remodeling to boost growth in same-store sales by changing layouts (Nordstrom) and introducing new items such as grocery sections in their stores (Target).
Laura Baker is a business specialist consultant for LMG Consulting. Laura has worked with major fortune 500 companies, boutique firms, non-profit organizations and individuals from the food, insurance, financial, medical and service industries. For additional information, questions and or comments about your business or organization to Laura@LasaraMgmtGroup.com.
