The POS Software Blog

News from Tower Systems about locally made POS software for specialty local retailers.

CategoryRetail inspiration

POS software helps small business retailers with Christmas in July

July 9, 2021

2 Min read

P

Christmas in July is a terrific retail tradition in Australia. It is an excellent opportunity to clear stock, boost foot traffic and reset the shop floor of any retail situation.

Using our POS software retailers can easily manage the Christmas in July. In particular, our POS software can help with:

Identifying what inventory you can pitch in Christmas in July to quit stock.
What sold at this time last year, and the year before.
Bundling items to given them a fresh look.
Managing the pricing offer between nominated date and time periods.
At the register pitching up-sell opportunities from the Christmas in July campaign.
Tracking the success of the campaign.

Christmas in July is a wonderful opportunity in almost any retail setting. We say this based on our experience working with a broad variety of specialty retailers. The key is to have a strong offer, well situated, pitched well, understood of all team members and targeted to sell what you need to sell. That’s the key here – the commercial outcome for your retail business.

Here at our POS software company we can help you make the most of the Christmas in July opportunity.

Here is a refreshed list of tips for making Christmas in July a success.

Run the Christmas in July campaign over no more than two weeks in July. One week could be enough.
Choose dates which are away from any other promotion – it works best with little competition.
Get all team members engaged.
Set aside spoke front of store, in their face.
Dress the team and the store to suit the Christmas theme.
Display any spare Christmas stock from last year.
Play Christmas music.
Choose a day for an extra special celebration and make this an all-out focus.
Have a competition for the kids around the theme.
Create a giant Christmas stocking which one lucky customer can win.
Use the event to discount any slow moving items. It its a perfect opportunity to quit stock.
Promote on social media.

Christmas in July is an excellent opportunity to get suppliers on board. Maybe they could provide products for you to give away as gifts – I.E. every shopper gets spending over $10 a ‘Christmas’ gift. Suppliers could use your promotion as an ideal time for trialling products and getting your customers engaged.

Read on Read later

Retail business advice: how to assess gross profit by floorspace in your retail business

March 9, 2021

3 Min read

R

While there are plenty of retail performance KPIs you can use to assess the performance of your retail business, what we outline here is simple and easy … a good starting point for people not sophisticated when it comes to grad school business KPI analysis.

This advice outlines one of the first assessments we undertake when asked by the owner of a retail business to review the performance of a business. The approach we outline here provides an understanding of the return being achieved from floor space allocation. With retail space usually costing between 11% and 15% of revenue it is usually the next highest cost outside of the cost of stock itself.

Spend half an hour on what we suggest here and the result should be a different view of the performance of your floor space allocation. This is not advice you will get from your accountant or from reviewing your P&L or computer reports. It is designed to be practically helpful in managing your business.

Please follow these simple steps.

Take a blank sheet of paper, ideally A3, and roughly sketch out the layout of your shop, marking in display units, wall shelving, the counter – everywhere you have product.
The floor plan layout should also include your back room if you have stock there.
Colour-shade the layout by department. For example, shade all areas with magazines in yellow, all floor space for gifts in blue etc.
List the departments on the side of the floor plan.
Calculate the percentage of total space taken by each department. This does not need to be accurate to two decimal places. List this next to each department you have listed.
Use your POS software to report on gross profit earned by each department over the last year.
Calculate the percentage of total gross profit contribution earned by each department and list this next to the floor space allocated to each department.
Circle in blue those performing the best and in red those performing the worst. A best performing department will typically be responsible for a significantly higher percentage of gross profit than percentage of space allocated whereas a worst performing department will be contributing a percentage of overall gross profit considerably lower than the percentage of floor space allocated.

Once you have the marked-up floor plan with the space percentage and percentage of total gross profit, think about your floor space allocation.

The above steps do not take into account product size and the average gross profit percentage from each dollar of revenue for a department.

The objective of the analysis is to provide you with fresh insights you could use when considering floor space change.

You can take the analysis a step further by looking only at one department and analysing performance by category.

This advice is an example of the practical small business retail management advice provided buy Tower Systems in its assistance to indie small business retailers. Beyond the POS software we help retailers run more valuable, successful and enjoyable businesses.

Read on Read later

ABC The Money looks at small business retail in this covid world

June 22, 2020

1 Min read

A

Tower CEO Mark Fletcher is grateful to the team being The Money program on ABC radio for shining a light on the impact of Covid on retail. In the 30 minute program they look at retail through an economists’s lens and then through the eyes of several small business retailers. At about 22 minutes in Mark talks about shopping centre challenges and small business retail more broadly into the future.

If you’d like to hear the show, here is the link: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/themoney/retail/12370682

Read on Read later

Small business retail advice: how to prepare your retail shop for sale

April 7, 2020

2 Min read

S

Selling a an independent retail business is like selling a house, you need to prepare it so that it looks appealing to prospective purchasers.

The process of preparing a business for sale can take time, depending on the state of the business. It needs to start early and based on comprehensive planning.

Here is an overview from our advice as to what a small business retailer needs to do to prepare their retail business for sale.

Maximise profit. What anyone will pay will depend on the profitability of the business. While you should be on this every day, if it is a new project for you, start six months prior to putting the business on the market.
Eliminate dead stock. It looks bad on the shelves and looks bad on the books. Purchasers should not pay full wholesale for inventory more than six months old as your poor buying or management is not their obligation.
Streamline operations. Make the business look easy to run by ensuring it is easy to run for you. The easier it looks to run the more interesting to people who don’t understand the business.
Make the business look appealing. Ensure displays are stunning, the shelves full and every pitch the very best you can make. You want them to want your business because they like it.
Be happy. Owners who talk their business down will find it harder to sell the business. If you are complainer, keep it to yourself or in the family.
Keep your social media presence up to date. Today, many people check out a business online prior to looking at it in-store. Maintain up to date Facebook and other social media presences.
Choose your broker carefully.
Get your paperwork in order. Early on, get business documents together and check:
1. Premises lease.
2. Equipment lease documents.
3. Franchise document.
4. Supplier agreements.
5. Details of any forward orders.
6. Any other documents relating to the operation of the business including manuals for any equipment items.

Success at selling your business depends in part on the work you do to prepare it for sale. Extra focus now can help you get timely price satisfaction.

This is another way Tower Systems helps small business retailers.

Read on Read later

Experiential specialty retail

March 19, 2020

1 Min read

E

We are grateful for the opportunity to see some cool specialty retail businesses in the UK. here’s a short video of some of what we saw:

Read on Read later

Advice for small business retailers on shop layout

November 8, 2019

3 Min read

A

The more a retail business looks like a traditional shop in any channel, the more it will be judged as a traditional shop, the more it will perform like a traditional shop. There is nothing wrong with this, if it is a conscious choice.

Through our work at Tower Systems we see awesome and successful retail businesses and less than awesome and not so successful retail businesses.

We encourage you to not run a traditional shop because there is no evidence in performance data or in retail history to indicate that a traditional retail model has any upside in the world today.

The best way to not be considered a traditional shop is to not look like one. Here is some of what this means based on our experience:

Keep visual noise to a minimum. This means less posters and signs. Let your products be seen and be the heroes.
No old-school posters out the front of the shop or hanging in the shop except in exceptional circumstances.
No old-school products stand near the entrance.
Make the front third of the shop open with non-permanent fixtures that are flexible and easily moved. These are best if they are everyday items: tables, a couch, boxes and more. The more colour, texture and style the less like a shop your shop will feel and the more relaxed shoppers will be.
Floor rugs are effective too, under a table fixture especially.
No candy or William old products at the counter. Use the counter for products that are easily purchased on impulse, that play against expectations.
A feature wall behind the counter that can be changed easily.
Different colours and textures rather than the usual shop-fit look.
Different lighting to highlight different part of the business.
Less shop-fit made fixtures and more personally made or found items.
Product placement such that it encourages people to explore. Embrace treasure hunt retail… where people wander the shop hoping to find treasure.
Move tasks, pricing, returns and more to the shop floor. This will reduce shopper theft and increase sales.
Have the least amount of staff resources behind the counter as possible. On the shop floor the same people can guide purchases.

Change is critical in retail today. Change beyond what has been traditional, change that helps you attract new shoppers and through them new revenue opportunities.

While we are an indie retail POS software co. we are retailers and retail experts. We’re here to help our customers through software, and beyond.

Read on Read later

The Retail Doctor Podcast

June 11, 2019

1 Min read

T

Tower CEO Mark Fletcher was a guest on a recent Podcast by The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs. Click here for a listen to the thirty-minute program.

Read on Read later

How our POS software company helps small business retailers set their businesses for sale

April 17, 2019

3 Min read

H

Selling an independent retail business is like selling a house, you need to prepare it so that it looks appealing to prospective purchasers.

The process of preparing a retail business for sale can take time, depending on the state of the business. The earlier you start the better.

The keys are too leave yourself plenty of time and have a plan. The advice we provide here is based on years of service to small business retailers across many different retail channels.

In our work with small business retailers we have been able to build knowledge assets in many areas, including how to set a business up for sale, how too make the offer compelling and the business manageable and enticing. We share a glimpse here into some of our knowledge assets in this area.

Here is our overview advice of what you need to do to prepare your independent retail business for sale.

Maximise profit. What anyone will pay will depend on the profitability of the business. While you should be on this every day, if it is a new project for you, start six months prior to putting the business on the market.
Eliminate dead stock. It looks bad on the shelves and looks bad on the books. Purchasers should not pay full wholesale for inventory more than six months old as your poor buying or management is not their obligation.
Streamline operations. Make the business look easy to run by ensuring it is easy to run for you. The easier it looks to run the more interesting to people who don’t understand the business.
Make the business look appealing. Ensure displays are stunning, the shelves full and every pitch the very best you can make. You want them to want your business because they like it.
Be happy. Owners who talk their business down will find it harder to sell the business. If you are complainer, keep it to yourself or in the family.
Keep your social media presence up to date. Today, many people check out a business online prior to looking at it in-store. Maintain up to date Facebook and other
Get your paperwork in order. Early on, get business documents together and check:
1. Premises lease.
2. Equipment lease documents.
3. Franchise document.
4. Supplier agreements.
5. Details of any forward orders.
6. Any other documents relating to the operation of the business including manuals for any equipment items.
Choose your business broker carefully.

Success at selling your business depends in part on the work you do to prepare it for sale. Extra focus now can help you get timely price satisfaction.

Read on Read later

Helping small business retailers leverage local in their POS software

May 23, 2018

3 Min read

H

In your Tower Systems POS software, you can easily to pitch that you are locally connected business. For example, you can serve, on receipts, local information relevant in your area:

A garden centre could provide advice on plants for local conditions.
A fishing business could provide advice on local fishing spots that are hot.
A pet store could include information about local dog parks and events.
A toy shop could list local collector and game clubs to foster community.

We can help you do this, we can help you show through the software how your business is better for the local community than any big business competitor.

BEING LOCAL BEYOND THE SOFTWARE.

Here are four ideas you could consider to show off a local connection. This collection of ideas is all about things you could do that are newsworthy for the local media:

Tell the town’s story. Invite a school class to create a diorama telling some history of the down in your shop window. This will be educational, topical, newsworthy and something that gets people connected with those involved to your shop to see the window.
Famous and infamous people. Get your customers to nominate famous people form the area from back since when the area was first settled. Again, educational and newsworthy.
Sports heroes from 2013. Invite all schools and clubs in your area to submit a photo and a brief description of their sporting winners from this year. The display could be your way of holding the winners up for another moment of glory.
Where we come from. get a school class to create a map of the word for your window and get your shoppers to place a flag showing where they come from. Maybe the could have a place to note a story of how they got there.

While none of these ideas is about you selling product, each does better connect your shop with your local community and that is vital.

Here are other tips on boosting the local connection:

Be knowledgeable about local activities, events, issues and places.
Talk about local matters on your social media outlets. Help publish local news.
Support local groups with knowledge, prizes and attention.
Encourage local groups to use your business.
Serve your community in practical ways such as volunteering.
Help even the groups you cannot help financially – with an events noticeboard and supporting them on your Facebook page etc.
Talk local across the counter.
Be visible at local events and activities.
Encourage your employees to be visible at local events and activities.

Read on Read later

Inspiring retail displays we have seen recently

April 22, 2018

1 Min read

I

Read on Read later

Advice for young people joining the full-time workforce in retail jobs

January 21, 2018

2 Min read

A

In our work with independent small business retailers we get to see man different retail businesses up close. We have seen plenty take on young employees, right out of school. Some do it well while others struggle. Through this time we have see good attributes in school leavers that we share here…

Learn as much as you can.
If you are not sure of something, ask. Don’t assume.
Work out how to love your job, because if you don’t, working there will not be good for you or the business.
Be as low maintenance as possible. Your employer is not an ATM you can tap every time you feel like sleeping in.
How far you go in a business, and in your career, is up to you. You get out what you put it.
Add value. If you do this a business will want to keep you and that gives you leverage in this job and your next.
Every day, it is up to you.

If you are a business owner and hiring school leavers, step up to the responsibility seriously. You hire them, train them, manage them and determine their value to the business as as the value of the business to them. Oh, and being their friend is not an ideal step to good management.

Read on Read later

Small business retail management tip: embrace the opportunity of hiring older employees

January 14, 2018

2 Min read

S

Older employees can being terrific value to a retail business that is keen bring change to the business. Young employees cost less and this is a common appeal among retail business owners.

An older employee could bring more value to the business, they could leverage a better return on labour investment for the business. Here are other benefits that can be available depending on the background, skill set and work interest of the older employee:

Maturity. An older employee understand work.
Appreciation. If they have been to of work for a while they are more likely to appreciate then job and could therefore invest more in it.
Experience. An older employee could have experience in a field from which the business can benefit. I am not thin king here about retail experience. rather, they may have business management skills, special interests or experience that you can leverage as you change the business.
Flexibility. With less focus on establishing themselves and a social life they cold be more available and this could help the roster.
Communication. An older employee is more likely to be better with oral communication given they has less tech when they were younger. While this is a rash generalisation, I’d back it to be likely.

When you are looking to fill a vacancy or a new role in the business, consider older person for these and other reasons you can think of. The could bring to the business skills and interest the you can leverage more valuably than the skills and interest of a younger lower cost employee.

Of course, the value of any employee depends on your hiring, training, management and motivation of them.

The post of this post is to suggest that next time you hire you think about an older employee.

Note: The federal government jobactive restart program can help Australian businesses that hire older employees financially:

Restart is a financial incentive of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) to encourage businesses to hire and retain mature age employees who are 50 years of age and over.

Older employees can bring new insights and energy to a business. The right hire could be just want the business needs to explore new traffic opportunities.

Read on Read later

Retail marketing advice on how to increase items per transaction

October 22, 2017

3 Min read

R

Driving shopper efficiency is key for retailers. It is easier to get a shopper in the store to purchase more than to get a new shopper into the store from outside.

In looking at shopper basket efficiency for many different retail businesses we have developed an understanding of basic steps different small business retailers can take to drive shipper efficiency. Here is our advice.

ENGAGE.

Smile, make conversation, treasure your customers. The more they enjoy shopping in your shop the more they will shop in your shop. Smile. Get good eye contact. Say hello rather than can I help you. The more personal the experience the more they will remember you. This is your point of difference. Personal service is the single most valuable way to drive shopper visit efficiency.

WORK THE SHOP.

Standing behind the counter means you’ll serve people who come to you. The more you are in the body of the shop and engaging with customers the more they will buy. In busy times work the shop – engage, offer up sells. Customer service increases revenue in every situation we have seen. Our advice is you locate a workstation on the shop floor.

DEMONSTRATE.

Show how products are used.

THE COUNTER AS A SALES TOOL.

Go to your shop counter and look at it from a customer perspective. What’s the message? Is it inviting? Are you using the counter to drive sales? Anyone can put product at their counter. It takes a clever retailer to use the counter to entice customers to buy a product. Use your counter wisely.

COUPONS.

It’s difficult to offer every customer an up sell. Instead, use your receipts. Include a $$ off on next purchase. Point it out. Keep it simple, have an expiry date on the coupon. This is an easy win that will bring back shoppers for sure.

TRAINING SALES EMPLOYEES.

Get your employees on side – explain your focus on growth. If they don’t support you, replace them. Respect your employees and ask for their ideas. Use their ideas! Train them. Guide them in providing exceptional service. They are your front line and need to be your most skilled team members.

TARGET, MEASURE, REASSESS.

Keep track of your success and failures. Be realistic in your assessment. Change what is not working and celebrate what is working – keeping your employees informed all the way through the process.

HOT SPOT TARGETS.

Focus on your top, say, 5 items. Watch where people buying these items go in your shop. Watch carefully. Consider what you can do to get them elsewhere in your shop. This is the key – getting people to shop outside their usual category, breaking their habits.

IN STORE SPRUIKER.

In your busiest time in the week bring in a spruiker for use INSIDE your shop. Create some buzz and excitement to draw people away from their usual shopping areas.

CHANGE.

A key reason people will stop visiting your shop is that they know what it will be like. A changing shop can be exciting. Good changes will make people want to come in and check out new products and other changes you’ve made.

While much of this advice reads like common sense. Too often we see retailers who have missed the opportunity.

Read on Read later

Helping retailers take better photos for their POS connected online stores

October 18, 2017

2 Min read

H

Photos are very important to retailers who sell online. The better the photos of a product the easier it is for an online shopper to purchase.

This is tough small business retailers as they often need to photograph products themselves if they want photos that look different from the stock photos provided by suppliers.

Photography for online sales is different to personal photography.

We get involved in this as it is in our POS software where small business retailers store photos and other content for each product they wish to sell online. Having the one repository for inventory information and images is important. It assists management and provided ease of change should the need arise.

To take better photos, retailers need to have the right tools:

The right place for photography that is setup for easy access.
Props for posing photos as the more you can show how a product might be used the better in some circumstances.
A lightbox for taking shadowless photos. This should take different background colours and bet of the right size for the types of products you are likely to need to photograph.
A good camera. A current model smart phone is usually okay given the quality of the cameras they offer today.
Basic editing software for correcting any imperfections than cannot be easily fixed by taking another photo.
Photo guidelines for all product photos taken by the business, so there is a consistent aesthetic for photos used by the business.

Once photos are taken and the actual ones to be used have been selected, these are loaded into the POS software for use there and for feeding to any ecommerce site used by the business.

If there are bulk photos to be uploaded to an ecommerce site, there are easy ways to do this without having to go through the POS software if that is a preference.

While none of this is related directly to help desk support using our POS software, we happily get involved, sharing the expertise of our team gained from our own retail businesses and the various ecommerce sites with which they connect.

Read on Read later

Helping small business retailers relax when feeling overwhelmed

September 16, 2017

3 Min read

H

Through its help for small business retailers, POS software company Tower Systems helps beyond the software, beyond what is usual for a POS software company.

The most recent help has been through practical advice on how to deal with feeling overwhelmed…

If you feel overwhelmed and can’t work out what to do, reach for this list and try one of the practical and safe ideas. They cost nothing.

The goal is to help you see small steps you can take to walk through whatever it is that makes you feel overwhelmed.

Go for a 5k or longer walk outside, alone. Not a stroll, but a walk, at pace if possible. Unplugged, no phone, no music.
Establish rituals for your day. How you start your day, how you end your day, lunchtime, bed time. For example, starting with breakfast, and a nice tea or coffee could be the calm start to the day you need.
Have apps on your phone that are fun and you enjoy. Play one of these for a while to take your mind off things. It is amazing how our mind helps us resolve things when we turn away from those things.
Learn meditation. From simple controlled breathing to yoga, meditation can be a perfect reset from a busy and overwhelming day.
Play Scrabble through Facebook on your computer. You can play anytime with someone you have never met and will never speak to.
Draw, even if you think you can’t. If you are not sure what to draw, draw why you feel overwhelmed.
Write. Anything but you could try writing on the page about what it is that you think makes you feel overwhelmed.
Talk. We are good listeners.
Three-count breathing. Inhale for three counts. Hold for three counts. Exhale for three counts. Do this for, say, ten rounds. Then increase the count. The rhythmic nature of this and concentration can help you see ahead.
Earth. Go to the beach, a park, your backyard and take your shoes and socks off and put your feet on the ground.
Watch. Go to a playground and watch kids play. If there is a local sports game on near you, go watch that.
Start a journal. Write in it every day.
Be clear to yourself when the day is done. While it is tough in small business to turn off, have a threshold so that once you cross it, you have turned off and the time is yours.
Find a quiet place, put on headphones connected to a music source and listen to your favorite album of all time, with the volume turned up and a do not disturb sign on the door.
Get away to a safe place and write a note to your overwhelmed self. Give yourself honest advice you’d give your best friend if they came to you with the feelings you have.

If you are struggling beyond what these suggestions can help with, consider speaking with your GP about a mental health plan. This provides access to medical professionals who can help you more effectively deal with what it is that leads you to feel overwhelmed.

Tower Systems develops and supports small business POS software. Our advice and help often reaches beyond what is usual for a POS software company. www.towersystems.com.au

Read on Read later

Inspiring retail display

July 16, 2017

1 Min read

I

We love this window display that we saw recently overseas. The colouring of the small logs makes he display pop.

Read on Read later

Visual merchandising inspiration for small business retailers

May 21, 2017

1 Min read

V

We get to see plenty of retail businesses in our ravels here at Tower Systems. Here are some recent displays we have in retail that we like:

Read on Read later

Small business marketing tip: get creative with signs

April 30, 2017

1 Min read

S

A fun and engaging sing on the footpath in front of your shop can attract people to your business. It can challenge people to consider your business beyond what the shingle above your door may say. The more creative the sign the better.

Go all out creative. Have fun. Be colourful. Shop that shopping with you will be fun. People want fun.

Here are a couple of signs we have seen recently that we love:

Read on Read later

A terrific way to bring an enjoyable soundtrack to your retail business

April 23, 2017

1 Min read

A

Play vinyl in-store. We saw this recently and loved it.

Read on Read later

The kind of sign we love to see in retail businesses

April 22, 2017

1 Min read

T

Read on Read later

Promoting Tyro broadband EFTPOS to small business retailers

March 3, 2017

1 Min read

P

We have been promoting this special offer from our friends at Tyro for the last week or so:

Hi there,

For a limited time, if you switch to our partner Tyro from one of the Big 4, they will guarantee you a savings of $1000.

5 other reasons to switch

Save time – Fully integrated with Tower for faster transactions with no more time wasted keying or fixing up errors
No lock-ins – Tyro has no lock-in contracts which means if a solution isn’t working for you, you can cancel at any time
24/7 customer support – Australian-based business specialists on hand at all times
99.99% up-time – Tyro has the most amount of up-time compared to any other provider
Lightning fast transactions – At just 1.6 secs per transaction, Tyro are the fastest provider on the market

If you’re an existing EFTPOS customer with one of the Big Four and are transacting between $1million and $3million every year, you’re eligible for this offer.

It’s valid until the end of March and is only available for the first 500 applicants – so get in fast!

Find out more Call: 02 8907 1700

Read on Read later

VM inspiration for small business retail – the impact of colour

February 18, 2017

1 Min read

V

Colour blocking in retail makes a difference in almost any type of business. Shoppers are drawn to colour-blocked displays as they stand out in-store.

Here is a colour blocked display we saw on our travels recently, in a stationery related business.

Plenty of small business specialty retail businesses have opportunities to colour block. The result can be a valuable increase in shopper engagement.

Read on Read later

Small business retail management advice: be David to the big business Goliath – how small business retailers can compete against big business

November 27, 2016

4 Min read

S

Small and independent retailers often feel helpless when a big national retailer opens up nearby. There is no match for their range, buying power, advertising coverage or even news coverage.

The sheer size of a national competitor is what scares many smaller retailers. This is often enough for them to give up and close the business.

Giving up and running is the easy way out. There is no lesson learned, just an escape from the fear.

The alternative is to find out how to deal with the national retailer.

Here are five tips for small businesses on how to face and deal with a national retailer moving into the area:

Don’t compete. By not talking about the competitor, pricing against them or pitching your business in any way, you separate yourself. While they may have similar products, it is unlikely that they are targeting your specific business so why target them? Focus instead on your own business.

Not competing should include not advertising price comparisons, not focusing on the competitor at staff meetings, not expanding your range to sell more of what they sell and not obsessing about them.

I was working with an independent retailer recently who decided to offer a product they sold which is also available in a nearby national retailer for 10% less than the sale price in the national retailer. This move gave the independent retailer a margin of 15%. In discussion I discovered that most of the customers who visited the independent retailer were unlikely to shop in the national retailer. So why compete on price?

If you know why customers shop with you, you have the opportunity of not giving up margin out of fear.

Run a better business. From the moment you hear about a new national retailer coming to town, look at every aspect of your business for opportunities for improvement. From the back room to the font counter fine tune your processes, employee training, stock buying and the look of the business. Dramatically improve your business from the inside out. This will improve your business health and help you weather challenges which may lie ahead.

Too often, independent retailers wait until the national retailer is open to react. This is probably a year or two too late.

Be unique. Look for ways to make your business unique. It could be on product range, operating hours, add-on services or something else. Embrace any opportunity to make your business unique. Even a unique niche range of products can give you traffic a big competitor will not chase. Try and focus on products which require a level of retail skill and knowledge to sell – national retailers have challenges hiring and retaining retail employees with specialist knowledge and skills.
Engage the community. Connect with the community at every possible opportunity. Support local groups, speak at functions, get known as someone and a business who care deeply about the local community. Subtly make the connection that you are fortunate to be able to help because of your local business.

Being smaller and independent you are better able to personally engage with the community. You and your team are the business whereas a national chain will always be the corporate. They can throw money around locally, you can throw time, knowledge and more flexible assistance.

Tell your stories. Your retail narrative, your stories, connect you with the local community. Tell these through the people you contact, your own blog, a Facebook page and in the pages of the local newspaper. Tell human stories about your business, the people who work in it and the local stories which connect with it.

Your stories could be about local community connection, convenience of shopping, commitment to range, personal customer service, product niche knowledge … there are many different narratives with which an independent retailer can connect. It is important that one you have your narrative you stick to is, that it inhabits your decisions, marketing and public presentation.

By acting early and in advance of a national retailer opening, you better position your business to weather their advertising and PR onslaught. Get in early, build a stronger business and understand that through this the new business in town will not be your competitor.

Read on Read later