When it comes to retail, knowing the ins and outs of the industry is essential whether you are starting or well-established. The industry is ever-changing, and knowing what is required or staying ahead of your competitors to continue growth will benefit your business for added value in the future.
Having a clear foundation, business plan, and strategy, whether you are a small, big, established, or new business, setting goals and how you plan to achieve them are fundamental steppingstones in your business success. In this article, we will break down the four key principles as a business owner that need to be considered as the foundation of any successful business and why a business valuation is essential for any business owner.
What is Retail Marketing?
For any business’s success, marketing plays an important role, and it’s about bringing your product or service to potential customers. With any marketing of a business, you need the 4 P’s (product, price, place, and promotion). If you have a unique product or service that is the first step to your business’s foundation, keep in mind any additional components to marketing, including the packaging, competitive pricing, and sales campaigns.
The Four Key Principles of Retail Marketing Success
Product
Before you even plan all the marketing techniques, you need a product or service you are launching or want to rebrand within your business. A product can be physical or intangible, as long as it’s a complete item when marketing is about the details that make up the product, most notably the packaging. No product can be sold without its packaging. The packaging can make or break the success of a product as this is the first impression a customer has of your product and business overall. The product and packaging should represent your brand and brand aesthetic.
Consider these guidelines to help you determine the product and how you want it to look.
- Knowing your demographic
- Personalized and professional yet low-cost packaging
- Creating an experience with your packaging
- Eco-friendly options
Price
When it comes to pricing, it can be overwhelming to know where to stand and still be competitive. There are several factors to consider when it comes to pricing, such as overhead expenses, competitors, profit, market demand, and the overall market conditions. All these, if done correctly, can have a positive impact on your sales.
There are two methods of pricing that are commonly used by the business owner, cost-plus and value-based pricing.
Firstly, cost-plus pricing is used to determine and find the break-even price of the product/service you are offering and add the mark-up of the profit amount you intend to make for each product. To break it down, this will include the cost of materials, labor, and overheads. This will total the cost of the product/service. This amount will then be added to the percentage of your markup to give the total sale price.
With value-based pricing, an estimate of how much your product/service is determined by how much its worth to potential customers. This method is a strategy to appeal to your customers’ emotions, especially in niche markets such as retail. This is important. This type of method is used best for products with varying levels of value and the demand within the market. Benefiting retail owners as higher prices will bring higher profits.
Place
Location, Location, Location
You have a unique, stand-out product/service, but it is hard to reach when it comes to your customers? This can harm your sales, impacting your business’s success. With businesses, there are various distribution channels available, with multiple options for your product placement for customers to access. Choosing the right channel is essential. It all comes down to your target audience and the shops they use, and where they are willing to go for certain access products.
It depends on the product/service you are offering; this process can be simple but not always easy to display your products face to face in retail stores, keeping in mind these key aspects:
- Perfect the packaging
- Research retailers available and which fit your product
- Practice how you are going to approach the stores to sell your product
Promotion
Lastly, the focus for any business is based on how they promote their product/service. This is the deciding factor when it comes to marketing. With retail, the way you market is all about communication, finding what interests your target audience and their expectations of the product or service you have to offer. Promoting your product varies and all depends on the product type or service. With a marketing promotion or strategy, having a clear understanding of your audience and the best ways to reach them is a key factor in this step of marketing success, no matter the business.
As businesses or brands continue to evolve and grow, keeping up with the ever-changing market and competitors can be over-whelming. It is all about creativity when promoting what your business has to offer, standing out from the rest, and attracting more customers.
Marketing for any business is essential. As a business owner, has a clear understanding of your business and what your goals are, how you wish to achieve them, and the potential of growing a successful business which will have a positive impact on adding value to your business in the future. These four principles will get you on the proper track to figuring out where to start. How you go from there is the deciding factor for your success.
Ever heard the term business valuation? As a business owner, knowing the true value potential of your business, whether it is new or established, is essential. A business valuation is a process in which a valuer will determine the true market value of your business by considering a range of factors. The valuer will conduct a physical inspection and provide you with a comprehensive, detailed report of his findings.
The valuer takes into account the following:
- Nature of the business, what market you fall under within the industry
- The financial performance
- Business assets and liabilities
- Any economic conditions both locally and nationally
External factors are weighed into the valuation findings, which can play a role in the daily running and operations of the business. The valuer will take all the data, and with their professional knowledge and experience in the field, they will determine the best method to calculate the actual value. As every business is different and unique and its operations, the purpose of your valuation will be to select the type of valuation service you require. This will then be tailored, so you receive the best outcome on your report.
A business valuation is an essential tool to have as a business owner. The market is constantly changing, so having a valuation will keep you a step ahead of your competitors. It will have a positive impact on the future success of your business which in turn will add value to your investment.
Author Bio
Jennifer Matthers has been building her professional career as a property valuer for over 20 years, making her an expert in his field. After Jennifer finished her Bachelor’s in Property, she jumped into a training program to develop her skills and further her knowledge while helping create new advanced training programs for new valuers to pass on her expertise and skills.
