Savvy business owners will keep a close eye on product inventory, web visit stats, and customer reviews to monitor his or her company progress. When profits drop, the usual suspects are investigated first, including employees, products, and customer service. However, other factors can play a significant role in your business sales, or lack of. The following three aspects of your company’s facility, when open to the public, should be considered when sales are in question.
Organization
Customers’ ability to quickly locate products and accompanying information is essential to sales. Product displays that are hard to find or difficult to interpret in terms of availability, price, and quantities can be off-putting to shoppers. Weaving through crowded aisles or searching for hard-to-find merchandise is also a turn-off.
Do periodic walk-throughs to ensure your facility is easy to navigate with accessible information and prominently-displayed products. It’s also imperative that your business office is organized and well-kept. Your entire operation needs to have specific work spaces where products and supplies are well organized and easily accessed. This is especially imperative to your in-house customer service and sales department. Ensure that everything from orders to finances has a well-organized system with proper documentation.
Cleanliness
Slushy floors during rainy and snowy weather are not only unclean, but are also unsafe. Debris strewed on shelves or flooring can have customers second-guessing the quality of products and services. Dusty bins and even unkempt employees may encourage customers to leave promptly, without taking time to browse merchandise and make purchases. Windows and doors should be clean and in good working order. Signage should be clear and not fingerprint-smudged.
Consider the first impression customers and potential customers are receiving when they first walk into your business. First impressions are imperative and can’t be stressed enough. Ensure that your company goals and guidelines align with great customer service and cleanliness. Attractive premises help to keep customers in the store longer with more lucrative buying habits. If you’re consistently clean and professional, it will also help increase your customer return rate.
Production
In many business aspects, it is important to consider the profits that could be lost solely in production. You want to constantly be analyzing your production process to ensure that it is the most efficient it could possibly be. If you manufacture a product that needs to be at a regulated temperature, it is imperative that you have a streamlined process that does just that. It would be a pity to lose product because it spoiled on your own production line or in transport. You may consider using temperature-regulating products, like those at Powerblanket, to regulate your production line and avoid unnecessary losses.
Your production line and employees are only as successful as you allow them to be. Empower them with the proper training, education, and tools to be able to successfully complete their tasks and help the company grow and move towards corporate goals. Investing in your employees and their work environments is a great way to show them you care about not only your business, but your employees and their success as well.
It may seem like any business can attract customers and increase sales volume with suitable products. Surprisingly, issues like those above can impact customer comfort and convenience. Shoppers who experience erratic facility temperatures, observe messy or dirty premises, or have difficulty finding what they want may actually hasten their departure. Take stock of these issues to attract and keep customers.
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