Buying Smart to Increase Sales and Build Customer Loyalty - Dick Abbott

Buying Smart to Increase 

Sales and Build Customer Loyalty 

by Dick Abbott

Retail businesses are identified by what they sell.

It is the product they sell that attracts the customers they service. Consumers buy shoes at a shoe store, blazers and suits at a men’s store, hammers and screw drivers at a hardware store; you get the idea.

The store becomes the destination because of what it sells.

I see so many marketing and sales experts in the jewelry business stressing the importance both the marketing and sales effort have on results, and the need to get better at both. Well, I agree with their advice in principle, but it is not as important as having the right products in the first place. If your sales are sluggish because you have a poorly curated selection of inventory, the only thing that can happen from better marketing is that you disappoint and turn away more potential customers that you’ll not likely see again. Now a good salesperson may squeak out a few more sales from the same inventory selection, but how long would a good salesperson last? Not long! I’d like to see the grocer sell a head of lettuce to the customer needing a head of cabbage for a Saint Paddy’s Day corned beef and cabbage dinner. Not going to happen.

Customers want what they want when they want it.

The more often you can meet their needs, the more successful you will be. I read an article that says a new potential client will give you two chances to satisfy their needs. Disappoint them twice and you’ll not see them again. Current customers will hang on a little longer but disappoint them too many times and they will seek other sources. Your inventory selection is CRITICAL.

Having the right products in the right quantities and price ranges is crucial in all retail establishments and should be the first order of business before spending on things whose potential is limited by the store’s selection of inventory.

The importance of curating the right selection of inventory cannot be underestimated.

Sure, you might sell 3 or 4 pairs of diamond earrings in a season and be happy with that achievement, but what if 8 or 10 were possible if you had them? Current popular styles are a lot easier to sell than last years stuff and you don’t have to encourage the buyer by offering discounts. Sure, marketing and sales training is a good investment, a really good investment when the products you sell are the right ones for the marketplace you serve. The best marketing and salesmanship are of little value when you don’t have what the customer wants. At best it’s a hard sell and a waste of marketing dollars.

I saw the results of a jeweler last year whose sales were pretty darn good, but I can’t help but wonder how much better they could have been if they managed their inventory better. They are Edge users, but my guess is they are not aware of how the Edge can help them curate a higher performing inventory.

Looking at sold reports doesn’t work.

That is like looking in the rear-view mirror to see where you are going.  It is not effective. The reports may be interesting but not effective for buying purposes. This jeweler added 2 pieces costing $17,000 into the same inventory category that currently had 22 pieces costing $177,000, and those have sat in inventory for 5.5 years with none selling. It’s unthinkable to me that this could happen and only points up the need for us to help jewelers understand how the Edge can help them to build a more productive inventory. I’m urging you to invest just a few hours of time to learn how the Edge inventory management system can help you develop a more dynamic and profitable inventory in 2022. The good fortune brought about by the pandemic will not last forever. Good practices will!

Add better marketing and salesmanship to a better tuned inventory assortment, and watch sales soar. 

Among the many New Year’s resolutions you may make, make one to become a better inventory manager.

You can buy me a beer later!

Dick