Business is tougher than most of us have ever seen or experienced. There are less customers walking through the doors daily in most retail and service industries. Then you hear today that a competitor is liquidating and shutting their doors for good. You are probably so involved in the daily operations of your empire that you are not sure what is happening around you with other businesses, so what do you do to maintain or even increase your sales?
If the first thought that comes to mind, is something like "I wonder if they are going to advertise like mad", or "How am I going to be able to keep my sales up during a liquidation sale". Then you need to rethink how to utilize the added advertising that will be out in the community, and take advantage of this opportunity to increase your sales and gain tremendous market share.
Here Is What You Do
- Verify Personally- Call or meet with the owner or manager of the business and verify what you have heard. Find out from them as much as you can in regards to what the situation is with the business, and why they are closing. Then share the information with all of your staff and insist on the same message from everyone, never saying anything derogatory. Take the high road, and show compassion towards all involved.
- Offer Assistance- Let them know that you want to be allies during the liquidation or store closing event. If they run out of something that you both carry or offer, invite them to send people your way. If you are willing to satisfy future service or fulfill warranties, put it in writing on your letterhead so that customers can see it. These types of techniques will drive consumers your way, and establish an incredible reputation in your communities as a stellar business.
- Create Your Own Event- Your store or business needs to look even better, and more exciting then the one that is closing. Make sure that people in the vicinity of the going out of business sale (G.O.B.) know about you as another option, and as THE place to compare.
- Sharp Pricing- Familiarize yourself and staff with the prices at the G.O.B., and simply match or beat the prices. Most consumers will prefer buying from a business that is going to be around next Tuesday.
Here Is What You DO NOT Do
- Assume Sales Will Go Down- G.O.B. sales create new customers, and will increase awareness of your business or industry. The aggressive business owners and managers will increase their sales when a competitor runs a closer.
- Bad Mouth- There is no way to say something bad and get something good, consumers will be turned off.
- Worry About Them- You have verified and offered assistance to the other business. Now you only talk about, and monitor your business during the time that you are competing for the money being spent in your industry (thanks to the G.O.B. advertising dollars being pumped in to your communities economy).
- Give Away The Farm- Liquidation sales are not done to give things away, they are done to make a profit and pay off vendors. You will not need to make very many changes on your pricing if you were competitive to begin with. Service, availability and selection are your advantage when a neighbor closes down.
- Complain- People want to deal with a winner and a successful operation, things are just fine and sales are good. These are the messages that you want to share with customers.
No matter what size community or what industry, the principles are standard practice to achieve success during a store closing or liquidation sale. For more specific information, or for custom consulting contact us.
