Whether you’re running a retail business or just starting out, it's important you understand the ins and outs of the industry and know what is required to keep ahead of the competitors, grow and add value to your business.
It's important with any business type that you have a clear plan and strategy for what goals you wish to achieve and how you plan to achieve them. In this blog post we have explained the four key principles that you need to consider as the foundation to any business, especially the retail industry.
What is Retail Marketing?
For any business to succeed marketing plays an important role, it’s a process of bringing the product/service you have directly to your customer. Marketing involves:
- Planning
- Promotion
- Presentation
So, you would need to have a unique product or service as the first step to your business foundation, keeping in mind any additional components to marketing such as
- Packaging
- Competitive pricing
- Sales campaigns
Four Key Principles
Product
Simply Put, before you can even start marketing there needs to be a product that you are launching or rebranding within the industry. Whether it's physical or intangible it's important to create a complete item, consider all the details that make up a product, especially the packaging.
Your packaging should tie in with the product and your brand/business aesthetic, take the time and consideration and our guide to help you determine the product and how you are capturing the look.
- Know your demographic
- Low-cost packaging
- It’s an experience make the packaging apart of that
- Be considerate of wastage, consider sustainable and eco-friendly
Price
There are several factors when it comes to pricing that you need to remember, such as
- Overhead expenses
- Competitors
- Profit
- Demand within the market
- Market conditions
You need to find a happy medium with your pricing which in turn will have a positive impact on sales
Two pricing methods commonly used
Cost-plus pricing
Is a determination to find the break-even price for a product/service and then adding a markup on how much profit you wish to make on each
Value-based pricing
An estimate of how much your product is worth to customers, this strategy you are appealing to the customers emotions. This method is popular for varying levels of value and demand in the market. Benefitting retail owners as the higher the price, the higher profits you will receive.
Place
Location, Location, LocationYou may have the best product available, but if it's out of reach to your customers this will have a negative impact on your sales, with various distribution channels available you have an endless list of opportunities to place your products In front of your customers. The channel you choose is important because you need to keep in mind your target audience and where they shop
It can be simple, but not always easy, depending on your product to place your products on the frontline of retail stores.
Promotion
Last, but most important of the key principles is promoting your product/service. When it comes to retail marketing it’s all about communicating with customers and finding out what interests them and what they expect in a product or service like yours.
The way you promote your product depends on the type, there’s the traditional way for advertising, or the new way of promoting your business is through influencer marketing. With any strategy or promotion method your decision on having a clear understanding of the target audience and how best you can reach them is important.
Brands are continuing to grow and evolve, and your competitors will always try to stay one step ahead of you. It all comes down to creativity for how you are promoting your business. Ask yourself, what are you planning on doing that will stand out from the rest and potentially add more potential customers.
It's important for a business owner to be successful and make a profit, these four principles will get you started on the right path to determine what’s best for the future of your business, whether you are starting out or well-established, the market is always changing so staying ahead can be difficult at times if you don’t know where your business stands financially within the industry, having a business valuer in your corner will be an essential tool to get a clear insight into your business and any other factors that are in play to determine the true value and success of your business in the future.