With any life-altering time, our businesses need to change also. We now live in a world of pre-Covid and post-Covid (similar to pre- and post-war). Check out some of the ways your business should consider adjusting (if you haven’t already).
Change in Hours
Have you ever sat in the parking lot of a big box craft or fabric store and watched customers go in during hours you’re closed? If you’re like most business owners, you likely saw a business opportunity.
We get it, it’s impossible to offer as much as those large stores, considering all of their resources. But just because your store hours are convenient to you, doesn’t mean those hours are convenient for your customer base. Consider altering the time your store stays open at half hour increments, and compare your numbers to see if it was the right decision.
Change in Payments
Along with your store hours, you should offer a range of payment forms as well. Yes, you can still accept checks, but you should also upgrade to accepting Apple Pay, too.
Discounts
Whatever model you were using in 2019 really doesn’t apply anymore when it comes to offering clearances. Wholesalers have reduced their schedule to a quarterly schedule due to the product shortage they faced the majority of last year. Consider decreasing the amount of weekly and monthly sales you offer also.
Communication
Since you can’t be open 24/7, look into alternatives to help get you there. Consider adding a chat bot to your website so you can respond to questions at all hours of the day. Or even upgrade your phone service so customers can shoot the store a text with a question they might have.
Inspiration for this post came from “What’s Different?” by Tom Shay published in the June 2021 issue of American Quilt Retailer.
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