Supplier relationship management: 5 ways to build strong bonds with vendors

All relationships are a two-way street.  When you’re in retail, your relationships with vendors are just as important your relationships with customers, so it pays to build strong bonds with them.  Those bonds keep your shelves stocked, so you can do business at full throttle.

Here are 5 ways retailers can build strong bonds with vendors.

Finding the right vendors can seem daunting if you’re new to it, or if you’ve had less than stellar experiences with suppliers you’re seeking to replace.  But there are some easy ways to find them.

Expositions bring you face-to-face with major suppliers, so make a point of attending these occasionally, even if you’re not in the market.  You’ll be in step with current trends and see what’s new in the world of vendors.

Check out publications specific to your type of retail.  You’ll see advertisements from suppliers in their pages and again, keep abreast of what’s new.

2. Check out the competition.

Some relationships just aren’t meant to be and that’s OK.  You can find the right supplier by checking out the competition, if things go south with your current vendor.

Doing your homework can lead you to excellent resources.  Knowing about them is great, even if your current vendor relationship is going well.  It never hurts to have an alternative up your sleeve.  In fact, it makes good business sense.

3. Multi-sourcing.

You’ve been dealing with a vendor for many years and that’s great, but diversification is a proven strategy to ensure your inventory is nimble, fresh and offering your customers what they want.

Sourcing product from multiple suppliers creates a healthy network, protecting you from the possibility of empty shelves when you’re least expecting (or wanting) that to happen.  Building relationships starts with reaching out, so that’s another key function of attending trade events.

4. A mutually advantageous agreement.

Any agreement you enter into with a vendor should be specific to the relationship.  That means avoiding the boilerplate effect.  Keeping your wording specific may take a little more time, but it ensures that the agreement works for both of you and doesn’t miss anything one or both of you will regret later.

Ask questions in the negotiation process.  Be sure you’re covering all the bases and that you know exactly where you stand before signing your vendor agreement.  Going into a contractual relationship with your eyes wide open is always the best look for you.

5. Constant contact.

If you’re only talking to your suppliers when you need something, that’s hardly the basis for a healthy relationship.  Checking in with your vendors to see what they’re up to is always a great idea.  This is where the real relationship building happens.

Regular communication also precludes misunderstandings on the part of suppliers about your needs.  Being as precise as possible about what you’re expecting in terms of product movement helps vendors plan and serve you better.  Regular, casual communication reinforces the relationship.

Contact Clip Strip Corp. for leading edge retail POP display merchandising components.

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4 totally preventable causes of stockouts (and how to prevent them)

Stockouts are every retailer’s worst nightmare.  Particularly with popular, fast-selling products, stockouts can leave customers feeling disappointed – even betrayed.

Running out of inventory, especially during a sales event or promotion, can damage customer relationships and stress out retailers.  Customer service fixes can be helpful, but there’s a cost to those, especially when you need to placate a customer with something special.

Following are 4 totally preventable causes of stockouts (and how to prevent them).

1. Not holding back a buffer.

A buffer is what smart retailers create to avoid running out of a wildly popular item.  Creating a buffer for those happy moments when your stock is ticking down, means customers don’t know it’s there, because it’s in the stockroom – not on the floor.

The buffer can serve as a welcome surprise for preferred customers, offering them another layer of personalization, with a “just because you’re you” edge.

2. Manual entry errors.

The days of manual inventory tracking are over.  It’s time-consuming and prone to errors.  A much better solution is software that helps you keep accurate records.

Point of Sale software that’s synchronized to an inventory management tool is one of the most effective ways to keep track of what you’ve got in the stockroom.  Keeping tabs on what these electronic tools are telling you is the best way to avoid stockouts.

3. Missing the boat.

Many retailers know this one well.  Because they didn’t anticipate OOS (out of stock) scenarios, they experienced the dreaded stockout.

OOS trends can be tracked using your inventory management software.  This will alert you to days of the week you’re most likely to face a stockout and other patterns that can help you avoid it happening.  With access to this information, you can order new stock to arrive before stockouts have a chance to happen.

When you’re regularly auditing your inventory and understanding trends, you’ll never miss the boat again.

4. Inadequate training.

Investing in effective staff training is the last of our 4 totally preventable causes of stockout.  When employees aren’t adequately trained in inventory management procedures, they’re bound to make costly mistakes.

Your staff is one of your business’s most potent resources.  They’re where your customers have their experiences of your outlet in the face-to-face interactions which distinguish retail from online purchasing.  That means they represent a resource that’s well worth the investment in time and money.

Your stockroom may be adequately stocked and your software working perfectly.  Those factors don’t compensate for staff who don’t restock shelves when they’re empty, or know how to read data.  Training your staff about the importance of managing inventory to avoid stockouts is crucial.

Part of that training is impressing on sales floor staff the high cost of stockouts and how they impact your relationships with customers.  You’re offering them an education in retail marketing which is deeply valuable and one which will stand them in good stead for the future.

Clip Strip Corp. is the leader in exceptional retail display product merchandising components.  Visit us to discover quality.

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Prep your store for the summer with our essential checklist

The weather is warm, the days are long and families are on vacation.  Many people love to browse through stores like yours while vacationing, so you’ll need to be ready to greet new customers.

It’s time to prep your store for the summer with our essential checklist.   These simple tips can make the most of summer business.

Boost your staff.

Especially if your brick and mortar store is in an area which routinely hosts high summer traffic, it’s a good idea to be ready with more staff.

If you normally hire students over the summer, re-hire those who’ve been with you in the past.  This saves you valuable training time and returns a familiar face to your outlet your customers will be happy to see.

A line up at the cash register isn’t what happy vacationers want to see, so make sure you have enough floor staff on hand to prevent that from happening.

Make sure your staff is trained in the seasonal realities of making out of town visitors feel welcome.  Asking where they’re from and if they’re enjoying their visit is a great way to roll out the retail red carpet.

Market to the season.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to get out the calendar and start planning for events like Labor Day, as well as local highlights.

Schedule promotions which speak to your customers, offering specials at key times and planning events like sidewalk sales around them.  Bust out the balloons and lemonade and make your promotional events fun experiences.

Being ready for the events as they come means you can focus on keeping your customers happy.  Offering value-added events enlivens your community, while drawing shoppers who may never have visited you before.

Summertime merchandising.

Your store window displays should spell “summer” now, in letters 10 feet high.  Highlight seasonal events.  If your area has a country fair, fill your window with a display that evokes that vibe.

Remember to include products which appeal to vacationers.  Small souvenir items, travel essentials, summer clothing and sunglasses all fit the bill.  These can also make an appearance in a prominent POP display inside, or as part of a summer essentials display feature.

Your windows are the first thing shoppers see, so keep them summertime specific.  Just add beach balls, shells, colorful beach towels and a big, yellow sun to put your products in seasonal context.

Summer is an opportunity for many retailers.  If we’re being honest, summer is a beloved season that many people spend the rest of the year dreaming of and looking forward to.  Make your summer season special for customers and prosperous for you, with these simple tips.

Prep you store for the summer with our essential checklist and bring the best of summer to your customers, whether stalwarts or visitors.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in quality retail POP display merchandising components.  Our innovative line of products support your store with outstanding options that move product and create a seamless, professionalized customer experience.  Visit us for more!

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Clever ways retailers can maximize profit on everything they sell

To get started, I’m going to assume that you’re not in retail for the sake of your health.  You’re in retail because you want to make a profit from selling your goods.

Of course, you are!

There are some clever ways retailers can maximize profit on everything they sell and I’m willing to bet you’d like to know what those are.  So, let’s get started.

Lower your price points.

When you can lower your price points without impacting the bottom line, you’re maximizing your profit potential.

Talking to vendors about ways to do this effectively is a solid approach.  Buying in large lots (for quick-selling items), and consolidating purchases, creates more buying power that you can pass on to your customers as savings.

When negotiating with your vendors, make sure they know you’re checking in with competitors.  This strategy very often leads to existing vendors being more willing to budge on pricing.

…or raise your price points.

While this may seem counter-intuitive, it’s important to consider the idea that you may not be charging enough for your products to enjoy a healthy margin.

Look at your numbers and find a balance between consumer-friendly pricing and the health of your business.  Also, consider your local economy and how that might determine your customers’ true sensitivity to pricing.

Your competition is another key for determining whether your price points are serving your bottom line.  If they’re charging significantly more than you are (or significantly less), this factor should inform your decision on whether to drop pricing or raise it.

If your customers visit you regularly because you’re offering them a superior customer experience, you’ll be much more able to up your pricing.  Over half of consumers polled were willing to pay more for excellent customer service and in-store experience.

Automation.

While it’s important to defend the retail edge in terms of face-to-face interactions which add value, automation may be the answer to some of your in-store functions.

Data entry is one area you can reduce labor and save money.  Sales data needn’t be manually entered when you have the right kind of Point of Sale and accounting software.  Synchronized to work together, these two systems can be automated to end the drudgery associated with this function.

Inventory management can also be automated, saving you and your staff huge rafts of time.  That’s time you can spend on displays and customer service.

Personalization.

Today’s consumer is strongly motivated by personalized retail experiences.  Creating targeted discounts for loyal customers is another way to maximize profit on everything you sell.

Some customers won’t need a tremendous discount to act on your offer.  Others need a significant discount to compel a purchase.  Knowing your customers and being in tune with their buying habits is key to effectively targeting discounts and offers.

Global discounts are sometimes effective, but personalization is a trend in retail that should be driving how you’re presenting them to customers.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in retail POP display merchandising components.  Find out what’s in store.

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Keeping your inventory fresh: product display options retailers can tap into

Your retail store has loyal customers who return year after year.  Either you have what they’re looking for, you’re convenient for them, or you’re a habit.

Keeping your inventory fresh is the best way to keep loyal customers coming back and pique the interest of new customers.  When repeat shoppers come into your brick and mortar outlet, they should be encountering new products.  That doesn’t mean you need to completely turn over your inventory.  It means you layer fresh interest at every opportunity and feature it with eye-catching displays.

And eye-catching displays mean sales and space in the stockroom for new entries to your product line.  But it also means presenting older product in new ways that re-vision it as more exciting and interesting to your customers.

This post explores keeping your inventory fresh with product display options retailers can tap into to keep product moving.

Re-inventing your sales floor.

Retailers know that most consumers walk into a retail outlet expecting to find certain products in the same place they always have.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  Your job is to find new ways to present products which renovate their visibility and ability to draw the shopper’s eye.

Re-inventing your sales floor is an ongoing effort.  Like your windows, in-store displays can move items which may have been languishing, as well as present new items.  Placing older inventory in a display featuring new offerings presents them in an entirely new light.

As your customers experience your new product, they see the older product with new eyes and in an entirely new perspective.

The element of surprise.

Surprising your customers creates an experience for them.  When they come in, seeing something new (or something old, presented as something new, or next to something new) is a pleasant jolt which can compel sales.

Incorporate objects into your displays which add visual interest.  These might be family photos in a summer camping gear display, or old buoys from a nearby lake.  These are visually surprising elements which invite your customers to experience something new, even if the products you’re displaying have been around for awhile.

Start a conversation.

A surprising or non-traditional element in your displays can be your opportunity to start a conversation.  Maybe what’s for sale in that display isn’t what your customer’s after, but the fact they’re drawn to it is an opening you shouldn’t allow to close without making a connection.

This is your chance to find out what the customer wants and needs.  You’re taking an opportunity to strengthen and build a connection to shoppers who’ve taken an interest in the display and that’s one of the most powerful tools in a retailer’s toolkit – strong customer relationships.

At Clip Strip Corp., we bring retailers the leading edge in retail POP display merchandising components.  Our outstanding product line helps you keep your inventory fresh by highlighting your store’s products with consistency and professionalism that drive sales.

Contact us.  Find out more about keeping your inventory fresh.

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