Resourceful Retailing Techniques

Competition is fierce in the pool industry - we all know that. If you want to make sure that your Retail location not only stands out amonst your competitors, but blows them out of the water (so to speak), you need to be creative and resourceful.

Thankfully, there are a few tactics that require no investment beyond time and can truly put your store on the map. I'm talking about online marketing, but DON'T run away yet! I have a few ideas that will be easy to implement and can make a huge difference in your business.

There are 4 resources that I think EVERY business should utilize to the best of their ability, and there is one technique that I think will be particularly helpful to Retailers in particular. 

You can read more about the 4 here: Top 4 Resources Every Business Should be Using

This post is going to go more in depth about the one topic that I think will be most useful to you:

In my honest opinion, there is one thing that will make sure you garner customer loyalty - education. Pool owners have questions, and if you can answer those questions in a intelligent yet easily understandable manner, your pool owners will continue to come to you for help.

If you can stay one step ahead of them by answering questions they didn't realize they had, they will come to you to buy a solution to a problem that would never have even been noticed without you. That instills a powerful source of loyalty in a shopper.

As long as you are offering informtation that is relevant to your customer, in a way that grabs their attention, you will have a receptive audience. If you are boring, too technical, too salesy, or too anything else, you will lose them. But if you keep it light, and you keep the customer as your focus, you will find success.

A great way to continuously offer relevant information in an easily accessible manner is via a blog or email marketing. Both can be low -cost, if not free. Personally, I have a blog built into my website (obviously) and I use Constant Contact to complete my email campaigns. I get great responses and feedback from my readers, and I send out emails weekly. (What do you think? Leave your comments below!).

I will also admit that I am much, much more likely to shop somewhere if I have signed up for a newsletter from them. I do NOT recommend adding anyone to your list who has NOT specifically signed up to receive your emails, but you can quickly build your list by asking every customer who checks out, or adding a sign-up box on your website, or doing a draw for everyone who enters their email address into a box, etc.

I truly believe that sending out regular - helpful - emails and / or posting blogs will make sure that YOUR business is the one your customers will always think of in a pinch. Not to mention when they are not in a pinch!