5 Tips for Managing a Multi Location Retail Business

Retail retailer administration is rarely easy, and whenever you develop right into a multi location enterprise, issues can get much more difficult. 

Any enterprise that desires to develop and scale must have some strong processes for ensuring day-to-day operations run easily. On this article, we’re going to discover some ideas that can assist you handle a number of retail retailer places. You’ll hear retailers and consultants speak about:

1. Standardize your operations

One option to efficiently handle a number of retail retailer places is to make use of the identical customary working process throughout all of your shops, suggests Olivia Tan, Co-Founding father of Singapore-based CocoFax, a web based fax resolution supplier. 

“Ensure that all your retailer operations are working easily, regardless that you’re unable to be straight current to observe every retailer on the similar time,” stated Tan.

The procedures utilized at every of your shops may cowl actions resembling:

• Buyer criticism dealing with
• Discounting and promotions
• Employees rosters and schedules
• The product returns system 
• Buyer communication
• Buyer expertise.

Imagine us, the extra places you may have, the extra grateful you’ll be for having these customary working processes in place. 

2. Rent nice retailer staff

Skilled and dependable employees are one other must-have.

“Rent individuals you possibly can belief to symbolize you managing your retail shops. Ensure that all of your staff are competent and capable of work professionally. Periodic coaching is vital to enhance your staff’ abilities, particularly for individuals who deal with clients straight day by day,” stated Tan.

• Give desire to staff with a capability to be skilled and well mannered underneath any circumstances. Competence is a trait it is best to at all times search for too.
• Present your staff with the precise coaching too, as you can’t handle a number of shops directly. Your staff want to grasp your objectives and in return you’ll want to maintain them blissful. 
• Take note of your staff’ welfare too. Make certain they at all times obtain good salaries, incentives and advantages.

The underside line is that it’s unimaginable to run a profitable multi-store retail enterprise with out having the precise individuals working alongside you. 

3. Talk properly, talk usually

Operating a number of shops calls for a superb strategy to communication throughout the enterprise too. 

Tricia Gustin, Senior Advertising and marketing Director at The Parker Avery Group, stated retailers would keep away from widespread approaches like a collection of emails or the ‘weekly bundle’ to your retailer supervisor, who’s then anticipated to distribute info to the employees.  

“We’ve seen these strategies in lots of retailers, they usually find yourself as a firehose and extra noise than is manageable. Finally, in these eventualities key messaging will get misplaced, which ends up in downstream impacts to stock, customer support, and staffing,” stated Gustin.

As an alternative, Gustin suggests, retailers ought to talk throughout a number of channels with a constant strategy and cadence. “Folks take in info in a different way, and particularly with the quick tempo of retailer operations, counting on a single channel or particular person is not going to be as efficient accurately,” she stated. 

“There are instruments that may assist handle communications and data distribution, resembling Retail Zip Line, that bundle communications into duties, calendaring, assets, surveys, discussions and extra. Exterior of utilizing a particular software, the bottom line is to have a strong plan in place that’s constantly used, employs a number of channels and encourages suggestions,” she stated.

4. Use the precise software program and expertise

Sensible expertise and software program proceed to be big property for modern-day retailers. Sure, there’s a mind-boggling variety of options and choices on the market, however listed here are only a few that could be useful to managing a number of retail shops.

Ecommerce software program

Many retailers struggled to discover a option to create an eCommerce presence, when clients first couldn’t go to shops at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s by no means too late to arrange a superb on-line retailer to assist a retail enterprise with a number of places. Whereas there are standalone eCommerce platform suppliers, if you wish to run a very environment friendly enterprise, search for POS methods that supply eCommerce performance. This lets you sync on-line and in-store exercise throughout all your places with one platform. 

Advertising and marketing software program

You already know you’ll want to construct a powerful relationship with clients throughout all your shops. So after they’re not in one in every of your shops, they’re nonetheless listening to from you. Advertising and marketing automation software program might help you do that. And you need to use advertising automation for rather more than promoting to your clients. Why must you be in contact? Nicely, the subsequent time they’re prepared to purchase, you want your store to be top of mind. The correct software program may even enable you monitor what content material and affords your clients are desirous about, so you possibly can attain them with the precise message on the proper time.

POS software program

The extra you develop, the extra you’re going to want the precise expertise and software program to remain on prime of key retail metrics and actions throughout each single location. Modernizing your POS setup is the neatest first step. Firms like Lightspeed might help you find the right point-of-sale setup for a lot of various kinds of multiple-location retail companies. Whether or not you’re working in retail franchise enterprise, a series division retailer, or a small-town retailer seeking to experiment with pop-ups or outside markets. With counter and cell POS terminals that sync to your accounting software program, your gross sales assistants can settle for a variety of cost strategies throughout each location. 

As you look extra deeply into POS methods to assist your numerous places, different issues to think about embody:

• Migrating to the cloud. “Not solely will you get monetary savings from the necessity to obtain apps to your pc {hardware}, it makes a whole lot of processes seamless,” stated Ian Sells, Co-Founder and CEO of Rebate Key. “In case your retail shops are branches of the identical model, it’s finest to have a cloud that accommodates needed information, stock, and processes. This enables everybody quick access to vital information. This additionally permits simple information-sharing,” he stated.
• Automating your stock. “Having numerous shops signifies that it may be difficult to maintain monitor of stock manually, stated Stephen Mills, the co-owner and CMO of Nolah Mattress. “It’s doable, however it’s too labor-intensive. The standard manner is to rent a devoted employees to maintain monitor of every thing, however doing so shouldn’t be cost-efficient and is vulnerable to human error.” Investing in an inventory management system, like a POS system, solves all of those points. The perfect half is that this software program helps companies maintain sufficient stock levels throughout all shops. When sure gadgets fall under the brink, it informs the employees that they should replenish them, guaranteeing that they’re at all times in inventory.

5. Get severe about retailer safety

Safety has at all times been vital for retail retailer homeowners. 

The pandemic has led many retailers to enhance their safety administration, as thieves appeared to benefit from shuttered places and quieter cities and cities. A current report confirmed a 3rd of companies wish to improve their security management. 

Good expertise and safety integrations might help retailers handle a number of places whereas bettering their shops’ efficiency. Think about the next on your shops:

• Good safety cameras: Video cameras are a must have for surveillance they usually can be used for dwell look-ins, entry management, and out-of-hours deliveries. 
• Retailer entry management: Cameras can be utilized alongside different good expertise like entry management. Retail retailer homeowners can use cameras to determine acquainted individuals like supply personnel or staff to unlock doorways remotely. Keycards and swipes may enhance safety throughout your shops. 
• Distant supply monitoring: Use good cameras to trace deliveries and guarantee anticipated deliveries arrive safely and on time.
• Good lighting and vitality: With good thermostats and lighting, homeowners can handle vitality utilization at a number of places. For instance, your retailer managers can set your lighting and thermostat to match open and shut hours and decrease the usage of vitality from these gadgets whereas the shop is empty.

“Video surveillance now contains superior enterprise analytics that may assist small companies monitor issues like queue monitoring to make sure clients will not be stored ready for service, people-counting to find out the variety of clients who buy, foot site visitors to assist employees appropriately for key gross sales peaks, and even warmth maps for alternatives to enhance merchandising,” stated Ohad Zeira, Vice President of Small Enterprise for safety supplier ADT. 

Staying on prime of a number of retail places

Including a number of places to your retail enterprise is one thing you might be very pleased with. It means your enterprise is rising, opening itself as much as higher foot site visitors, and reaching extra alternatives to bolster your gross sales and income. 

Searching for software program that can assist you streamline in-store purchases throughout each one in every of your places? Talk to one of our retail experts to see how Lightspeed might help to ignite the potential of your multi-location retail enterprise.