Retail And Marketing Management Discussion Forum

Customer Retention What is Customer Retention? Customer retention is the ability of the company or a product to retain its customers over a specific period of time. If the customer is repeatedly purchasing your product then it means that he is satisfied with your product or service and at the same time he is the retained customer of your business. High Customer Retention means the customer of the particular product is returning to purchase the product and continuing to buy without switching to another product or brand. Example of Customer Retention: Consider you are purchasing a car from Maruti Suzuki and after using the car for 4 to 5 years, you decide to sell the existing car and purchase a new car. Now if you again buy the car from Maruti Suzuki then you are a retained customer for Maruti. Or else if you buy the car from Hyundai then it means that you have shifted your brand preference and Maruti have lost one customer. How the customer retention can be achieved? Usually, good servi...

WHAT IS STOCK TAKE? The activity of physically counting the stock to know the actual amount of stock in hand is called Stock Take in Retail store operations WHY IS THE PROCESS IMPORTANT Stock take is done to bring out the variation in stock between the actual stock at hand versus the book stock( stock in the system) Variation can result in excess/shortage of inventory Store must analyze the discrepancy and take corrective action The discrepancy of count adversely affects stores profitability Hence, it is important that the stock take activity is carried out  accurately STOCK TAKE OVERVIEW A 100% stock take i.e. complete audit of the physical inventory (PI) for each retail store must be conducted to control and measure the shrinkage.  This is done as per the pre-stock take schedule circulated by the zonal stock controller (ZSC) for each stocktake cycle - Each cycle= 4 months Store manager and stock auditor/ assistant stock auditor from Third party services (TPS) is responsible ...

  What Are Signages Signages are the visual communications that provide directions, identification, information,  orientation, warnings, regulations, or restrictions via  symbols/words to our customers.  These are also advertising tools for giving information  on promotions and offers Why Are Signages Important These are an ideal way of communicating with  customers as they inform, educate and instruct  customers. Customers associate signages with the store design For chain stores like ours, standard signage designs  give customers a sense of familiarity with the store How Do We Do It * Standardization of signages * Guidelines for signages * Signage placement * Signage requisition * Timely display and removal of signages * VM fixtures management * Re-ordering of the fixtures * Training of team leaders on handling the fixtures * Mannequins in the store * Space on hire * VM weekly checklist Standardization Of Signages All the retail stores must prin...

What Is Store Manager's Discount A special discount to the customer at the discretion of the Store  Manager given in certain special circumstances which is discussed further. In this kind of discount, the net amount paid by the customer would be lesser than the selling  price of the merchandise When is Store Manager Discount Used? The store manager's discount can be provided only under the  following circumstances: Scheme not uploaded in REM Corporate discounting Bulk purchase Adjustment of credit note Offline billing Price mismatch Privilege customer Authority discounting Discount Options In Cash Till or POS:  The three discount options are: Default scheme Global scheme Last item scheme Store Manager's Responsibility The store manager's discount is operated with a ID and password  which must be kept confidential at all times.  In case of his/her absence, the authority goes to the next level Eg: ASM  who can use it Even in such a case, the SM is respon...

KRA & KPI  KRA is abbreviated as Key Responsibility Area and KPI is abbreviated as Key Performance Indicators What is KRA? KRA defines the job profile for the employee, and it will enable them to have better clarity of their role. KRA's for all the employees should be well defined, quantifiable, and easy to measure.  It will help the employee to align their role with that of the organization.  KRA's will not be the same for all the employees in the organization. The key area of HR manager will be different from the KRAs of sales manager. And similarly, the KRA's of managerial level in marketing company will be different when compared to the employee who is working in a technical firm.  For example, the sales manager will be having KRAs, which include sales achievement top-line achievement, customer satisfaction, and so on so forth. Whereas the KRA of the HR manager will include recruitment and onboarding of suitable candidates, training and development of the emp...

 ATL & BTL Marketing Marketing is all about knowing the needs and wants of the customer and serving the customers as per their needs and wants. In Marketing, we use two strategies to market our products which are called Above the Line Marketing and Below the Line Marketing strategies. Let us discuss and understand the same in this article. Above the Line Marketing (ATL): ATL Marketing is used to boost the brand image and reach the maximum audience. ATL uses mass media methods to reach and target a wider audience. Usually, in ATL marketing we use conventional marketing mediums such as Television, Radio, Print Media, and the Internet to reach the maximum audience. Here the main objective of ATL marketing is to create a positive brand identity or brand image in the minds of the customer which will create awareness. As it is targeted at a wider audience it is costly to implement and also difficult to measure the impact of the ATL marketing activity. Below the Line Marketing (BTL) B...

 Night Shift Operations In Retail What is Night Shift Operations in Retail? The activities that take place after customer shopping hours or when the shop is closed for customer buying activity are called Night Shift Operations. These are the work or important activities that need to be completed on priority and cannot  b e performed during normal working hours when the store is full of  staff and customers.  These must be completed within a stipulated time period. Examples of Night Shift Operations are: - Stock count - Perpetual Inventory count system - here the entire stocks of the store are counted to check the shrinkage of the retail store. - Visual merchandise work like fixing of signage - Changing the artwork or visual communication of the store - Merchandise activity - This refers to the replenishment activity - big hypermarkets carry out merchandising or stocking activity in the night times Night Shift Operations: How Is It Carried Out Store Manager or Assi...

Importance of Reducing The Stock Damages Stock damages have a huge bearing on our store operations, these are the damages which occur in the store due to negligence or by accident through internal staff or through customers. Damages may happen knowingly or unknowingly. They have a negative impact which leads to: - Loss in sales - Drop-in margins and profits - Congestion of backend space (warehouse) and distribution  system - Reduces productivity HOW: REDUCE STOCK DAMAGES ° To reduce stock damages we need to have efficient processes laid  down for: - Warehouse management - Stacking of merchandise - Handling perishable goods Warehouse Management: Effective Security The warehouse must be secured by sealing/ security all unnecessary outlets like: - Open drains - Vents - Damaged walls     This prevents rodents from accessing the warehouse WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT: ADEQUATE RACKING CAPACITY AND BINS Adequate racking capacity - Reduces the damage of merchandise as they are not ...