On the Road Again

Q: We've been invited to set up a booth at a bridal fair to promote our store's wedding registry. Do you think this would be a worthwhile use of our time and money?

A: Taking your show on the road can be a good way to make new customers aware of your store, and the change of scenery and excitement of setting up shop may provide a welcome challenge for you and your staff. You'll also get a chance to network with other businesses, which could lead to future opportunities.

Opportunities for retailers to do off-site sales range from home shows to ethnic music festivals. Over the years, we've exhibited at a cat show, run the "children-only" gift boutique at a holiday fair, and handed out endless appetizer samples at a food and wine show. If retail booths aren't featured at an event that ties in with your product mix, offer to set up a temporary shop, giving a percentage of sales to the sponsor.

Of course, selling merchandise pays the expenses of participating in an event, but promoting your store should be the main goal. (Costs should therefore come out of your advertising budget.) Don't let anyone leave your booth empty-handed. Pass out literature imprinted with your store name and address, as well as coupons that can be used in the weeks following the fair.

Think about whether you can take advantage of the smaller, focused space to do promotional selling that's not possible in your store. After all, the most successful county fair vendors are those with a pitch, demonstration, or gimmick.

One of the challenges of off-site retailing is maintaining adequate staff to run two separate stores at once. You'll need to allow time for packing merchandise, transporting, setting up and tearing down the display, reconciling sales income, and returning merchandise and supplies to the store. Find out all you can about the booth you'll be using. You may need to bring your own tables, chairs, lighting, or drapes. You'll want your display to be sharp, so invest in good signage and bring enough merchandise and display fixtures.

A cash register for use "in the field," will make checking out more efficient. Special events often bring crowds of customers all at once, and it's frustrating for them to have to wait for handwritten receipts. Remember that if you collect sales tax in your store, you'll need to collect it off-site as well. For credit card transactions, you might try a cordless electronic transmitter, although these don't seem 100 percent reliable. Otherwise, you'll need a manual credit card imprinter. Be sure you can read the numbers on every credit card receipt. You'll probably need to enter them into your store's electronic system when the event is over.

Keep in mind that you will have to bring along the supplies you usually have on hand in the store. This quick checklist may help:

• cash register or cash box with receipt book
• extra rolls of cash register tape
• all the change you need, and a place to store it
• extension cord, credit card imprinter and receipts, and a clipboard for signing credit card receipts
• pens, pencils, markers, and paper for signs and notes
• bags (and/or boxes) for merchandise, as well as scissors, stapler, and tape
• business cards, calculator, wastebasket, and bottled water and snacks for your staff.

Q: Now that the holidays are over, we want to take a good long look at what we can do better in 2005. Any suggestions?

A: January and February are excellent months to take stock of the past holiday season, and look ahead to the coming year. Hopefully, you've already gotten your staff together to talk about what went well, and what you can do better. But have you asked your customers what they think?

Every retail store should conduct customer surveys; responses will help you make more effective decisions about merchandising, store layout, and advertising. Of course, customers already tell you something by patronizing your store, and voting with dollars on the items they like best. But you can benefit from knowing more.

It's really a simple matter to ask a few questions, such as zip code (for demographics) or whether a shopper is visiting the store for the first time. Keep a log of this information, together with the date, time, and amount of purchase (you can also add gender and approximate age). Ask first timers how they found out about the store. But it's important to phrase your questions politely. For example, you could say, "We're taking a marketing survey. Would you mind telling us your zip code?" (A discount store in our area has their staff demand, "Phone number, area code" before a transaction is completed, and customers are clearly offended by the blunt request.)

A longer survey gives customers a chance to share their opinions; you may be surprised by how many people take time to do so. All surveys must, of course, be optional, and it's a nice idea to offer a small reward for cooperating.

There are many questions to consider, ranging from media preferences to shopping habits. Also include some open-ended questions, such as, "What items would you like us to carry?" And don't forget to ask about customer service, store hours, layout, or any other issue you're concerned about. If you're uncertain about how to create an effective survey, ask your local business school to help. Students may even be willing to administer the survey and help compile the results.

Stores with a customer email list may want to do an online survey. Look at the web site www.surveymonkey.com for an idea of how easy it is to administer an Internet survey.