Planning on starting your very own supermarket business? Or maybe you’ve already done that, and have seen quite a bit of success from your efforts. Whichever the case, it’s always a good thing to go out and look for ways on how to help your specific business type achieve the growth it deserves. After all, more growth means a positive valuation for your company, thus enhancing your business profile even further.
To help you with this, we’ve assembled a few easy-to-remember tips on how to grow a supermarket business no matter what stage you’re at in the game.
Get a POS system installed as soon as possible.
A POS system does wonders for helping a supermarket grow beyond its original size, scope, and origin. Not only does it help you in terms of keeping your financials and bookkeeping straight by using accurate accounting software, it also helps automate tedious tasks such as keeping track of transactions and your store’s inventory stock.
All of these results in you having a much easier time keeping your store running even with a skeleton staff, and this will give you back enough manpower to devote to more pressing tasks that are more crucial to growth. This will allow you to focus more on things like dealing with customers’ needs and demands, as well as promoting your store.
Just remember to pick a reliable POS for your business. We recommend popular ones such as SAP Business One, a POS designed for small and medium businesses (SMBs). It’s easy to use, easy to install, and is powerful enough to be a huge contributing factor to your supermarket’s success.
Pick a good identity for your supermarket.
As minor as it may seem at first, it’s imperative that you pick a good identity for your supermarket and stick with it. Give it a name and a logo, and have its façade painted in unique but also welcoming colors. By doing so, you show people that you’re being professional about running a supermarket, and you’re willing to invest in your business’ image. This will attract customers quite easily. There’s also the fact that it sets you apart from other competing supermarkets, which also contributes to more foot traffic.
Offer a wide array of services to your customer besides selling them foodstuffs.
A supermarket’s main purpose is to sell foodstuffs and ingredients to customers. However, if you want your supermarket to grow, then you shouldn’t simply confine yourself to providing that service alone. Think outside the box and offer services that you might not expect from a supermarket, but make sure that there’s still something that provides value to the customer. For example, what about a section of the store where a chef can cook the ingredients and foodstuffs that the customer has bought according to their liking? Or how about a grocery delivery service? The possibilities are endless. By expanding on what kind of services your supermarket offers, you give your customers more reasons to choose your supermarket and stick with it.
Look into promoting your supermarket to the public.
Get the word out about your supermarket. Take out a billboard or run a radio/TV ad promoting your supermarket’s name and the services it offers. If you don’t want to splurge too much, then take to social media and promote your business there. Setting up an official company page takes no time at all, and you can manage it at your leisure. Promoting your supermarket and thrusting it into the public consciousness is a great way to get more customers and thus garner more growth—just be sure to take care of the image you’re projecting, otherwise it may backfire on you.
Train your staff to be helpful to your customers and offer suggestions.
Typical customers will walk into a supermarket having absolutely no idea what to buy, or become confused on where a specific item is in your store at the very least. Your staff should be able to help them in this regard, not only in answering their questions and requests for assistance but also offering suggestions as to what they may need to buy. This shows them that you, as a business, cares for their needs and wants, and thus increase the chances of them returning as loyal customers.
Ensure that waiting times at counters and queues are short.
No one likes to wait in line, least of all supermarket customers. Make sure that they won’t have to wait too long by having more than enough staff attending counters and cashiers. You can also have chairs or benches around waiting areas to make your customers’ wait a bit more bearable. Finally, train your staff in being able to process sales or complaints faster.
Create product bundles.
Assembling or bundling products together as a combined offering can do two things: one, it helps underperforming items get sold alongside popular ones, giving you back the inventory space that you need. Second is that it makes the customer feel like they’re getting extra value for their money, when in reality they are paying just a bit less than if they’ve bought the two items separately. This can lead to higher customer engagement, which in turn translates to higher revenue.
Reward your most loyal customers with perks and privileges.
Reward your loyal customers by giving them loyalty points, exclusive vouchers and discounts. Doing this will motivate them to keep coming back for more. It will also spur newer customers to buy more frequently from your supermarket, in order for them to get the same exclusive incentives. This, again, translates to higher revenue and business growth.
Conclusion
Keep your supermarket growing, don’t let it fall behind your competitors. By taking these tips in mind and enacting them as you see fit in your business, you’ll not only have a supermarket big enough to compete with the best of them, but also one that has the potential to keep on growing.