7 reasons your retail business needs IT solutions for success

30 Dec.,2024

 

7 reasons your retail business needs IT solutions for success

7 reasons your retail business needs IT solutions for success

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There&#;s always been more than one way to grow a retail business &#; marketing, advertising, product development, investment, to name just a few. But one way of increasing sales that can be overlooked comes in the guise of IT.

There are various benefits of implementing IT solutions into your retail business, from greater efficiency and customer service to reduced costs. An article on Tech Guide offers seven key benefits of IT implementation in the retail space.

1 Greater efficiency

By automating processes, you are immediately taking one step closer to an easier workflow and greater efficiency. When everyday tasks such as data entry and inventory management are taken out of the hands of staff and dealt with by an IT solution, employees have more time for more important business operations &#; customer service, for instance.

2 Lower costs

It&#;s true &#; investing in retail IT solutions tends to mean significant upfront costs. However, it&#;s the long-term cost-efficiency of those solutions that retailers need to focus on. You save money over a period of time, with staff able to dedicate more time and energy to serving customers and securing sales rather than being in the back office.

3 Improved customer service

Every business needs to strive for a better level of customer service &#; it&#;s what sets them apart from their competitors. By implementing IT solutions, you are helping your retail business run more smoothly and freeing up more time for employees to spend on the shop floor with individual customers. Greater automation also means customer service helplines are answered faster. And that&#;s a sure way to keep customers happy.

4 More accurate inventories



An IT solution can work wonders for retailers&#; inventories. Giving valuable product information such as the number of units available and where those items are located, IT solutions can help retailers make more informed decisions about their inventories. In turn, this can lead to fewer losses as a result of spoiled or expired products.

5 Greater product visibility

You want customers to be able to find what they are looking for. An IT solution allows just that, giving customers more convenience and avoiding the curse of out-of-stock items.

6 Fewer losses

Retail losses due to theft or outdated merchandising practices (aka shrinkage) are the bane of any retailer&#;s life. Retail solutions can help limit these losses by ensuring proper labelling, excellent presentation, and properly merchandised products.

7 Enhanced marketing opportunities

Effective promotion of your business starts with digital signage, point of sale displays and other digital marketing solutions. A retail solution can offer you all this and more, helping customers find out about the latest deals and special offers.

Delta Signage: Enhancing the in-store experience

Digital signage is a crucial element of in-store technology; it engages customers, shapes perceptions and enhances the in-store experience. Is it time to help your retail business stand out from the crowd by implementing an effective signage strategy?

Delta Signage is one retail solution that delivers the goods and keeps customers happy. From helping you operate safely in a post-pandemic environment to displaying the latest product information, your key messages appear on sleek screens at the point of sale.

As far as digital signage solutions go, this one is scalable, powerful and used by both global brands and high street retailers.

Are you ready to get your best content in front of your customers? Get in touch with the team at Delta to find out more: .

5 Reasons Why Product Quality Matters

Product quality can make or break your brand&#;s success and profitability &#; however, determining what makes a quality product depends on the end user. Each consumer has their own idea of what constitutes a valuable product; for some, a fancy and durable product demonstrates quality while others may look for something unpretentious and easy to use. 

Although what one person views as luxurious may appear simple to others, what&#;s important is creating a product of quality that is right for your target market. Here&#;s how to determine what constitutes quality, why caliber is important and how to improve your products. [Learn more about common mistakes that can lead to product failure.]

What constitutes product quality?

Product quality describes a product&#;s capability to meet user standards. However, what defines &#;quality&#; often depends on the type of product, according to Jennifer Garrett, senior vice president of product development and design at JEM Accessories. 

&#;If it&#;s a simple product with no user interface tech, then it&#;s definitely in the materials that make the most [impact on] product quality,&#; Garrett said. &#;But if it&#;s &#; a smartphone or a tech product, then it&#;s definitely the user interface.&#; 

Here are some questions to consider when evaluating a product&#;s caliber:

  • Does it solve a problem? No product would exist if it weren&#;t solving or improving something. The extent to which it fixes the intended problem helps to determine its quality.
  • Is it easy to use? A high-quality product shouldn&#;t be complicated to use. Customers shouldn&#;t have to spend too much time trying to figure out how to assemble or work it.
  • Is it polished? Colors, dimensions, fonts (if applicable) and other elements of design should be in alignment. The product shouldn&#;t appear cheap in any way and it should be a comfortable weight for users to hold or interact with.
  • Is it efficient? The product should not only get the job done but it should do so efficiently. In other words, it should deliver quickly and require minimal effort from the consumer.
  • Is it tailored to your customers? The product should be tailored specifically to users&#; needs, showing that you understand your customers and are willing to accept the recommendations they voice. As Garrett noted, &#;the product] should always make your life better &#; [it should] never be a hindrance.&#;

Tip

Bottom line

If your product doesn&#;t check off the boxes above, it likely won&#;t be worthwhile to your customers. In that case, it&#;s worth revisiting your product idea before bringing it to market to ensure you are producing something valuable.

6 reasons product quality is important

Improving your product quality is paramount to preserving your business&#;s bottom line. Here are six reasons product quality is important.

1. It builds trust with your customers.

Most businesses won&#;t succeed if they can&#;t build customer trust; potential sales are lost when brands fail to make deeper connections with prospective buyers. In contrast, when you gain the confidence and loyalty of consumers, you have more freedom to make decisions such as raising prices. Ensuring high-quality products and services is one way to help you get consumers to appreciate and believe in what you have to offer.

With competitive price and timely delivery, THE MIDI. sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

Humanizing the company also can help customers connect with your brand. One way to do this is to create newsletters or social media posts that show updates and photos of what employees are working on. If customers begin to associate faces with your company, it will help them connect with your organization more than they would with a faceless corporate entity. Another way to build loyalty and appreciation is to establish a rewards program. Understanding the value of customer loyalty is crucial when trying to establish repeat business.

2. It fuels recommendations.

Most people trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising when making a purchase decision. This is why nothing beats word of mouth when you&#;re trying to gain customers.

Word-of-mouth recommendations can be a persuasive factor in both online and offline purchasing decisions. Friends and family want to know if someone similar to them had a good experience with a product. The higher-quality product a company has to offer, the better chance it will have at driving positive reviews, recommendations and shares between consumers.

Starting campaigns to get people buzzing about a product is a great way to spread recommendations by word of mouth. You can also respond to complaints or compliments online to show that you provide good customer service, which is another aspect of high product quality.

3. It results in fewer customer complaints and returns.

Marketing studies have proven again and again that companies that produce high-quality products obtain more repeat business. Spend more time and money upfront to perfect a product before it hits the market if you want to minimize customer complaints and returns.

It&#;s common for sellers of high-quality brands to spend more to persuade consumers to try their goods. The more successful companies are at pleasing customers during their initial experience with a product, the more likely they&#;ll be to see repeat purchases from those customers. 

Testing products with potential customers or a market research group can help to produce a great product. Most people in these groups will give brutally honest opinions and companies can use that feedback to make improvements to their products.

4. People care about aesthetics.

One dimension of quality is aesthetics &#; or how a product looks, feels, sounds, tastes and smells. For example, MrTakeOutBags pays close attention to these qualities and it shows in the company&#;s food service boxes. The colors, prints, shapes, textures and features, such as handles, make all the difference and it&#;s what sets the brand apart from its competitors. Customers notice these details and they can make or break a sale.

FYI

Did you know

Customizable features also allow you to give customers exactly what they want while tacking on a few dollars to the price.

5. It produces a higher return on investment (ROI).

Studies show a strong positive association between quality and profitability. High quality produces a higher ROI for any given market share, while fewer defects are associated with lower manufacturing and service costs.  As long as these gains exceed any increase in expenditures by the firm on defect prevention, profitability will improve. In addition, improvements in performance, features or other dimensions of quality lead to increased sales and larger market shares.

If you have produced a quality product and marketed it effectively, it&#;s time to see if you can cut costs without sacrificing quality.

6. It strengthens your brand.

Having a high-quality product can increase positive associations with your brand, including desirable qualities like consistency and an understanding of customers&#; needs. This, in turn, can strengthen brand recognition and loyalty, increasing the likelihood of long-term success.

&#;Product quality becomes an identity [of] the brand,&#; Garrett said. &#;The success of a brand is determined by maintaining that identity and staying true to it.&#;

Additionally, good quality reduces liability as your product is more likely to perform as expected. This helps to minimize the risk of lawsuits and ensures that every customer receives a top-performing product. 

How to ensure product quality

Here are a few helpful strategies to ensure high product quality, regardless of your industry or target market.

Identify what&#;s most important to your brand.

Ensuring product quality starts with determining what&#;s most important to your brand and staying aligned with those values, according to Garrett. &#;Is [quality] getting the things quickly and cheaply to the customers that want it?&#; Garrett asked. &#;[Or,] is it taking your time and making the best product you can&#; [regardless of] how much money you spend? 

For premium brands, quality may mean delivering the best possible products, while for economy brands, it could be finding the right intersection between quality, affordability and speed. 

Implement a quality management system.

A quality management system is a set of business practices comprising the planning and execution of delivering a product. The system includes principles that help to prepare a product for its launch, such as customer focus, leadership, research and evidence-based decision-making.

Build a product strategy.

A product strategy details information about a product and the company&#;s vision for it. It should include clear key performance indicators and priorities that align with your defined measures of success &#; whether focused on target customers, the market, competitors or business goals. This strategy serves as a roadmap for your product&#;s journey, from creation to launch.

When establishing your strategy, keep in mind that you&#;ll likely need to prioritize certain elements of production over others to ensure quality. &#;I like to say, &#;Good, fast and cheap: Pick two,&#;&#; said Garrett.

Consider competitors.

Thinking about your competitors is an important part of developing your product. What are they doing that you aren&#;t (and vice versa)? How are their products performing? What works for them and why? Answering these questions will put you in a better position to compete with similar businesses in the market.

Test your products and get customer feedback.

It&#;s essential to test every product before launch &#; ideally with a subsection of real customers &#; so you can anticipate how buyers might react. Use the feedback from these tests to uncover changes you might need to make before you release it to the public. 

Once you&#;ve launched your product, don&#;t be afraid to ask your customers how you can improve. Use any negative customer feedback to learn more about your consumers and help your products better meet their needs, making adjustments accordingly.

Did You Know?

Did you know

Quality is an ongoing process, not a one-time achievement. Always look for ways to improve your product, as what&#;s considered high-quality today could easily be seen as low-quality tomorrow.

Inspect your products and processes regularly.

After you&#;ve launched, continually evaluate both your product and its processes to ensure you maintain consistent quality. Consider enlisting quality inspectors to monitor for dips in quality, assessing everything from your product&#;s packaging and physical appearance to functionality. Use their inspection reports to determine where you need to improve. 

&#;&#;Miranda Fraraccio and Sean Peek contributed to this article.

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