Big retailers had an incredibly difficult 2011. Harder even than their 2010 - 10% more filed for bankruptcy in 2011 than in 2010. 183 in England and Wales to be precise. On the other hand, at Brightpearl we see plenty of examples of small, independent merchants - both retail and wholesale - who are thriving in the teeth of the downturn. 200+% growth in some cases! How are they pulling this off and what can we do together to make your 2012 look like their 2011?
As specialists in business management software for retailers and wholesalers, Brightpearl has a wealth of experience, both personally and through our customers, as to what can help merchants grow their business efficiently. We’ve used this experience to put together a list of the top four things we recommend to lead to a more successful 2012.
1. Commit to software - Through deploying software that ties together your back end business processes such as CRM, inventory control and accounting with your sales channels, you have the opportunity to sell more and grow in 2012. Business automation leads to fewer mistakes and better tracking means you never miss a sale or sell something you cannot deliver.
2. Seek expert help - Look to experts for best practice advice on your business processes and procedures. From fine tuning your inventory and stock control processes, to setting up reports to show your most profitable product lines – expert advice and the resulting improvements can help you save wasting money in inefficient processes and sell more of your most profitable products.
3. Expand where you sell - Reach new customer bases by expanding into new sales channels. Research in 2011 found half of all online retail traffic went to eBay, Amazon and Alibaba. As a retailer you can no longer afford not to be selling via marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon as they represent a huge opportunity to reach millions of buyers.
4. Learn from others - There are hundreds if not thousands of successful small business retailers and wholesalers out there, we suggest you take every opportunity you can to share and collaborate on what works and what doesn’t in order to further your own business prospects.
