Know your competition.

What is your strategy for driving sales of wireless products and services through your stores? It may help to first see what your competitors are doing.

Businesses that understand marketing understand this : one objective of marketing is to set yourself apart from your competition. If you agree, then it follows that good wireless retailers give their potential customers compelling reasons why they should buy from them instead of their competitors.  To start you may want to consider these questions:

Who are your competitors?
What are they doing?
What do they sell?
How do they sell it?
How do they price their wireless products and services?
How do they deliver their messages?
What personalities do they project?

To answer these questions, some companies hire marketing research firms; some employ mystery shoppers. If you believe that finding out what makes your competitors tick is important, perhaps you can do you own research.
Take a day and experience your competition’s salesmanship first hand. See what their displays look like. Capture your observations and analyze your experience.

The trip planner on the pages that follow can help you discover how well your competitors practice the profession of wireless retail sales in three areas : (a) their ability to build rapport, (b) their ability to follow a selling plan, and (c) their wireless product, service, and industry knowledge.

Ask the salespeople you encounter these questions :

What’s the difference between all of these phones?
What about rate plans, which is the best for me?
How can I get email on my phone?
How can I get on the Web on my phone?
What’s the difference between the service companies?
What else do I need to make all of this work?

To leave the store, say, ‘I want to shop around a little before I make up my mind.’ On your return to your car, evaluate your competitor’s customer experience. How did the salesperson …
Greet you?
Build rapport?
Determine your needs?
Make recommendations?
Demonstrate?
Educate?
Give you reasons to buy from her or him now?
Help you make a final decision?
Handle your final objection (shopping around)?

How knowledgeable was the salesperson in wireless …
Products?
Service?
Industry?
Technology?
Wireless data applications?

Use a Wireless Retailing Mystery Shopping Report Card to capture your thoughts. When you return to your store, draw conclusions from your shopping:
What were the lasting impressions you gained from each of your shopping experiences?
What were the pros and cons of each presentation at each store?
What were the main selling points that each salesperson promoted?
How can you offset your competitors’ selling points with your own advantages?
What sets your wireless products and services apart from your competition’s?
What are your strengths and weaknesses in selling wireless at retail?

If you don’t know, or aren’t sure, hire someone to shop you. Use the same Mystery Shopping Report Card. Compare the new findings with your findings from your own competitive field trip.  Based on your mystery shopping results, your own self-analysis, and your knowledge of the market: Who sets the standard? What are their best sales, merchandising, and display practices? How do you feel your operation compares?

For more insight into "New Profits in Wireless Retailing"  visit www.hownet.com
 ©2005 by The Edmond-Howard Network