By bob phibbs
I don't care which side of politics you are on. The new administration in the first month in office has triggered waves of uncertainty in connection with the continued financing of federal grants, the work of federal employees and tariffs.
For many retailers who are already working on thin margins, the possibility of universal tariffs in fear came. With so many furniture and household goods in countries that aim for tariffs, retailers are located for the furnishings in the crosshair of the fault. But most of them had to deal with disorders beforehand.
I started my career in a new business when Ronald Reagan was shot. I experienced September 11th, the great recession 2008 and of course Covid. I have found that our emotions can overwrite our logic and that we have to control it.
While you can diversify your supply chain, work with your suppliers and manage everything with AI, I want you to give you a bigger problem here: it is time to examine your trust in perceived discounts.
Yes, you can bind your money by doing everything before buying the purchase and hope that you will make the wise choice. But maybe this is a chance to see how you have tried to show you that you are a customer's friend by calling up everything “outside of MSRP”.
We both know that you never calculate MSRP – just like your consumer. A more disturbing problem, however, is that it comes from you not to believe that it is worth more than the bright yellow day you hang on it.
The core problem is often not on their pricing.
There are many ways to evaluate your goods, but the pricing based on what you believe can lead to the following:
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- Lack of trust in the original pricing
- Employee skepticism about the value
- Mixed messages for customers
If the prices have to rise – tariffs or not, you can be afraid and try to maintain these wrong parts.
Your way forward: hug the real value
The era of buying a low purchase, pricing and discounting comes to an end. Of course you can have a special purchase. But this one who is always for sale? Perhaps this is a wake -up call that you can only sell with a discount because nobody believes it is worth it.
If your crew put the value in something for sale, why can she first build up the value in the product? In this way, no matter what happens with tariffs, you will find new opportunities to communicate with your buyers.
Your crew will understand that regardless of the price, it is your job to sell it, and if you update your sales skills, your customers will rave about.
When I was CMO from IT is a Grind Coffee, a coffee franchise company with 135 locations, we had setbacks from franchisees because of the rising milk costs. I went to a shop when I noticed that the owner was not there – she had gone to Costco to buy her daily milk. She stopped her milk delivery service and had the feeling that there was no value to pay someone for it, so she drove every day and invited her SUV with gallon milk.
She had an accident later this month.
We had to show these franchisees that it was okay to increase prices, even if Starbucks didn't. We knew that they would be at some point. We selected the most ordered drinks and increased the prices by 15% to give the entire menu. Then we provided quarters in a dish near the register with a sign. “Your favorites have just risen, so we will help you for a week.” The regular guests could take one or two quarters to pay for their more expensive drink.
Avoid tariff discussion
Don't talk about tariffs with your customers. It is a loser, “We are not increasing prices, they are.” Sell the value. Believe in your goods. Update your offers.
The money is in the exhibition room where the goods are sold, not in the warehouse.
In the end, great retailers like them set up their business. Concentrate on what you can do to sell more to compensate for the fear in your head of what could happen.
You have been here before; You will be fine.
Bob PhiBBS, the retail doctor, is a globally recognized retail expert who specializes in the success of the dealers for the inpatient dealer. The author of three retail books owes retailers to increase sales via his online platform Salesrx by 20-50%. PhiBBS speaks worldwide and offers sales, merchandising and marketing strategies to accelerate retail success.
See also:
Trump Greenlights Mutual tariffs in the last order