RETAILERS
Small Retailer's Guide to Repeat Customers and Cash
A shopper who bought from you at Diwali is not in your book, because the bill was handed over the counter and the phone number was never taken. Next Diwali, the shop begins again from zero.
We help you record customers, review stock by age, and run a short weekly meeting on sales, cash and dues. We coach the owner and the staff to run it. We keep clear of the choice of products, tax treatment or the legal aspects of your lease.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01Bills are generated, but customer names and numbers are not saved, and a returning buyer is treated like a stranger.
- 02Stock is bought by feel, so a few lines sell often and many items wait on the shelf for months with their cost buried in a total figure.
- 03Supplier payments and shop expenses draw on the same cash drawer, and the owner cannot tell profit from the money in hand.
- 04Staff work from habit, with no written opening, billing and closing routine, and mistakes are only discovered when the cash does not match.
- 05The owner is at the counter all day and has no time to look at the numbers, which means decisions are made in the evening from tiredness.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01A customer list with name, number, last purchase and occasion, started from today's bills
- 02Stock age by category, with the oldest ten items named
- 03A separate account for shop money and family money
- 04Supplier dues and the next payment date for each
- 05Opening, billing and closing checklists for staff
- 06Daily sales and cash tally matched with billing
- 07Festival season stock plan, including what was left over last time
- 08A thirty-minute weekly review covering sales, dues and stock
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- From today, ask every customer for a phone number at the time of billing and note it in a bound book or a spreadsheet. Do this for a week and count.
- Hypothetical example: you take 20 numbers a week and call back 10 in the month before a festival. If three of them come in, those are three sales you did not have to wait for.
- Pick one shelf and list items that have not sold for a long time. Decide a clearance price or a bundle for each.
- Open a separate account for the shop and move money to the family account on a fixed day. This shows what the shop actually earns.
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
We begin by understanding how your business runs today, find the gaps, and agree the scope in writing. Recommendations are shaped around your team, your resources and your goals.
- A customer list format and a monthly reconnect routine
- A stock age sheet with a plan for slow items
- An opening and closing checklist with cash tally for the staff
- A weekly review sheet the owner can complete in half an hour
Not the right fit when: Wait if you are closing the shop or if an eviction or lease dispute needs a lawyer. Resolve that first.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
