Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Retail Operations Management of Mobile Phone Store

Question: Discuss about the Retail Operations Management of Mobile Phone Store. Answer: Introduction Retail operations management is a study of managing a retail store. The paper has been developed to present the ideas on retail operations that will be used to manage a mobile phone shop. The study presents retail operations, product, location and pricing strategy that must be considered while operating a mobile phone store. Retail operations Retail Sales Promotions Some of the sales promotion techniques that can be used to promote sales of mobile phones are discussed herein below: Prizes: Prize can be given with every purchase such as mobile headsets, Bluetooth headphones and other gift coupons. Leaflets: It is used to promote the retail store in the locality in which it is located. Coupons: It is a way of attracting customers and retains them to buy more products from the retail business. Contest: Contest is another retail sales promotion technique that can be used to increase the customer traffic in the store (Smith, 2007). Discount offers: Discount can be provided on the mobile phones to attract customers. People search for discount offers that makes the technique most effective. Elements of Retail Store Security The elements of retail store security that must be considered are presented herein below: The products must not be displayed at the door of the store. It is important to install cameras and CCTVs to keep watch on the customers. There must be a security guard to check what the customers are taking out of the store (Yeoman, Wheatley, McMahon-Beattie, 2016). It is important to see that the sales representatives handle the products carefully. There must be a generator to avoid blackouts due to power interruptions. The products must have security tags. Scope of Service Through the identification of all the requirements of the retail store, the fullest range of mobile phone-based service can be suitable for the outlet. The service scope of the retail business must list both sales and after sales service to the customer to make a significant impact on the target customers (Shockley, Plummer, Roth, Fredendall, 2014). Along with that, providing options, the service must be organised to estimate the cost of the retail business. Customer Service Offerings Customer services can be identified as one of the crucial features of retail sales in the mobile phone business. The retail store must design and develop direct services according to the demand of the purchasers. For instance, during product selling, the sales representatives should influence the purchasing behaviour of the customers by providing detailed information about the mobile phone (Gao Su, 2016). Along with that, after sales service of the device must be offered to support the sales. The retail store may offer on-site pickup of the mobile phone in case the user has faced any issues with the device during the warranty period (Jung Yoo, 2016). Such service offerings can impress the customers to a certain extent. Retail Selling Process In retail sales of the mobile phone, the store can follow seven step retail selling process to sell a product. First of all, sales executive must create an opening for sale through interaction with the incoming visitors. Next, probing is one of the crucial features in retail selling steps (Kang, Mun, Johnson, 2015). The salesperson must ask what sort of mobile will be required by the customer. After the probing step, demonstration of the product will be ideal to try out different products for the client. In the next phase of trial close, let the customer decide whether he is interested in buying the product or not. If not try something else. Afterwards, handling objections must be defended as customers may raise questions about pricing or technological concerns (Alexander Baker, 2012). The significant argument will be evident in this regard. Next, retail sales professional must ask the customer whether he has decided to buy the mobile. Meanwhile, closing the deal is the toughest st ep. Finally, if the customer has agreed to buy the product, go over the order and ask for a referral on a thankful note. Product The retail store must offer a variety of mobile phones such as Android devices, Windows Mobile and iPhones so that a large pool of target demographics can be set for the retail product selling. The products must include budget cell phones and hi-tech smartphones so that each type of clients can be attended (Ton Raman, 2010). In addition to that, the retail store must offer cell phone accessories and numerous online mobile application facilities for the meet the demand of the customers. The mobile accessories may provide additional selling scopes to the business to support the retail business. Retail Location The location of the retail store plays an essential role in the success of a retail business management. It is a unique factor that provides competitive edge to the company. Hence, the location of the store must be chosen after considering the long term results. The location must be situated in a trade area such as well known markets with proper transport facilities (Sampson Money, 2015). When planning for a mobile store, it must be situated in a core area such as shopping malls in the cities to attract more customers. Planned shopping areas have high visibility, excellent parking facilities and high customer traffic. Retail Pricing Competitive pricing model is an effective way of increasing competitive advantage. The price of the mobiles must be based on the price offered by other retailers in the market. It will help the company to increase its quantity of sales that will provide the company with higher profitability (Clark, 2013). A higher percentage of discounts on the mark-up price will attract huge number of customers and help the company earn profit on bulk sales. It will keep the inventory rolling on and increase the reputation of the retail business. Conclusion Brief overviews of the retail store and the product selling technique have been presented to draw the attention on the operations of the retail store. Herein, retail sales promotion and selling techniques of products can be identified as the crucial business factors. Meanwhile, retail pricing and location of the store will define the actual business probabilities for the retail store. References Alexander, R. Baker, B. (2012). Effective Retail Selling.Journal Of Marketing,6(3), 319. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1245881 Clark, E. (2013). The craft of selling in department stores.Retail And Distribution Mgt,11(1), 35-39. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb018172 Gao, F. Su, X. (2016). Omnichannel Retail Operations with Buy-Online-and-Pick-up-in-Store.Management Science. https://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2473 Jung, J. Yoo, J. (2016). Customer-to-customer interactions on customer citizenship behavior.Serv Bus. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11628-016-0304-7 Kang, J., Mun, J., Johnson, K. (2015). In-store mobile usage: Downloading and usage intention toward mobile location-based retail apps.Computers In Human Behavior,46, 210-217. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.01.012 Sampson, S. Money, R. (2015). Modes of customer co-production for international service offerings.Journal Of Service Management,26(4), 625-647. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/josm-01-2015-0033 Shockley, J., Plummer, L., Roth, A., Fredendall, L. (2014). Strategic Design Responsiveness: An Empirical Analysis of US Retail Store Networks.Production And Operations Management,24(3), 451-468. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/poms.12241 Smith, W. (2007). Pricing unbundled retail services.Natural Gas,14(2), 22-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gas.3410140206 Ton, Z. Raman, A. (2010). The Effect of Product Variety and Inventory Levels on Retail Store Sales: A Longitudinal Study.Production And Operations Management,19(5), 546-560. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-5956.2010.01120.x Yeoman, I., Wheatley, C., McMahon-Beattie, U. (2016). Trends in retail pricing: A consumer perspective.Journal Of Revenue And Pricing Management. https://dx.doi.org/10.1057/rpm.2016.35

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