How to conduct Brand Audit and Store Audit in Retail?
It's like listening to a classic; that is how we would describe retail establishments operate. When done perfectly, it can be very effective. Everyone in retail establishments should cooperate for the organization's advantage, from the ground workers to the brand leaders. Because they interact with clients directly, retail businesses need to pay much more attention to their experiences. In the end, if a consumer is upset, it means you weren't able to meet their needs, and there's a significant possibility that they won't come back. Whether or not you become the well-liked brand that inspires customer loyalty and increases sales depends on a number of factors, including how a customer is greeted at the door, how quickly they receive assistance, where your products are placed for easy access, how long the checkout line is, and the range of payment options.?
We have various blogs posted on our website if you are interested in reading similar articles related to customer experience (CX).?
It takes a lot of technical skill to make a retail business look and operate flawlessly. Think of carrying out this for every franchise and branch. Brand compliance auditing can assist in adopting best practises and make the necessary adjustments in such a situation. A thorough audit can lead to greater customer service, improved employee morale, better operations, and eventually - higher sales.?
Before we get into this article let us first understand what retail compliance is. Retail compliance is often referred to as branding compliance and merchandising compliance. A store must adhere to the HQ rules for each procedure and presentation in order to preserve standard uniformity. Brand compliance and store compliance, however, are not the same thing. While brand compliance involves adhering to guidelines and demands from each brand partner, store compliance focuses on upholding corporate standards for all signage, displays, retail layout, safety measures, and cleanliness. When the store has effectively executed both directives and completed the HQ brand satisfaction directives, overall compliance is attained. Now, we can move into understanding what a store audit is, its types and how it is performed in a retail brand.??
The ideal method for reaching and evaluating the breadth of the shop in retail operations is to choose specific targets in each area, such as building upkeep, cash handling procedures, inventory management, and more. An audit of the store is conducted to ascertain which policies, practises, and procedures are working and which ones are not. Checking for areas where staff may improve is also part of this.?
Some usually administered retail audits are:?
Customer experience companies that focus on providing brands with the best customer experience management that can help them achieve customer loyalty in retail stores, increased revenues, customer success and customer satisfaction use these steps to conduct an audit.?
Time
Finding a good time to do the audit is the first step. Brands frequently choose a slower period during the day. It is possible to do this while the store is open, however it is usually less crowded during opening time or in the afternoon, depending on what time the particular business opens. Retail store audits can be conducted both before and after the store closes to consumers. To know more about how brand audits are conducted in the retail industry click here.?
Setting goals
Based on the many audits we covered in the earlier parts of this article, your first inquiry should be what you want to analyse and what is your aim through this audit. You can be considering an audit of the general operations of the store, the health and safety audit, or the audit of the merchandise. The brand should then make a list of the things it will assess and the results it expects to get from the retail store audit. One can use a list as a reference and continue marking items off while they evaluate and inspect the store by having one on hand. For example, when inspecting for a health and safety audit, one should look at structural hazards, test fire alarms, and dangerous equipment in the store that can cause harm. In such a case, the goal becomes elimination of risk and ensuring that retail environment safety is at its peak.?
Nothing changes
When an inspection is being conducted, adjustments that must be made in order to advance the project optimally should be noted. When it is discovered that a particular product is not selling well, it should be placed and enhanced in the store strategically so that people may have a closer look at it before deciding to make a purchase. This is an illustration of a retail compliance audit's merchandising audit.?
Assigning tasks
Once modifications have been decided upon, a brand may think about who to entrust with implementation. Employees on the ground, managers, or branch heads may be able to make these decisions. In such circumstances, retail task management technology is really helpful. Brands can benefit from them by enabling all parties to assess what has to be done, track task progress in an organised way, finish a task, and get immediate feedback.?
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Follow up
Checking on progress and making sure activities are finished after a set amount of time is the final step in an audit of the retail sector. If there are any gaps or issues on the ground, brands may offer better advise or come up with a fresh solution for the task at hand.?
Making a retail store digital will enable easier and better retail store audits because they have invested in integrated employee communications, a company that has grown over time and adopted new workforce management strategies is more likely to have successful audits. As a result, audits may also be carried out digitally, saving brands a tonne of cash and time.?
Retail brand compliance audit and retail store audit solutions that work digitally have many benefits like:?
Better Communication
With the team's messaging services which is accessible to all, the headquarters and every team member are kept well-informed of the brand's actions. Every team member can view a message without any preconceived notions when it is disseminated across the brand. Every employee, regardless of position, can receive the same instruction from a corporate decision-maker.?
Effective Management
where do we frequently struggle to follow instructions? Non-compliance and chores that get unreported because nobody can monitor them. Every individual who works for a retail company that is digital has access to a digital to-do list that can be verified off by store staff and headquarters corporate to further verify that progress has been done.?
Video and Photos
through photographs and files that serve as proof on both ends, running digitally allows you to avoid accepting spoken instructions and really observe activities as they are being completed. When tasks are finished, videos or images can be shared and utilised to track improvements or advancements.?
This article provides an overview of the importance of retail shop audits, the advantages of retail compliance audits, a store audit checklist, and instructions for conducting one. Retailers and retail brands must understand that the market is dynamic and always changing, and that consumers are paying close attention to where a brand is falling short. Customers will always move on to a better customer experience offered by a rival retail store whenever a better option becomes available. Brand audits and store audits, which notify you of both what is going wrong and what can be done better for the greatest outcomes of good customer experience management and are the only way for a retail store to keep consistency while delivering the best for their customers.
Sonata GBW is a global technology company specializing in customer experience CX?measurement, advanced analytics and customer intelligence platform supporting??businesses to become connected, open, intelligent and scalable. Global coverage of more than 105 markets with over 27 years of market leadership through extensive measurement?capabilities, powerful and intuitive reporting and analytics platforms give us the leverage??to improve customer experience. It has presence across USA, Canada, EMEA and APAC??regions.?
Find more informational content on brand audits in retails stores, here, that can transform your retail brand.??
Do you think a store audit can help a retail brand increase sales? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.??
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