Is Your Retail Startup Scalable? 3 Questions to Ask Yourself

Scalability refers to the capacity of your business to grow. Any retail startup that expects at some point to receive outside investment will have to be able to show their growth potential.

Unfortunately, many new startups struggle to figure out effective strategies that will allow them to grow without sacrificing performance or creating unmanageable costs. This article will present you with 3 questions you should ask yourself to determine the best approaches to scalability for your retail business.

Are my retail startup processes efficient?

Retail startup scalability requires efficiency. One of the best ways to boost efficiency is through automation. The concept is simple. The less time you spend on manual processes, the more time you and your employees have to focus on the core business.

Start thinking about which processes are the most time-consuming to determine what should be automated. For example, you might find that your promotional strategies are lacking. In this case, a promotion management system to automate coupon processing can prevent human errors.

Do you spend a significant amount of time manually planning, scheduling and managing your employees? A workforce management solution will help you automate tasks while keeping better track of your workers.

Are there any tasks that can be outsourced?

Fresh retail startups are at an obvious disadvantage compared to big corporate behemoths. More specifically, they lack the resources needed to do everything internally.

If you want your retail startup to be scalable, you need to understand that growth is often accompanied by higher labor expenses. That said, your best bet when new tasks are required will be to outsource the ones you simply cannot maintain in-house.

Does your core product involve anything remotely technical with a non-negligible learning curve? If so, you will need an effective helpdesk to troubleshoot customer issues. In this situation, outsourcing your IT helpdesk allows you to have the expertise you need while saving on excessive training and labor costs.

Are my customers getting the best experience possible?

One of the most essential keys to retail startup scalability is a strong focus on customer experience. Delivering the best customer experience is vital to customer retention and acquisition.

Here are a few ways you can start improving your customer experience today:

• Hire and train competent and approachable salespeople
• Optimize your in-store experience
• Engage with customers on social media
• Crunch data and adapt accordingly
• Listen to customer feedback and act on it

 Final thoughts

For a small retail startup, growing your business can quickly become an overwhelming experience. However, if you maintain your focus on the most important issues and learn from your mistakes along the way, the only direction you can go is up.

If you have any questions about retail scalability or want to inquire about our retail consulting services, don’t hesitate to contact us today.