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Whether your SBE is Food or Retail, begin your school year the RIGHT way with a strong image and product line. Following these five tips will result in year-round satisfaction from your customers AND your staff.
Restock and Order
Review how certain products performed last season. Did you have any really hot sellers? Or were there items that didn’t take off like you wanted? After running through the data, make some decisions on what’s going to be ordered for this upcoming year. It could be your best-selling spirit wear or a trendy new soda flavor that’s all the rage. Keeping a consistent product line of customer favorites is a great way to build brand loyalty.
Innovate New Promotions
Find out what’s all the buzz at your school. If everyone is on TikTok, create some videos featuring your SBE. If everyone is attending football games, set up a pop-up store at the stadium. Find out what your target market pays attention to, and use it. Make your promotions personal to the customer. See what products you can put on sale and advertise them effectively. Utilize what is already going on within your school!
Get Customers Involved
Setting up a customer feedback system can be super beneficial. You can tweak your product line or service habits based on honest and constructive responses. The beginning of the school year is also a great time to get customers involved in designing new products. Send out an Instagram Poll to see what cookie flavors are in demand or set up a design contest where the winning design is printed and sold as spirit wear.
Have Strategies in Place
Every SBE has its ups and downs. Making sure that all guidelines are followed, and rules are in place can help things run smoothly. Have defined strategies for how to deal with damaged products, customer complaints, stock issues or employee conflicts. By working out any procedures, you’ll be prepared for anything that comes your way.
Train New Employees
While different for every SBE, employee training can often occur at the beginning of the school year. This is the perfect opportunity to share your love for all the work that you do. You are passing down memories, knowledge and guidance by training and leading the next generation of employees for your SBE. Build excitement in the new crew, your passion will motivate them for the year!
