SPRING CLEAN YOUR BUSINESS TO MAXIMISE POTENTIAL

On our business advice pages we’re always suggesting ways to reduce expenditure while maximising potential for profit. This issue we briefly highlight where the Chancellor’s recent Spring Budget affects photo businesses – before throwing in some motivational spring-cleaning tips of our own

For once we had a Chancellor’s Budget in the UK last month that didn’t cause immediate economic carnage. Dubbed a boring budget for that very reason, some of the big news for business included the fact that a planned hike in corporation tax from 19% to 25% is still due to go ahead. This is in order, claims the government, to get debt falling. The impact is due however to be offset by other supposedly growth promoting tax measures, including the fact that every penny a company now spends on IT equipment, plants and machinery can immediately be deducted in full from taxable profits – giving an incentive to invest in your business.

Smaller businesses also get an increased Annual Investment Allowance of up to £1M, meaning 99% of SME companies will be able to deduct the full 100% value of their investment from taxable profits. As widely reported, it was also something of a ‘back to work’ budget too, with several measures around increased childcare in the future that may help parents afford to return to employment. However, as regards those in the trade with a high street presence, the Budget contained no new moves to reduce business rates or other retail initiatives – surely

Got your own ideas about how the photo industry can counter the challenges arising from the cost of living crisis, something that many were looking for. While it’s good news that threats of recession seem to have currently eased, inflation unexpectedly continued to climb last month and interest rates with it, weighing on household incomes and dragging on growth, meaning the overall picture still remains challenging. Interestingly for the tech industry, there was also mention of Artificial Intelligence in the spring budget, with the government pledging to award a £1 Million ‘AI Challenge Prize’ each year for the next decade to researchers driving progress in critical areas of AI. It’s been inspired to do this thanks to recent AI developments, including the launch of ChatGPT and the announcement of Google Bard, which are revealing the powerful potential of emerging technologies.

Get Motivated For May

Political decisions such as the above over which we have no direct control can sometimes feel discombobulating. Fortunately though, we can take control of our own destiny and regain a surer footing by taking a long, hard look at our own business and seeing if there’s anything we need to change or expand on, to counter changes in our market and consumer habits alike. It’s no surprise to hear from the retailers we speak to that people are currently feeling the pinch. All the more reason to make sure your own business stands out that much stronger. If you’re stuck for fresh ideas, we’ve a few tried and tested ones that may just work for you…

Be A Local Hero To All

It’s fair to suggest most businesses are now a mix of bricks and mortar and online presence. That’s especially true of retail. Though doing business via the Internet has typically been even more cutthroat than the high street, it’s important to not lose sight of the advantage a bricks and mortar photo retailer has over online-only box shifters: a local community to market to.

While you may want to post updates and deals to followers on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, think about getting involved with local groups, schools and clubs in the real world too. After all, they’re another potential source of new business – and one that you’re not competing with every photo retailer who has a web presence for. Try running a kids’ (or even Mum’s and Dad’s) photo competition, with a prize that is presented in your shop and which can be publicised to the local paper (if you’re fortunate enough to still have one published for your area), or community website? The local press, radio, online publications and even podcasts love to feature local businesses, as they thrive on feel-good stories – and the closer they are to home, the better. direct marketing, perhaps letting them know of a flash deal, a seasonal sale or new finance package – each designed, naturally, to encourage a purchase.

Remember that wherever you visit and whomever you talk to, a good rapport with potential customers will do more for the business than pushing products hard ever will. Be seen as someone who gives to the community: the more networking you do, the better your reach and the bigger your catchment area for custom. Positive word of mouth will provide you with the best advertising you’ve ever had.

Spruce Up The Shop Window

As noted above, it’s possible to get so hung up with fighting retail battles online that we ignore the potential custom to be found on our doorstep – something that the recent pandemic highlighted, with a push for people to ‘shop local’ and support their communities in lockdown. Here doing things the ‘old school’ way can still have an impact: namely we can begin marketing to our local community via the medium of our shop window and exterior sandwich board.

And it’s easy enough to tie in a refresh of the shop, or shop window, with a seasonal theme. With summer on the way, high street photo specialists have a golden opportunity to visually lift spirits and encourage spend – and not just via cashbacks or voucher schemes from the usual suspects. Perhaps there’s a local fayre or festival that you could tie in a time limited promotion with, for some cross fertilisation. Or, with a royal coronation imminent at the time of writing, here’s an opportunity to attract attention to your store with a suitably themed promotion. Advise new customers that a dedicated digital camera is going to be better suited for high-resolution stills and 4K video of their street parties and celebrations than a smartphone, especially in low light, while pointing them towards the albums and frames you also stock on which they’ll typically be a much better margin for you.

Of course nothing is stopping us from also marketing our seasonal promotions electronically. Many stores do, with consent, gather lists of customers’ emails – which can then be used for

A clever way to build up such a database in the first place is to re-think your receipts. Can you send them by email? Not only do you save on print, you’ll be gathering a collection of contacts that can, again with consent, be marketed to.

Again here, it’s important to stand out. With the transparency of the Internet and widespread confidence in e-commerce, your customers have myriad choices when it comes to what they buy and where they buy from. You can help your business stand out by including demo videos on your website to give one example, to showcase that your business is a helpful and knowledgeable one –and that customers will gain something extra from shopping with you; along with excellent customer service.

Reward Loyalty To Stay The Course

We mentioned royalty – but how about loyalty? Offer promotions that reward loyalty in order to win custom rather than dishing out discounts, which can erode margin and ultimately kill off the business. A reward programme based on the frequency of customer purchases is easy enough to set up and can encourage repeat purchases.

Likewise, special shop events aimed at these same loyal customers – or first dibs on covetable new photography kit – can also help them feel extra special and cement those feelings of loyalty to your business in the long term. Customers can be fickle, but, equally, you can go some distance to preventing them from being so.

While e-commerce has greatly evolved over the past decade, with some clever ideas and promotions to encourage spend, there’s still a valued place for a high street presence. And of course rather than let your bricks and mortar store and the online world fight it out, you can make them work together – by offering a click (online) and collect (in store) service for example. If people want to pop into your shop, and get some face-to-face advice before buying, encourage that. But, at the same time, if they already know what they want, provide them with the opportunity to place an order 24/7. At the end of the day, in a changing retail environment, maintaining a flexible approach is crucial.

or care to share what’s working for you (without giving away trade secrets)? Then do get in touch direct via info@bpinews.co.uk