25 ideas for improving the point of sale | Key4Communications |

Consumers have changed in recent years. The consolidation of internet as a channel for information and purchase, and the still complicated economic situation, have resulted in the emergence of a more rational and less consumerist citizen who has presented new challenges to retailers.

The fourth annual congress of Escodi, the Catalan commerce and distribution school, addressed some of these challenges to the 300 assisting professionals, 60% of them from the retail sector. Escodi organized conferences on trade management, online presence, and communication with customers, among other issues.

Here are some of the ideas commented during this day:

RETAIL MANAGEMENT
(Luis Soler, partner of Odgers Berndston Barcelona)

1. It makes no sense to grow without any other goal: the important factor is profitability.
2. The whole organization should be involved in sales. Everyone can do some commercial action, even if it is something as simple as recommending the store.
3. And everyone has to visit the stores to see first hand what happens there.
4. Teams need to celebrate the small victories. This and some humour works better than just pressure.
5. There needs to be much more communication within companies.
6. Companies without debt are doing better to overcome the crisis.

RETAILERS’ ACTIONS
7. Before, people came to buy, now we have to sell (Francesc Casabella, CEO of La Sirena).
8. Not only should you consider the online channel, but you should also keep in mind that consumers are multi-channel, giving even the option to buy online and collect in the physical store (Francesc Casabella, CEO of La Sirena).
9. Internationalization is important (Javier Cottet, CEO of Optical Cottet).
10. “Give me five": when the client is in the fitting room, it is a good time to propose five complementary products. To improve customer advice, employees need training (Oscar Bel, commercial director of Diesel in Spain, Andorra and Portugal).
11. The retail industry needs to be more professional. Employers and employees should require and use training (Fran Arteaga, consultant and teacher Alpenstock Escodi).

INTERNET TIPS
(Marc Juli, Elevenwebs )

12. Simplicity. Minimize the number of clicks needed to arrive to the sought information.
13. Contents should be well worked, updated and oriented to the activity, to improve search engine positioning.
14. Include quality images and video. Search engines also give good positioning to videos.
15. The web has to be well viewed in all browsers, in addition to mobile devices.
16. Social networks require a minimum commitment of one hour a day. If this is not possible, it is better not to start there.

COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS
(Xavier Rivera, Director of I- Marketing Consulting and professor at Escodi )

17. E-mail marketing is useful, effective and inexpensive, provided that we communicate compelling content. Design must be adapted to mobile devices.
18. The opening ratios of electronic mass mailings in Spain is 20%. The percentage of recipients who click on links is 5%. It is a very qualified traffic that often translates into sales.
19. We should think very well the day and time of delivery. It depends on the company, but the best time is usually Tuesdays at 12 pm.
20. We should establish very clear goals before developing an app.
21 Advantages of apps: the customer loyalty ratios are multiplied by five, and they allow to segment audiences.
22 The most common social media mistakes are: lack of planning, lack of regular dedication, not to add value, not responding to followers.
23. We should pay attention to geolocation tools - Foursquare, Google Places, Yelp...
24. SMS are still very effective.
25. Many online and physical outlets communicate with their customers via Whatsapp.