Set up towards the end of last year, the aim of the new group is to support and advise the UK business community via social media, drawing together business experts who ‘share a commitment to promoting business and enabling others to do the same’.
It’s an unpaid role, and there’s no requirement for me to start plugging Sage all of a sudden, but the main thing is that it’s a great platform for celebrating business and for championing the issues that are important to the retail sector.
In previous Sage blogs, I’ve highlighted the industry campaign to freeze business rates at a time when high street retailers are under immense pressure, and urged businesses to ‘MOT’ their websites as one of their New Year resolutions for 2013.
Most recently, Sage asked if I could provide some tips – in no more than 500 words – on setting up a retail business. Given all that’s involved in opening a shop – from finding premises to buying stock and dealing with customers – it was a bit of a tall order, but I thought I’d focus on those aspects of business that I tend to talk and write about the most: online marketing and the customer experience.
So, what are the key things to consider when starting a retail business? Here are some thoughts …
And that’s my 500 words used up. What would be your top tips for anyone looking to open a shop? As always, feel free to share your own ideas below.
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This blog is republished with kind permission of the author. Visit Graham’s blog here.
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