If you own or are thinking about starting your own retail business then here are some business disasters you should learn about.
In business, we don’t really focus on business disasters. We often focus on the positive side of things, such as what you can do to meet your goals. But it’s also worth looking at the darker side of the picture; now and again to ensure that we know what could go wrong. Then we can put in place measures to stop this. Read on to find out more about some business disasters you must avoid to make it a success.
If you own or are thinking about starting your own retail business then here are some business disasters you should learn about.Click To Tweet
Your product isn’t fit for purpose
A huge disaster that any business can experience is that by the time your product reaches the customer, it isn’t fit for purpose. This could be because it’s damaged in transit, or that it is part of a faulty batch.
But what do you do when you have paying customers that have received goods that don’t work? Well, the first thing is to be proactive. If you are receiving complaints about a creating batch, trace the batch number and contact all the customers that have received them. Then and offer a free product replacement. As this can make all the difference especially in terms of your online reviews, which you can read more about at http://www.retaildive.com. As they will, of course, have a bearing on whether new customers choose to buy with you or not.
The next thing you need to do is to work out where the problem is occurring. It could be something as simple as a pallet of products having been dropped in the warehouse. So identify the issue, and then take steps to see that it doesn’t happen again.
The supply chain breaks down
Another major disaster that you want to avoid is your supply chain breaking down. This means that the items you need to create, package, or market your products are delayed for some reason.
A reason for this could be that there has been some sort of confusion or delay with your payment to the supplier. Avoid this type of issue by using a business check like the ones available at https://www.checksnextday.com/. Which will make it even easier for your supplier to match the payment you are sending to the invoice they have issued.
Another reason that the supply chain may break down could be that the company you are dealing with are having problems sourcing the product that you need.
If this is the case, you will need to examine the relationship that you have with the said company and decide whether it’s time to find a supplier that can deliver on budget and on time, every time. Remember business relationships are important but don’t maintain one at the detriment of your company’s profits.
You have too few employees to complete your orders
Lastly, some businesses face an issue when something that they are selling takes off, but they don’t have enough staff to fulfill all of the orders that are coming through.
While this might not be such a big disaster for very small companies making bespoke products, as a customer expect there to be a bit of a wait time. For some companies, it can mean the difference between getting an order or not.
To solve this issue, it’s always worth looking into hiring agency staff on a temporary basis to help you clean the bulk of the orders, without losing business.