Top Tips for Relocating the Family Business

After many years of operating a family business it’s time to move on. It’s not that the clientele are dwindling away but rather the fact that the area has lost its attraction for one reason or another. Sometimes the family business has been passed down from generation to generation and in your younger years you had always aspired to live by the ocean or to go somewhere where the winters are warmer and the days are longer – or so it seems. If you are relocating the family business to another area of the country, these tips should come in handy.

Learn to Readjust to Your New Market

One thing you must never do is bring an old mindset to a new location. So what if your father and his father before him have always done things this way. That was in another time and in another place. Trends do vary from region to region and no matter what business you are in, from operating a small tool shop to selling trendy sportswear, you will be dealing with new customs, new people and certainly new needs. Be prepared to revamp the way you do business to meet the needs of the new market. It doesn’t mean your products or services won’t sell, it’s all about the way you sell them that counts.

 

Designing Your Displays to Wow Your Traffic

If you’ve ever taken any merchandising classes, you will know that display is everything when it comes to brick-and-mortar sales. In fact, most of the big department stores employ full time display designers that meaningfully place each and every item so that they all but sell themselves. Never use old displays that might have come with your new commercial property if at all possible. If you must renovate them, use a crystal clear acrylic sheet to encase your displays so that visitors aren’t looking through foggy glass. Why acrylic? It’s easy to work with, weatherproof and much more cost effective than glass – the material of choice for interior displays around the world.

 

Get Out and Meet Your Neighbours

No matter how much advertising you do, networking is going to kick off your grand opening with a bang. There is no better way to foster goodwill in your new neck of the woods than mingling with the locals. Walk up and down the street and introduce yourself to other merchants along the way. Tell them what it is you do and express your excitement to be in their town. You never know just how much that networking will pay off until you begin chatting with customers who told you Joe the barber sent them or your shop was mentioned at the coffee shop this morning over breakfast. A little personal PR never hurt.

Remember, you are in a totally new area so you want to meet customers where they are at. Don’t expect them to want or need the same treatment the locals back home needed. Learn what you can about the area, rub elbows with other business owners and the work to make your displays look as awe-inspiring and professional as possible. You can’t bring your customers with you but you sure can make new customers of the people you meet. That’s the key and the key takeaway. When in Rome, do as the Rom