Store Surveys 101: Part 2
How to Prepare for Your Store Surveys
February 27, 2020 by Alec Veinger – In our last blog post, we outlined the importance of building an accurate database with store surveys. Now that you understand the survey process, here’s everything you need to know to help you prepare for your store survey.
Preparing for Your Store Survey
When ready to begin the survey process, it’s a good idea to collect data from all business stakeholders. You can always focus on more critical business needs once the full scope is confirmed. Make sure you ask the right questions such as:
- How can we maintain surveyed data once collected?
- Changes at our stores occur immediately, is there a way to track that after the surveys are finished?
- Where and how will the data be centralized and housed to allow all business stakeholders to access and leverage data?
Avoiding Store Survey Roadblocks
Making the decision to survey your stores is the first step to gaining insight needed to grow your business. By surveying your stores you’re able to gather and track important details associated with each of your store locations. However, with every big initiative, there’s the potential for roadblocks. Here are some of the pitfalls and challenges that can easily be avoided.
- Surveyors Should Be “Retail Ready”
Like most retailers, you’re busy managing your stores, you most likely don’t have the staff or bandwidth to tackle store surveying on your own. Relying on outside or third-party survey vendors may not be the best option. Sure, they may be skilled at surveying banks, hospitals and apartment buildings, but many aren’t “retail ready.” When selecting a professional surveyor, it’s smart to work with surveyors who specialize in retail.
- Retailers Lack a Centralized Database
A store intelligence tool can provide you one single source for data. This technology eliminates the need to rekey data over and over into spreadsheets – and the room for error that method often creates. A centralized database allows you say goodbye to shared drives used as unorganized data dumping grounds. Focus your time and money on flawless retail execution and performance, not trying to keep track of store data.
- No Method of Maintaining Surveyed Stores
With a mobile app, your teams can continue to manage and update details about your stores even on the go. It’s pointless to invest in surveying your stores without continuing to update changes to your store. For example, you’ve created additional parking spots and replaced the HVAC units in several of your locations – use the mobile app to quickly and easily capture that info and share with management.
- Store Locations Matter
If you’re a small business owner with less than 100 stores, this level of store surveying may not be ideal or cost-effective. Retailers with a minimum of 100 stores make the best, most worthwhile candidates for a professional store survey.
Have additional questions about store surveys? Contact a survey expert today.
