The Importance of Communication in Retail Management
Discuss about the Work Placement for Retail Management Process.
Communication plays a vital role in the retail management process. This is one of the first things that I learnt when pursuing my Masters degree in retail management. So when I became a retail manager of a store I decided to pay particular attention to the many different communication tools that could be mixed and made use of in order to effectively communicate the marketing and branding messages of our enterprise. Some of the communication tools that I specifically commissioned the use of were personal selling, direct marketing, digital marketing, public relations, sales promotion and advertising, all of which I had studied in details about when pursuing my degree. I had learnt that such communication tools are entirely capable of delivering personal messages. Also the level of interaction and audience reach that is made possible through the use of communication tools like digital marketing and public relations or even advertising was made very clear to us students when pursuing the retail management degree course. I even learnt that such communication tools are also those that are quite cost effective and it will not hurt the budget of the enterprise if these are extensively made use of. In my experience as retail manager of a store I can now see for myself how well perceived these tools are by the target audience. Hence commissioning the use of such communication tools was undoubtedly the right thing to do.
The Masters degree course that I pursued in retail management also taught me that ICT plays a crucial role in retail management. As a retail store manager, I therefore decided to introduce the use of new technologies like POS or point of sale terminals. By using such technology the checkout process for customers has be much become easier than what it used to be. Transactions can be processed with the help of the POS terminals by the store staff far more quickly and they can avoid a one on one interaction with customers in this way as well. While it has been an expensive move, the introduction of POS terminals on my part has led to customers not having to stand in line for long hours any longer when they buy something from the store. Near field technology, also known as radio frequency identification is another important technology that ought to be deployed in retail management as learnt during my Masters course in retail management. I have also introduced this technology at the store. This move has required a huge investment as well but it is worth it as this is the kind of technology that ensures safe and secure transactions, something that our course instructor had made very clear when talking to use about the importance of ICT in retail management. This particular technology makes use of an antenna and an embedded chip and customers simply need to swipe or wave their debit and credit cards over the card readers in the POS terminals to carry out a secure transaction when buying at our retail store.
The Role of Information Technology in Retail Management
While pursuing my Masters degree course in retail management, I had been taught how certain innovations could be made in the area of store operations so as to detect and prevent the occurrence of fraudulent activities. One such invention is the physical inventory. At the time of the closing of the store every single day, I make sure that the store staff is count stock of specific products. The type of product whose stock is being counted may vary on a daily basis. I have empowered the store crew with what is known as physical mobile inventory functionality for this purpose, so that they are able to execute the task of taking stock in a smooth and efficient manner. The basics related to cash management that I learnt while pursuing my degree course in retail management have also led me to make sure that the terminal and the sessions by terminal at our retail store are monitored daily in real time. All important operations like the closing and opening of the store as well as cash management are monitored every single day in real time so as to detect inconsistencies in these areas a lot more easily than usual. My degree course in retail management taught me that in addition to putting a number of surveillance mechanisms like place like the real time monitoring of cash transactions and management and physical inventory management, it is always useful to have experts around who can tell us what we should or should not be doing. Should the store ever go through a financial crunch now or in the near future, the expertise provided by such professionals can prove to be immensely valuable in order for the store to make a suitable financial comeback. For this purpose, apart from making sure that transactions are carried out in a secure manner and that stock is physically monitored every day, I have also enlisted the support of financial advisors and accountants who can tell us better about how to manage finances effectively. I have made an effort to reach out to some of the top most experts in the field of finance management. It has cost us quite a bit of money to avail their expertise but I believe that this will reap good returns for us in the long run.
In the last two years, there were two major projects that I was involved in, with respect to the management of the retail store. The first was a social media campaign that was aimed at popularizing the various products on offer at our store. We deal in a wide range of items starting from groceries and household supplies like kitchenware to garments and accessories. The social media campaign was carried out on Facebook.com, and on Twitter. I had studied during my degree course in retail management that these are two of the most viewed and most used social media platforms online and, that conducting a social media campaign on such platforms will go a long way in marketing retail store products in the best possible way. The social media campaign turned out to be a huge success and the page that I got IT experts to design and create for the retail store on Facebook.com received as many as 1500 likes over a span of one week. I was also involved in the launch of a new product in the garments and accessories section of the retail store, namely the launch of children’s garments since I had learnt specifically from my instructors during my degree course classes in retail management that garments can attract huge sales for retail stores. I have now introduced at a store, a line of garments for boys and girls aged between four and thirteen years. The garments are mostly made of cotton fabric, feature beautiful designs and patterns and are designed to provide children with absolute comfort in the summer months, apart from making them look good of course. The launch of this new line of garments for children has proven to be a success till now. Sales have been on the rise and customers have given good feedback for the garments that they have bought from this particular line. Apart from social media campaigns and new garments launch, I have of course been involved in introducing the use of new technology at out store for safe and secure cash management, as mentioned earlier. POS terminals, and near field technology help customers to carry out their transactions in a much safer way. By launching this technology at the retail store I now see that customers do not have to wait at the store for long hours to get their bills processed as this is done instantly now by the store counter officials using the POS terminals. I have also made sure to have a good IT team in place that will look into the glitches that can arise when using the POS terminals and the near field technology. The IT team works full time at our store and will be available for assistance to the store officials whenever there is a technical problem that is likely to halt business transactions. With a proper IT team in place, a retail store can carry out its business operations using new secure near field technology in an efficient and quick manner and thus be able to generate more sales than it could have in the past. Transactions will now take far more quickly and in greater number with the help of near field technology. Also, the success of the social media campaigns will ensure that more people keep coming to the store to buy products, something that makes me very happy and content with my work.
Based on the essentials that I studied while pursuing a Masters degree course in retail management, I introduced new technologies, new operations, new forms of communication and marketing as retail manager of a store. I have made sure of the fact that all the store officials are well-versed with the changes that have been taking place. I have spent long hours explaining to store officials how the new information technology needs to be used in order to execute transactions very smoothly with the help of such technology. Social media campaigns are vital for the success of a marketing campaign. I have therefore instructed each and every store official to be actively involved in the social media campaigns so that they are aware of all the details that are involved in the execution of a campaign. The launch of a garments line for children belonging to the primary age group can be great for the success of a retail store. It was something that I thus decided to do and also after taking into consideration the suggestions and recommendations for the same, made by the store’s employees. The fact that I have now made an IT support team available for the store officials is something that they have received very well too by those working for me at the retail store. My degree course in retail management taught me how the role of IT support is so imperative for the smooth operation of ICT technologies in retail store transactions. The store officials have come to be familiar with the use of sophisticated ICT in retail store transactions with the help of IT support, a skill that I believe will prove to be useful for them during their entire career in the retail sector.
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