Think back to when you first fell in love. How much attention did you give to your new partner? You probably treated them with great care and tried to please them continuously. But as the relationship matured, those efforts likely faded. You probably accepted it as ‘the way it is’. And sadly, the relationship may have deteriorated in the absence of that attention.

Much the same happens with an established business. We do not do everything we can to continue to love and work on it the way we did when we first launched the concept, or opened the first store.

Ask yourself, what have you done in the last 12 months to enhance your business? What is it that you are doing better than you were last year, or to open a gap against your competitors? What is the discernible difference that customers notice about your store compared to the other options available to them? Why should they shop you?

What are you doing to invent your future?

There are many aspects of a retail business that need consideration. Here are some of the more important ones that apply to most retail businesses.

 Rate each discipline in your business out of 5. I.e. Average is 3 out of 5

1. How do you match up on price and value?
2. How convenient and accessible are you to your chosen customer segments?
3. How easy is it to shop you, in-store or online?
4. How good is your service, really?
5. How good and appropriate is your range of merchandise or services?
6. What is the memorable experience of a customer after shopping you?
7. How sharp and what visual impact do your window and in-store displays provide?

How many 3 or worse ratings do you have? How many 4 and how many 5 ratings?

If you think of successful brands and businesses, generally you will assess them to be at least average (3 out of 5) on three to four of the above questions, good (4 out of 5) on at least two of the above questions and really very good (5 out of 5) at least one and sometimes two of the questions.

Do the assessment for some iconic Australian brands that you are familiar with. Think about McDonalds, Lorna Jane, Boost Juice, Smiggle, Aldi, or H&M, to name a few. When you think about those brands, their market positioning and strengths become obvious.

Why do you have a favourite coffee shop? Why do you walk past numerous others to go to ‘your’ coffee shop? What draws you there? Is it only the coffee, or the service, ambiance, or value.?

Now, think about some struggling retailers and spot the difference. What about Myer, Target, Jeanswest, or Harris Scarfe? What are their points of difference and what  they do really well? It will become obvious that they are generally average or worse on most of the above disciplines!

Now, think about your business. What do you do very well? If you are a specialty business, what is your speciality? What do you do better than your competitors? What can you do to make the customer think, ‘Wow, they do that better than any other comparable business’?

Is your service outstanding, and I mean outstanding? Are you absolutely passionate about any single aspect of your business? I mean, do you think about how to do it better every day and work on it continuously?

Decide what your key brand values are, what you want your business to be known for and work on it passionately and tirelessly!

If you work hard, really hard at it, you will find a way to do it better, and develop a connection and a loyalty with your customers. You cannot be the same as you were yesterday. If you are not constantly improving, you will struggle, particularly in the new normal.

You may have survived being average in how you delivered your brand to the world in the past, but that will not get you through in the new world post COVID-19.

You need to love your business, choose a discipline that you can deliver better than anybody else, work on it every day and treat your customers as if they were your new potential lifelong partner.

Oh, and remember, don’t expect your staff to do as they are told, they will be more likely to mimic you and do as you do!

Peter Sheppard is head of implementation at Retail Doctor Group.