HOMT GENTER MERGHANT

BILL FISHMAN

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

11650 lberia Place San Diego, Ca.92128

I found myself in the

I clients' room of a market research company. I was comfortably seated behind a two-way mirror allowing me to look and listen to a focus group report on the good and the bad about a home center operation I advise, We got an earful.

Today's shopper is far more sophisticated than the novice do-it-yourselfer of only l0 years ago. He's not only been at do-it-yourself projects longer, he's also learned how to shop our stores. As a matter of fact, he's pretty vocal about telling us how to run our business.

So. .grab your pencil, as Ed McMahan would say. .here's everything you will ever have to know about gaining the edge on everybody else in the market. This is a list of some of the individual suggestions (not necessarily the concensus of the entire group): r Keep the store open later (the store is currently open until 9:30 p.m.). o Offer a larger selection in almost every department. o Beat everybody else's shelf price, day in and day out. e Quote prices over the phone. o Make the aisles wider. o Have more people available to talk to customers. r Train all sales people to be more courteous. o Train all salespeople to be more product knowledgeable. r Make sure all salespeople have the ability to take off a lumber list. o Give immediate cash refunds without the typical paperwork. o Carry a less expensive selection. o Do not junk up the store with promotional lines.

. Open the store earlier (7:30 in the morning).

. Stay open every evening including Sunday.

. Open more checkout counters.

. Have outside salesmen available to sell even the smallest item in the customer's home.

. Inventory replacement parts for every item that the store sells.

February, 1985 o Make demonstrations available at all times for all products. o Advertise in the metropolitan newspaper, the suburban newspaper, radio, television, billboards.

Carry a lumber at of dimension better grade lower prices.

. Never be out of items needed to instalf or accessorizn any project.

Do not offer rainchecks. . .instead be in stock at all times.

Helpcustomers load purchases into, or on top of the car.

Match paint colors.

Loan tools r Offer free yardsticks, paint mixers, caps and nail aprons. r Eliminate coupons and rebates. o Have phone times. advice available at all o Hire more mature sales people. wow!

Make the parking spaces wider.

Illuminate the parking lot better.

What I find interesting is that a shopper expects so much more in a store that calls itself a home center or building material retailer than he does at the typical K-Mart, Price Club, or other mass merchandiser. Yet, he expects us to be as competitive.

And, he expects us to offer continuity in the assortment of merchandise that we offer. The customer however anticipates much less from the chain discount houses. He has no fixed ideas about product categories that are being merchandised.

The mass merchandiser's customer is accustomed to lines at the checkout counter, dangerously narrow parking stalls, and almost no visible. . .let alone knowledgeable salespersons.

Sometimes life is unfair!

When sending in a change o.[ address please include zip code on borh old and new addresses and either the old label or the inlbrmation from it. Thanks!