As a retailer, knowing your customers is vital. Their needs should guide how you design the store environment and how you display and position your merchandise. The “content” of your store has to fit the audience you’re hoping to reach. In short, you’re trying to target a market, and you want to be seen as distinct.

There’s a widely-used marketing method that tries to achieve this – Content Marketing.
It’s entirely focused on understanding and addressing customer needs, and that basic idea works just as well in retail.
How well does your store or concept align with the 4 principles below?

• INTEREST – Does it capture the target audience’s interest?
• VALUE – Does it provide valuable knowledge or experiences?
• RELEVANCE – Does the store and the merchandise seem relevant to the target market?
• AUTHENTICITY – Does the overall expression of the store line up with your brand?

To start off, evaluate your store as a whole, using these basic principles as your guide.
Later, you’ll apply any insights gained in more concrete ways, such as product displays and signage.
We’ll cover that another time!