Saturday 23 November 2013

TIPs for DIY-Related Businesses: Tap the DIY Traffic like the Big DIY Stores

http://diydazzlers.blogspot.com

In the DIY industry? Selling carpets, flooring, home decor, etc.? Too many flooring businesses remain shut in the weekends!

Do what the big boys do, follow the example of the big DIY stores, open in the weekends. So many of these stores, even larger ones, are shut when they could be picking up weekend sales.

The 9-5pm, weekday opening times just does not cut the mustard - see how busy these DIY stores are in the weekends? They are buzzing! And the car-parks are full!

If you know that DIY programmes on TV are running or have run, then ride on the coat-tails of these programmes because they have generated much interest in home DIY and that translates into increased traffic to DIY stores, stemming from increased motivation and inspiration to improve their homes by home-owners.

These programmes are quite open about the amount of viewership they have garnered (which is valuable information), and if the trend has been an increasing one over consecutive years because the housing cycle is in the upturn phase, take a risk and open your stores in the weekend, if you haven't already or trial it for a few weeks. You might pick up the sales that your competition will miss by being shut in the weekends, especially in the spring right through to the autumn season.

And if you have information that a prime location/city is too hot and house prices are too high, it is very likely that home-owners will renovate and stay put because they can't afford to upgrade to a more expensive house, so that is another indicator that DIY activity is going to increase.

Also there are other indicators eg. legal / financial - if there are legal changes eg. requirement for a greater deposit to buy a house it can lead to more creative ways to house other members (grown-up kids) of the family (who would otherwise be getting their own place but are not able to afford the deposit required by say, a higher LVR (20%?) than in the past), such as, extending the existing home, or adding a self-contained wing to the original house, either attached or stand-alone. All this would mean more DIY activity from home owners.

It's logical to open in the weekends because most DIY folks are doing renovations and repairs when they are off work, in the weekends usually. Those large DIY stores know a thing or two about their markets when they keep themselves open 7 days a week. If your resources are smaller, financially or labour-wise, juggle your down-time and take some leave during the week so you can remain open in the weekend, at least partially.

Test the water and then tweak your data-driven strategy to optimise your results for the best outcome!

You never know just how long the Season of Plenty will last (post GFC) so why not Go with the (DIY money) Flow, when the Trend is your Friend and DIY Fever is in the Air? When business is brisk, every hour you are open is Happy Hour. You can always 'take it easy' when business winds down as it will at some stage later on down the track.





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