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To attract customers, your store should be filled with cool products that customers want and need. But finding out what customers want can be daunting. Over the years, I've learned to ask myself three questions before committing to a purchase order: 1. Can I sell it in my market? A crystal-encrusted upright bass may sell well in Hollywood but could sit on the shelves in rural Kansas. Knowing your customer base will help you fine-tune what will sell in your store. Also, be aware that your customers change with time. I hardly sell any small percussion upgrade items, such as hi-hat c

To attract customers, your store should be filled with cool products that customers want and need. But finding out what customers want can be daunting. Over the years, I've learned to ask myself three questions before committing to a purchase order: 1. Can I sell it in my market? A crystal-encrusted upright bass may sell well in Hollywood but could sit on the shelves in rural Kansas. Knowing your customer base will help you fine-tune what will sell in your store. Also, be aware that your customers change with time. I hardly sell any small percussion upgrade items, such as hi-hat c

Every summer, we hit a low. It happens right after our rock camp ends and before the back-to-school season begins. We're pretty much broke, and no customers walk through the door. We need to hold a sale, but of course, we don’t have money to promote it. So, we have to create the event with no budget. If this sounds familiar, the good news is we came up with a solution. Here's what we did: 1. Call on reps. Ask your vendor reps for something free. It could be a major giveaway, such as a guitar or amp, or something smaller—stickers, T-shirts or strings, for instance. Your reps will w

In my opinion, the No. 1 problem most music retailers face is inventory. They have too many things that aren’t moving and not enough of the things that are. This can be fixed by avoiding a few key pitfalls and identifying the winners and losers in your store. Before I go any further, let me say that if you are serious about being in the music business, you’ve got to have a quality point of sale system. You can do everything I’m going to share without a POS, but the amount of time you’d spend compiling data would easily pay for a POS. Let's look at a few stats to determine our inve

Do you know what departments or product categories are profitable at your store and, more importantly, what are not? Having a hunch doesn’t count. You need profit and loss statements at the department- or product-category level. Only when you know where your profits lie can you make the best decisions that maximize profitability. In addition, departmental profitability can be an important item on a manager’s report card, whether for the purpose of designing an incentive plan or for measuring his or her effectiveness. Departmental profit and loss statements give you an objective wa

It’s hard not to notice the daily fluctuations in gas prices. A recent news report estimated that the average American household spends about 4 percent of its annual income on gasoline. Plus, most freight shipments that get delivered to our doors arrive in vehicles running on diesel, which is even more expensive. For this reason and many more, we have to keep a close eye on our daily freight costs. Have you looked at your total invoice cost, then looked at the total freight cost related to that invoice? Is the percentage 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 50? It’s important that you know the an

Do you find yourself saying, "I have too many things to do to worry about being productive"? The good news is managing your time is easier than you think. A few simple online tools will help you stay on track, even with a sea of responsibilities. Specifically, my favorite tools are Gmail, Boomerang, Google Calendar and Google Drive (formerly Google Docs). These will change your day-to-day experience—and impact your bottom line. Gmail Much of what I will say here may apply to other email systems, but in my opinion, Gmail’s tools make everything so much easier. The first rule of thu

Does your company handle purchasing as a team? Are the voices of your sales and support staff heard before you place purchase orders? Obviously, a purchasing director or manager needs to make final calls on buying decisions, but the more you can get your associates involved in what they're going to sell, the more they'll be motivated to sell it. Reaching out to your team will almost always make purchasing decisions easier and more effective. This can be through formal store meetings, departmental meetings, vendor rep visits with sales associates who report back to you or individua

We first used QR codes in our business with custom band folders. We printed the band folders with codes on the front and back and distributed the folders to schools. The front code linked to our store website, and the back code linked to our wind instrument maintenance website, which is ironically titled hornsmasher.com. This year, my lovely wife and business partner took the idea to the next level. She suggested we put QR codes that link to our maintenance videos on the inside music-holder flaps. We did this and distributed 2,000 folders. Since then, as many as 2,000 kids scan th

My first exposure to QR codes was three years ago at a convention in Fresno, Calif. My wife and I had a booth to promote a new side business: our own brand of instrument care kits. During the convention, one of my reps dropped by and showed me how QR codes worked on his iPhone. Little did I know they were going to be an easy and inexpensive way to promote what we were already doing. A QR code is different than a barcode because it can be scanned from any direction and is much more data-intensive. QR codes also have an error-correction capability. Up to 30 percent of the image can

The last morning of the 2013 NAMM Show kicked off with Best in Show. Six retail gear experts shopped the show to find their favorite products and presented the top picks during the popular Breakfast Session. The last category, Best in Show, featured the best products or services that panelists saw at NAMM.

The last morning of the 2013 NAMM Show kicked off with Best in Show. Six retail gear experts shopped the show to find their favorite products and presented the top picks during the popular Breakfast Session. The third category, Company to Watch, highlighted exhibitors with trendsetting products or services.