There hardly seems time to review your year and plan for next, particularly after the year that was 2020.  But failure to understand your previous year’s business performance and plan for the coming year can only lead to achieving the same results you always have, it’s the old "if you always do what you have always done, you will always get the same results".

We consistently review our client’s digital and retail performance against their goals but in the last quarter of the year, we spend more time planning the following year against the data and new objectives.  Small changes can make a big difference and one of our big lessons from 2020 is being fit for purpose.  

Not all businesses are created equal and small wins need to be celebrated. We are big believers that not all mistakes are failures, but failing to learn from them is.  Pulling apart and understanding various aspects of your business and putting them back together will ensure that you are setting your business up for success in 2021. 

Ask yourself the following questions:-

1. What did we learn from the year’s sales trend?
2. What are our customers wanting from our business?
3. Is our brand relevant? 
4. What are our competitors doing better than us?
5. Where do we want to be at the end of 2020?

Question 4 raises some interesting questions about success, what does success mean to you?  Without fail, most business people will answer in terms of sales growth, without considering the steps to achieve that financial success. Increasing team performance, introducing a customer-centric philosophy will ensure your business delivers the sales growth and financial success we all strive for - so are these better measures of success?   

These are the macro questions we look at, what you do review? One of our most important review tips is to involve your team - you'll be surprised at what comes out of a team discussion.

Download out Planning For Retail Success guide to start your 2021 planning for your retail business.

No time to review, or just want to bounce thoughts around, please contact us to discuss.