In an online world competing for customers and footfall can feel like a never ending challenge for bricks and mortar retailers, says Paul Steckler, director of the successful Oscar & Hooch company.

"We all know that gaining new customers and satisfying existing ones is like being on a hamster wheel. There are no magic bullets but here are 10 steps that may help retailers focus resources on the right customers."

1. Know your demographics
Understanding your local population is crucial – a good starting point is free postcode checking sites such as www.checkmyarea.com by inputting your postcode you very quickly see the kind of population you are serving. Capture this data and then qualify it by speaking with people in your area and other successful store owners.

2. Segment your customers
Once you have a good handle on the different social groups you should be able to easily categorise them. You can use the A-E social classification or you can simplify to suit your needs (i.e. big spenders, bargain hunters etc.). With a good handle on demographics and segments you will very easily be able to work out how many customers fit into each segment – for pet ownership stats the pfma (www.pfma.org.uk) provide some useful numbers – use these with your own area if you don’t know the number of dog owners for example.

3. Segment your competition
It is likely that established competition will have a target group in mind and will serve them well- for example discount stores will be very heavily targeting the bargain hunters. Be clear on which segments you believe your competitors serve well and categorise accordingly.

4. Identify the most profitable customers
I will use dog food as a simple illustration of how this could work-if you have 2000 dog owners in segment A (high spenders) and 4000 in segment C (bargain hunters) you can quickly work out how profitable a super-premium food might be vs. a value food. Aside from margin you should also assume different buying behaviours- those with the higher disposable income may have a higher propensity to impulse buy, likewise bargain hunters may buy increased volume if there is a deal to be had. Once you are clear on the opportunity per customer you should allocate the different segments points out of 10 (10 being the most profitable).

5. Assess accessibility of your groups
Next review how easy these customers are to access - if your most profitable customers are bargain hunters and you are situated next door to a well-established value chain you may find accessing these customers difficult. It is therefore crucial you review your competitor segments and your own knowledge to allocate a score out of 10 for accessibility to your customer segments (10 where there is no competition for example) - the easier the group to access, the higher the score. If you are in a high area of tourism and you are situated opposite a major attraction then accessibility to this group would also be high and so forth.

6. Rank your segments
Now you have scores out of 10 for profitability and accessibility you can now plot them on a very simple graph (with profitability on the X axis and accessibility on the Y axis):
Those that appear towards the top right hand side should be your prime groups (if they are not already). These will give you the best opportunity for success with high profitability and easier access to the group.

7. Remain objective
It is now when doubt may creep in, it may feel easier to revert back to what you have always been doing – this is fine if that’s working, if not you should trust the analysis and move onto step 8!

8. Be clear on your stores proposition
If your analysis is leading you towards ultra-premium customers then make sure everything about your store and customer experience is ultra-premium. This may involve changing displays, staff training, changing opening times (if your target group all work then shutting at 5pm may not be the best strategy). Once you are clear on which customer group you are targeting then ensure this follows through on everything you do (this is particularly relevant if you do any social media activities - volume is of less importance, getting to the right customer is of greater importance).

9. Partner
The need to change may create resources you currently do not have, look at this as an opportunity and partner with those that do - whether that be your local vet (puppy classes for example) or a dog groomer and possibly even a local bakery (if you want to make your own pet friendly birthday cakes for example).

10. Remember the seasons
Every season brings a new store opportunity, Christmas always presents a great opportunity but it is wise to treat every seasonal opportunity with the same gusto and meticulous planning well ahead of time.

Finally ensure you review your plan at least monthly against some clear goals (footfall, new customers engaging on social media, gross profit etc…) and last but by no means least continue to interact with your customers and capture all of the little nuggets of information –these are valuable marketing insights that should be harnessed for future opportunities - your suppliers would also love to know what you know!

To contact Paul email paul@oscarandhooch.com. Visit the website www.oscarandhooch.com