Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor® blog at Retaildoc.com

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In an article in Tuesday’s WSJ article titled, Do Discount Designer Duds Make The Grade? by Ann Zimmerman, the writer invited a couple of design professionals to pick out the designer (i.e. better) garment from Target and H & M knockoffs.  She wanted to see how they were able to compete on quality. One identified the designer dress by Thakoon, because she said the “fabric seemed to be of higher quality, with a rich color palette and a soft ‘hand,’” the other missed it.  He was thrown by the attention to detail.

When was the last time you shopped your competition?  I don’t mean in the “we’re so much better then them” mindset but to see what you could learn. Once? Never? I’m not surprised.

When I do a business makeover I invite the owner to go with me but it is like trying to get a child to want to go to the dentist to get a cavity filled. The stress. The doubting. The excuses.

Why? What is there to be afraid of?

I remember one makeover in California.  We got in the car and by the time we reached the competitor’s parking lot, the owner was convinced they would “know me.”

After almost dragging him from the car we entered to a clearly sub-par showroom.  The products they carried only partially competed with his.  After a few minutes a woman  yelled across from behind the counter, “Let me know if you need anything.” I turned to look at her.

She was dressed like a twenty-year old in a too-short leopard print skirt with a halter top.  She was in her mid-40′s.  She might even have been chewing a sandwich or gum. This was the place you would have expected a professional dress code. I whispered to him, “Let that go we’re looking for positives here.”

By the time we got in the car, the owner turned to me and said, “Well they’re not such a big deal.”  That was an understatement.  Dismissing our encounter with the woman who I later found out was the owner, my client said, “We could upgrade our display with something like that one on the right and it would drive sales.”  Exactly and the point of the visit.

Fear of the unknown is worse than the known.  You want to compete? Go out today and shop a competitor with an eye for these five things:

1. The store. Is it clean, neat, clearly organized?  What is one thing they are doing particularly well with fixtures, endcaps or displays?
2. The employees. Are they  welcoming? Would you want to work with this person? What’s one reason why you might?
3. The service. What is one thing about your encounter you would want customers to feel when shopping in your store? If nothing, what would you do to bring them up to speed?
4. The products. Is there something you should be carrying? Do they get more for a similar item?
5. The experience. Would you want to return to this store? Why ? Don’t dwell on the rotten, find something to challenge the experience at your own store.

You might only have one item or a list – but the attitude to find something good makes it much more valuable.

A mystery shop company can then help you do this for your own store.   I have one I’ve used thousands of times and work with exclusively.  (If you’re interested, shoot me an email. ) But your  first step is to see what competitors are doing right.  Trust me, you’ll see what they do wrong but don’t get caught up in the bitchiness and feeling superior; you’ll miss the learning you need.

The  judges  in the article I mentioned at the outset found some well-made garments and at an affordable price.  They also found some quite shoddy while having the “look.”  How did the knock offs do it? They shopped the competition.

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