Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 4338583" data-attributes="member: 19675">Before I post further, I wish to state that I prefer to buy my gaming stuff from LGS...but I have a few good ones from which to choose.As a gamer with an MBA, I know enough about the retail end of the biz to know that certain big retailers are allowed to buy gaming products for much less than LGS's can.  That "premium" you're paying is typically the difference between the bulk discounts, economies of scale, and even cross subsidies inherent in the big retailers' business model that simply cannot be matched by the LGS.Simply put, the typical LGS probably cannot compete on the basis of cost.That leaves service.  Simply put, Online or BB retailers can't touch you there.Provide gaming space if you can.  I know it sounds counterintuitive, but that may even entail going into a larger retail space to accommodate demos and product coexisting.  Like a factory store, a LGS that demos good games can see an immediate and lasting impact on the bottom line...at least for the products demoed.  Like other areas of retail, there is probably also a measurable increase in overall sales the longer customers stay in the store.  Demos add to that time.Know your customers.  Besides gaming, one of my other loves is music- I own thousands of CDs, for instance.  My local music retailers know me and my tastes in a way the online retailers simply don't.  I've walked into some of those stores and been told by a manager (or other knowledgable staffmember) that a certain limited edition supergroup side-project CD had been released, and they were holding one of the store's 2 copies for me...and I didn't even know that the project existed.Provide an inviting environment.  Gone are the days when you can run a LGS out of a dingy, dark, dungeonesque storefront.  The hobby has grown, and expectations have followed.  Make sure your store is well lit and the climate is comfortable.  If you can, provide refreshments and access to bathrooms.Also, examine your store's layout  Like I mentioned above, the longer someone stays in your store, the more money they're likely to spend.  Following that bit of info, the Central Market grocery stores are all designed like a simple, single-path maze with only a couple of shortcuts.  Essentially, a shopping trip through CM means you pass virtually every product in the store.You also don't want to crowd your customers.  A shopping study showed that aisles that were too narrowly spaced meant that customers collided with/brushed against other customers more frequently (the "butt-brush factor").  That repeated disruption of personal space resulted in people leaving those areas...and those stores.Help your customers network.  Most game stores in my area (and in the 2 cities in which I resided before) have had some kind of message board or folder for those seeking other gamers of a particular game.  If it hadn't been for Dragon's Lair in Austin providing a message board, I might not have found the guys I gamed with for my 4 years in Law School.  Insanity might have resulted.Ring your own bell  You can follow all of the best advice offered in this thread and still fail if nobody knows what services you offer.  How best to do that depends on your budget and the resources available in your area.For more tips, check out Paco Underhill's books, Why We Buy and Call of the Mall.  They're both fun reads and educational to both retailers and customers alike.[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Buy-Science-Shopping/dp/0684849135[/ame][ame]http://www.amazon.com/Call-Mall-Geography-Shopping-Author/dp/B000F3T4CC/ref=pd_sim_b_1[/ame]</blockquote>

Verification