Know-How Exchange : Customer Behavior

Your goal should be to determine potential sales for the products you carry. So the questions should be to try to determine the need and ability to buy your products.

For example, if you sell maternity clothing, you would want to know about how many women have children in your area, and what sort of income they have.

I completely agree with Peter. In order to know the questions to ask, we need to know more about the products you will carry.

Retail covers a very broad spectrum.

Are you selling baby needs? guns? Porn magazines ? vegetables?

Who is your target consumer? age, income bracket etc.

If you can clarify some of those, then you can more easily prepare the right questions to ask your potential buyers.

Good luck.

Matthew

In a competitive marketplace, focus on the competition:

1. Where do you shop now for [the product you're selling]?

2. Why do you go there?

3. Where did you shop before that store opened, and what made you switch?

4. Can you name another, similar store where you also shop for those kinds of products? (Their "backup store" is also your competition.)

5. What would my store need to offer to get you to shop here instead?

If people say "lower prices," then ask this followup:

Just pretend my store's price and the competitor's price are not any different. Now what would I need to offer to get you to shop here instead?

If people say "better quality," "better service," or "better [anything]," ask them to tell you what they mean by that.

Of course, you must qualify the people you talk with to make sure they're really potential customers (pregnant women, seniors, golfers, whatever). But then get a conversation going with them about WHY they do what they do now, and what they LIKE and DON'T like about their present store "solution."

To succeed, you must deliver something that the market (competitor) isn't delivering right now. Find out what that is.

Knowing the product you're going to sell would certainly help, but all right, here is what comes to mind...
In addition to standard questions, I would ask also something like this:

Which stores your customers like to visit most of all and why they like those (not only your field related, but any stores with different types of products)
>>> then I would go to those stores to see what I like there myself: you could find some ideas anywhere, even if the products they offer are completely different from those you're planning to sell

Favorite colors, smells, flowers, painters, music (whatever else) of your customers
>>> then in general you could find some ideas as for designing and keeping your shopping premises, and the new ideas might be the opposite from what you initially thought to do

What your customers honestly think of your product - quality, price, post-sale service etc. - and what they would consider as an added value
>>> people can give you some great ideas you wouldn't even think of (for instance, free gift wrapping, free delivery, a discount card, new printed catalogues sent their address, availability of accessories etc.)

What time is the most suitable for your customers to make purchases
>>> this could give you ideas about defining your working hours more efficiently and also providing some 'happy hours' or anything like that to attract more customers at less visited times

Again, knowing the field you're working in would help. It all depends.
Good luck with your retail business.