Reaching Out To My Customers wrote:
-We have a well trained, small, but personable staff of elite runners that are dedicated to the goal and understand the importance of building a relationship with the customer.
How do you know? I mean, I am sure you love your employees, but how do you know your customers do? In my opinion this is the weak spot at most running stores and retail stores in general. Surly elite runners who treat novice, average, experienced and even other top runners or HS runners like they are idiots is common, although maybe not in front of the owner. The best running store service I know of is a family operation and they all act like their life depends on their service, because it does.
Aside from that, my recommendations:
1. Increase your sales the right way. Have your sales people reach out to customers about sales, specials and "to see how their training is going..." etc. Simple postcards with discounts can be quite effective. Offer incentives for sales people who succeed.
2. Add some non-running footwear and junk targeting HS kids, (eg backpacks). Depends on your trade area, but Eastbay catalog will give you and idea of what crap sells these days. You may need to re-do floor plan depending on your space, but sacrifice the low margin junk.
3. Offer free-coaching and advice. Do you have a treadmill in the store? Put the elite guys to work looking at form, giving simple training plans and making some follow up calls while they are not selling. When I was not flipping burgers at McDonald's 30 yrs ago, they had me "wiping and shining, wiping and shining." Figure out what the "wiping and shining" is for your business and eliminate the down time between sales.
4. Identify a trademark give-away with logos which people will use everywhere and get your store name out there. Cheap running gloves are a no-brainer in winter. Painters caps are due for a comeback I think. Headbands with your logo will do it. Don't skimp on building your brand, what's $2 for an order over $100 or even $50? Most shops are giving away bigger discounts anyways.
5. Back to service, you can always improve. Find out where people are coming from, where they are not coming from and why. Mail order is inevitably your biggest comp so you have to take them out and make it easy for your biggest customers to call you for orders or discounts.
I walk by the local running store everyday and they suck, it's amazing. Out of pure laziness I will walk in, buy 3 pairs of shoes and nobody cares. Last year at Marathon Sports in Cambridge I bought 2 pairs of shoes for myself and 2 Garmin 405's (1 was a gift) and the guy did not even say "thank you." Best of luck.