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HOW SMALL RETAILERS CAN BECOME MORE EFFICIENT THROUGH COVID-19 Small business owners, especially retailers, have been working harder than ever to keep their businesses afloat and staff engaged during the pandemic period. Nonetheless, it’s often the daily tasks that are getting their attention, not plans for the future. By Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association CEO Ben Kearney. How to get from reactive to proactive? Getting stuck in a cycle of reactive rather than proactive activity is a trap. No matter how hard you’re working, spending too much time on reactive and repetitive day-to-day tasks can sometimes feel like you’re chasing your own tail. The good news is you can become more efficient in a post-COVID-19 world by applying some simple time-saving hacks, better utilising some of the tools you already have and tapping existing support structures of your business. The power of the three Ds We need to stop trying to do it all. Look at your to-do list and if you and you alone can do it, then put DO next to it. If it has to be done but someone else can do it – your partner, your employee, or your business support team member such as your accountant or bookkeeper – then DELEGATE it. If it’s something you don’t have the bandwidth to manage, and you can’t delegate it, then DELETE it! Freeing up time by using technology tools, such as Xero accounting, is a common smart process and time saver. If you’re processing and administering your business, then you aren’t using the time to sell and train your staff to maximise profitability in your business. Remember, if you don’t absolutely have to do it, delegate to someone else or utilise technology to do it for you. Think smart Creating better systems and processes will enable you to get on top of your data, which is the smartest way to keep a small business running smoothly. It stops you getting bogged down in the hundreds of individual tasks that use up a good chunk of your day. It also enhances your business’s worth and appeal when it’s time to sell. Most small businesses have a point of sale system. By setting up the system correctly, the data insights available within can help you remove time- consuming and unprofitable tasks in your business. Data can help you figure out how to grow your business and save money, how quickly stock turns over and in what categories, which periods are the busiest, what categories sell best together, and what margins are made on different products. By reviewing the right data, you can keep track of your business demographic and identify new opportunities. For example, you might want to focus on Halloween or Black Friday sales instead of putting most of your marketing budget behind EOFY sales. Data can help you answer the key questions about sales and areas where you need to improve or invest further, such as ‘where are the sales are coming from?’ and ‘when are the busiest times to ensure you’re properly staffed?' As you understand your data better, you can start to make improvements to your customer service, create loyalty programs, or tweak how you effectively market to new and existing customers, saving both time and money. By utilising both data and establishing processes, small family businesses can get smart about where their time is going. Eventually, you’ll be able to say goodbye to those frustrating, lost hours and finally get on top of tasks that will move your business forward. INDUSTRY INSIGHT About Ben Kearney Ben Kearney is the CEO of the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA), the peak national industry body for Australia’s newsagents and lottery agents. alna.net.au JUL/AUG, 2020 CONVENIENCE WORLD 13