The number of cell phone franchises, autonomous stores and kiosks selling accessories has gradually increased with time, making the market highly competitive. The existence of such shops can be seen in almost every shopping mall and all public areas now. Even the Internet hosts a huge number of online outlets selling mobile phones and their accessories.
But if you are planning to establish a cell phone accessory business and earn some profit, you would need to find a location with lesser competition or build an online presence that can beat other competitors. So to get started with your business planning, here are some simple steps to follow:
Stage 1: Find a suitable location to start-up your business or you may as well rent a space or even a kiosk as per your affordability. You have to be sure about choosing a place with high-traffic, which would help you get more footfalls in your outlet. Keep in mind to avoid places that already have too many cell phone shops as it can elevate competition. If required contact a commercial real estate agent to assist you on this matter.
Stage 2: After finding a suitable space now it’s time to set up the store or the stall. There are some important items that you would need, like racks, hooks, shelves for displaying the inventory. You would also require cash registers and credit card terminals for monetary transactions.
Your next step would be opening a merchant account in the credit card provider bank so that you are able to accept card payments from the customers. Promotional materials like sales signs with pictures of mobile phones and their accessories would be your next requirement. Different point of purchase items like standees, banners, brochures and glow-shine boards would help you attract customer’s attention towards your shop. Your next task would be putting your mobile phone shop name in the mall or market directories and even on different online and offline business directories.
Stage 3: In case you have planned to open an online store, you have to focus on building your own website or else try a much simpler option of opening a web store through a reputable e-commerce website. To get the online store running you need to furnish product images, descriptions, pricing, shipping information, return policies, payment modes and contact information.
Arrange for a space for storing inventory, preparing invoices and maintaining bookkeeping works. You would also need computers, a latest retail software to track inventory and invoices, postal scale and shipping supplies. Accounts with credit card provider companies is a must to accept online payments.
Stage 4: Next level in your start-up business is to purchase the mobile phone accessories from the wholesalers. You can stock up different accessories like SIM cards, headphones, Bluetooth accessories, car chargers, cell phone covers, wireless keyboards, screen protectors, wall adaptors and batteries.
Stage 5: After your mobile phone shop is established, indulge in collecting the contacts of customers who have made purchases from your physical or online outlet and create a consumer contact list. Later you can use this list for informing customers about any new accessory in market or any ongoing offers or discounts. Now-a-day there are several popular social media networks, so using them to promote your business can be very helpful to attract more and more visitors.