USE OF THE INSTRUMENTS OF SALES IMPROVEMENT IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD STORES

• Main Authors: Sandra Mrvica MAĐARAC, Stanislav NAKIĆ, Matej GALIĆ
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nicolae Titulescu University Publishing House 2017-05-01
• Series: Challenges of the Knowledge Society
• Subjects: neighborhood stores; entrepreneurial approach; the instruments of sales improvement; business strategy
• Online Access: http://cks.univnt.ro/uploads/cks_2017_articles/index.php?dir=06_business_administration_and_marketing%2F&download=CKS_2017_Business_administration_and_marketing_004.pdf
• ISSN: 2068-7796; 2068-7796

The retail market in the Republic of Croatia has considerably changed during several last years by entering of large European hypermarkets and by opening a great number of shopping centres. This particularly affected the business of small independent retailers that are due to price uncompetitiveness difficult to cope with competition from hypermarkets. Sales success depends itself on the success of marketing program of a company. Improving sales brings a whole range of benefits to both producers and consumers and consists of a set of different incentives that are mainly short-term, designed to encourage faster and greater purchasing of certain products or services. Through well thought entrepreneurial approach and the use of methods for improving sales, neighbourhood stores could contribute through their business strategy to their competitiveness. Gaining customer loyalty, creating a personal relationship with customers, rewarding of loyal customers, promoting new products, helping the buyer in purchasing are some of the ways of improving neighbourhood store sales. The paper presents research results to which extent neighborhood stores in Osijek-Baranya County use instruments of sales improvement in order to enhance their sales and relationship with customers.