Pointers to Help You Through the Shop Fitting Process - Its All About Proper Planning!

So you own a shop or want to open a shop, in which case it's likely you'll have to deal with a shop fitting company.

To make the shop fitting process pain free there are a few golden rules you should adhere to:

The first and most significant is to plan ahead! Firstly you need to find out who your target customers are. The more specific you can be the better, because it will allow you to cater for their needs and desires. If you have a shop that sells cushions - you know you need to target women. If your shop is a  store then people are your main audience.

You need to think about how to display your products, what storage solutions you will need and how the shop will be laid out. Gather a group of your target customers and get feedback on ideas before you run with them. Gaining consumer insight early on in the process can prove extremely valuable in the long run.

The more of this you can do in the early stages the better. Once you've made some initial decisions on what you're likely to need, it's time to call in the shopfitters. Talk your plan through with your chosen shopfitter and ask them for their opinion. They may be able to point out some poor choices before it's too late.

Once you have a rough idea of what you want - then you need to agree with the shopfitter on precisely what work they will carry out. Be as detailed as possible and sign a contract. If there is confusion here then it will cost you time and money in the long run.

Once you know what you want, then you need to agree on how long the work will take. If it overuns, you're losing out on business! If you know when the shop fitting will be finished you can plan a grand opening - inform the local press, organise an event and tell the world why your shop is great!

Last, but most certainly not least - agree on a price. You should have an approximate budget worked out at the very beginning of your planning. If you haven't agreed on a price before the shopfitters commence work, then you are in a very vulnerable position. You are effectively creating a situation where you can be held to ransom!

So there you have it, all of the points above go back to proper planning. Remember how the saying goes - proper planning prevents poor performance.