Answers to a hypothetical question: part 2

Some time ago, Scipio, at The Absorbascon, asked some hypothetical questions about you would do if you owned your local comic book store. Inspired by this, I've answered them. The answers will be posted over the next few days.
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What would you do for the employees and what would you have the employees do for you?

At first I would have very few employees as they are a drain on initial revenues. You should only employ people once you are confident you can afford their salary for a year with getting into debt. Obviously I would try and pay competitive salaries (whatever that may be for comic book guys). I would give a discount on books in the store. I would also have a commission system – if they generate customers for the store I would pay a bonus of some kind (definitely no “Employee of the Month” stuff though). Definitely make them feel that they would benefit from the stores’ success.

You should also be thinking “What can my employees do for me?”

For example, the sort of people who would want to work in comic book store will have access to the sort of people who would want to buy comics – a ready source of business. Incentivise them to introduce their friends.

Comic fans are some of the most readily upsold people in the business, because they love the medium and wish that they could spend more on their hobby. I can only use myself and my friends as an example. You go to the till with 5 comics for that week and end up leaving the store with ten. All it takes is someone at the till to say “Did you know XXXX came out this week – it’s really good”. If you get it right once, people will trust your recommendations. Make sure your employees are knowledgeable.

Similarly, staff need to be incredibly courteous and friendly. If you really want to make your comics venture a success then you have to treat it seriously. I once visited the Harpoon Brewery in Boston and ended up at a talk from the MD originally intended for a group of visiting high school kids. He said something which has stuck in my head since – “If a consumer has a bad pint of your beer they will not come back for 2 years. And they will tell on average 12 friends”. That’s 24 man-years of revenue you’ve lost from one bad pint.

I was in Manchester recently and hunted down the Forbidden Planet there. The new comics were very cheap relative to normal UK prices. However, when I tried to engage in conversation with the till guy he was not very forthcoming and more importantly he made me feel unwelcome. If I was living in Manchester the £100/$180 I spend on comics every month would be taken elsewhere, even if it was more expensive.

I do not know nearly as many people as I would like who are into comics. The internet has been great in getting into touch with a community of like-minded people. If for some reason you don’t believe me go to your store and say something like “OMAC is crap”- people will stop and join in. They will even be late for appointments to get their point across! For some people, the staff at the shop can be people’s only contact with someone who loves comics – make sure they do not feel self-conscious and make them feel welcome. I guarantee that this will translate into increased sales more efficiently and easily than any advertising you could do.