In baseball jargon, the wheelhouse is the “sweet spot” of a baseball player’s strike zone where the a hit delivers the most power and strength.  (Of course in reality a wheelhouse is a nautical term referring to the part of a boat where the ship’s wheel is housed, but that’s another story.) In business the term has come to refer to your area of greatest strength and knowledge. 

Since a pitch to your wheelhouse has the greatest chance of a home run, it seems to me that as retailers we need to define what it is we do/know best — and then communicate that to the customers who have the greatest likelihood of being interested.

So finding your wheelhouse will help you do three things:

1.It will help you decide what to buy.  Customers expect a specialty shop to offer a “vetted” selection. They assume that we have chosen the best within each category (and price) based on our expertise. Don’t try to be all things to all people in your product selection, or to always carry the latest trend. Which is not to say that you can’t have more than one area of expertise, of course — or that you can’t have employees who are experts in areas that you don’t know so much about.

2.It will help you focus your marketing.  Once you know what customers have the highest level of interest in the area you know the most about, you can target them with your promotions. Support activities and programs that reflect this interest, and seek opportunities to advertise in media that these potential customers like.  Early in Orange Tree Imports’s history, for example, we supported cooking shows on public television in order to reach the “foodies” in our area.

3.It will help you become known in your community. Offering to speak at community events, or to write articles for a newsletter, will help customers think of you as an expert in your field.  You may not be the only gallery in your area offering American-made crafts, for example, but if you are willing to share what you know about the arts yours will be the one that potential customers think of first.

Don’t forget to tap into the product knowledge of your vendors and sales reps to learn as much as you can about the line of products that you carry.  Once you’ve found your sweet spot, you still have to work at your swing to deliver as much power and strength as possible.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder