Answer

The short answer is that village shops are first and foremost businesses that need to compete for trade. The fact that a village shop provides a social focus for community life, a place where people can meet and talk and get information, used by everyone to community advantage is a plus but also a pleasant bi-product of the core business that no funder is going to provide core funding to keep it going.

Village shops have always been marginalised businesses since the advent of supermarkets and mini-marts. Sometimes they have not been managed in the best possible way which has not improved their reputation for anything but distress shopping (I'm sure we all have our own experiences). Sometimes they have been taken on by people seeking a second career wanting to move to a rural location without the necessary business knowledge and have a hand-to-mouth existence, and others are often on the point of closure because of retirement with no desire to hand the business on (often the shop is translated into real estate). Often shopkeepers can be quite immune to good business practice or advice. therfore only the most competitive/innovative are likely to survive.

Nowadays, it is very difficult to sustain a shop in a population of less than 750 (A population of 1000 or more would be better).

Village shops need to take as much business advice as they can get to benefit from free training and small grants administered by people such as Business Links, although it is understandably difficult to remain in the loop if people are needed to staff the shop for long opening periods.

MARKETING:
Most shops rely on passing trade and word of mouth within a small community, but often do not invest time and money in tageted marketing and market research to really begin to understand their customers.
It is easy to assume that because the shop has been there a long time and everybody in the village knows about it, you do not have to do any marketing. You need to reinforce constantly that your shop is an interesting, vibrant and socially pleasant place to shop. The following activities may be beneficial in understanding your shoppers:

- Visit neighbouring villages.

- How long did it take you to drive there; was it an easy drive?

- Talk to people honestly and listen to their answers.

- What sort of people do you meet?

- What sort of houses are you passing?

Is there a school? If so, the village is more likely to be attractive to young families, as well as perhaps pulling parents in twice a day.

- How many people are commuting out in the morning? What time do they drive back in the evening?

You might ask yourself if you can improve the front of the shop and parking? With many shops it is impossible to park nearby. Convenience can be the difference between success and failure.

Increasingly the key to success is capitalising on this through product lines and services that can either only be supplied locally or that people do not want to go too far to obtain.

CHECK OUT THE COMPETITION:
Look at who your competitors really are and look critically at what you have to offer compared with theirs.
Your competition takes many forms:
-Large supermarkets
-Town centre convenience stores
-Edge of town convenience stores/petrol forecourts on commuter routes
-Farm shops, especially for fresh produce and meat
-Home delivery/vegetable box schemes

Put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer - now where would you go to shop?

UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMERS:
For most, the local shop is a convenience outlet or distress shopping for something you have suddenly run out of. Its probably not their major source for basic groceries - items where the supermarkets totally dominate (they can also sell their staples more cheaply).

In general, communities are very possessive about their shop, even when the proportion of people actually using it is low. Frequent heavy users may want very different things compared with the wider community and see their shop in a totally different light from less regular customers.

Many village shops still see themselves primarily as grocers. This is usually a mistake. Village shops are now much more convenience stores with milk, bread, confectionery, soft drinks, magazines, newspapers, off licence, chilled and frozen foods making up the majority of sales; basic grocery lines tend to be bought elsewhere. The selection of the ranges on the shelf is therefore key to success.

SHOP LOOK AND FEEL:
The external appearance of a shop is important. What message does it send? Can customers see into the shop before they enter? Try to see it like a prospective customer – is this the type of shop that encourages you to go in?
Lighting, colour of floor, width of aisles, window size, quality of fittings and many other factors affect the feel of a shop. Customers usually say that their village shop should have the cleanliness and brightness of the typical supermarket, combined with a local character.

SHOP OPENING HOURS:
There was a time when Sunday was often the best day of the week for village shops, but the onset of open all hours supermarket opening has changed that situation. Long opening hours increase takings, but unless you are prepared to work punishing hours yourself, then it means employing staff for extra hours. Long hours are particularly important in dormitory village locations, where much of the population is leaving early in the morning and returning from work late in the day. As in any business, good staff and staff training can make a huge difference to your life; conversely dishonest, lazy or rude staff can be a nightmare.

PRICING:
You can't hope to compete on price with the big supermarkets, so don't try. Remember how much it costs to drive a car to the supermarket and make sure your customers do too. Remember how much forecourt shops charge and how your customers willingly pay it when they need to.

A clean looking convenience store, with a decent-sized sales area, modern fittings, a high level of refrigeration, the right ranges of products, long opening hours, friendly well-trained staff and car parking can do very well, even in relatively small communities. If you meet local needs, then customers can come out of the woodwork.

JOIN A BUSINESS SUPPORT GROUP FOR SHOPS:
ViRSA supports rural communities wanting to set up and run a community owned shop: www.virsa.org/

ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) is the campaigning voice of over 33000 local shops: www.acs.org.uk/