How to Promote Responsible Sales for Multi-Location Businesses

When managing a multi-location business, it’s important that employees at every touchpoint understand the laws and regulations that apply to their industry. Promoting responsible sales and ethical selling is crucial and requires a structured approach, as noncompliance can result in punitive damages for a brand. Responsible sales can include day-to-day decisions that are made on the fly by employees, or larger campaigns that are publicized to show the company's values in practice.

In any workplace, regardless of the industry, there’s always room for human error. To prevent employees from making mistakes or ignoring protocol, there are 2 easy steps any business can take to improve accountability, while keeping laws and standards at the front and center of business operations.

1. Proper training
2. Mystery shopping

1. Proper training

Proper employee training is a necessary foundation for all new hires. This is where they will learn about company values, laws, business rules, brand standards, and operational best practices. Employee training should be facilitated at the location-level and measured overtime by the brand, to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for retraining. According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, ethical and responsible employees tend to be more motivated, less stressed and achieve better results.

In an environment where staff are selling or serving controlled goods like tobacco, cannabis, vaping products, alcohol, and lottery tickets, it’s important that proper training is administered and regularly tested. Having a proper training framework in place will make it easier for employees to make decisions that better serve the business and its customers — especially when under pressure.  Brands must also ensure that employees understand the repercussions should laws & regulations be ignored.

2. Mystery shopping

Once proper training has been delivered, a business will need to monitor performance and adherence to laws, regulations and brand standards on an on-going basis. Mystery Shopping is an excellent tool for multi-location brands that are looking for an unbiased, 3rd party picture of brand performance. These programs are designed with the businesses' unique goals in mind, and are executed to measure the services provided against the standards that are set. 

When it comes to responsible sales, this could mean launching an age verification program, where certified shoppers are sent to various business locations and attempt to purchase a controlled good. Following the transaction, the mystery shopper would complete a questionnaire with specific questions about their experience that would help the business measure compliance, quality of service and brand performance. 

 While your business may be complex, responsible sales should be simple. By combining proper training with mystery shopping, multi-locations businesses will benefit from:

1. Improved employee accountability

2. Keeping underage customers safe

3. Protecting the brand's reputation

By doing all of the above to educate employees and measure their performance, businesses can lower the risk of damages and safeguard the brand.