5 Product Strategies for Music Stores

The foundation of any successful retail business relies on stocking the right products — and as a new music store owner, you may struggle to decide which products to carry to create a profitable business. 

In this blog, we’ll explore some of the product strategies that successful music stores use to keep the right products available.

5 Music Store Product Strategies

Let’s dive into the five key product strategies that will help your music store meet your customers’ needs.

1. Define Your Music Store Niche

Before you start stocking products, you need to choose the type of music store you want to run. While there are many general music stores, successful owners often focus their product selection.

Here are seven types of music stores to consider:

• Guitar: Guitar stores typically sell a range of guitars, but some specialize in either electric or acoustic guitars. In this kind of store, you can even create a designated area for customers to play.
• Piano: Piano stores usually sell pianos, keyboards, and accessories. In addition to selling new products, you can also offer piano rentals and market used pianos.
• String instrument: Violin shops sell and repair string instruments, bows, and accessories. If you want to focus on stocking these types of instruments, it’s important to hire luthiers who make and repair these products and bows.
• Sheet music: Sheet music stores sell printed music for solo instruments, ensembles, and vocal works, as well as instructional materials and popular music songbooks.
• Pro audio: Pro audio stores sell the equipment that supports musicians. You can also rent out sound equipment and system components like PA systems, microphones, and other audio gear. 
• Repair: While many stores do some repairs or have an extensive repair staff, you can create a music store that focuses solely on repairs, too.
• Used: Some music retailers choose to focus on buying and selling used equipment. If you want to primarily sell used equipment, you can still carry new merchandise or small accessories like guitar strings, patch cords, and microphone cables.

Once you define the type of products your music store sells, you can better reach your audience.

2. Access Extensive Vendor Product Catalogs

By finding an efficient way to order products, your music store can readily serve your customers. Luckily, modern point of sale (POS) systems have catalogs that contain millions of products from hundreds of manufacturers. 

Thanks to the integrated solutions, working with manufacturers is simple and straightforward. Product catalogs are available online, and many have created partnerships with software vendors. Because of this seamless integration with POS systems, it’s easy to add new products, descriptions, images, and other details to your store’s selection.

Beyond the basic details of listing a product in your POS system, there may be dozens of additional details and specifications. When adding these products from preloaded product catalogs, you can quickly and accurately add these helpful details to your product listing.

3. Choose Your Product Mix

As you research vendor catalogs, you can start to narrow down your product selection. In the retail music store business, the products and product lines offered in your music store are referred to as the product mix. This is the total number of products that your business sells to your customers. 

The product strategy for music stores can vary greatly. Some stores specialize in a single product, like guitars, while others carry a wide range of products for diverse markets, including pianos, audio equipment, band instruments, and sheet music. 

Both approaches can be successful, but the ideal product mix depends on several factors. To determine what product mix works best for your music store, consider your location, the market, and current trends. It’s important to get a deep understanding of your target audience and their needs, too. 

Ultimately, you increase sales by offering the products and services that your customers want and value.

Related Read: 8 Ways To Improve Music Store Profit Margins

4. Focus on Your Core Products

New business owners are often optimistic and ambitious, leading them to overestimate the number of products to carry. Remember: You can always add more products as needed, and depending on your vendor, you can most likely make special orders.

Once you decide on your main product mix, you can refine your core business, which accounts for 80% of your profits. Stay current on your core products to stay competitive. Also, it’s important to use your sales data to see which products are making you the most money. Regularly evaluate your sales to determine which products to discontinue and which to keep. 

As a guitar store owner, for example, you may decide to expand into DJ equipment to attract a younger audience. If this expansion fails, refocus on your core business. Clear out the unsold DJ equipment and reinvest in your core products. 

To refocus your efforts, you can increase your selection of acoustic guitars and related accessories. You can also promote your repair services or host events for guitar players to build community support and loyalty.

Make a plan for your core products, so you know what to continue stocking.

5. Market Your Music Store

Effective marketing is essential to capture your customers’ attention and drive sales. An integrated marketing approach that leverages both online and offline channels positions your music store as a go-to destination for your target audience. 

Here’s how you can develop a robust marketing strategy:

• Use email marketing and SMS campaigns: Keep your customers informed about new arrivals, special promotions, and upcoming events. Many POS systems have integrated features which allow you to easily manage and automate these communications and engage your audience.
• Engage with customers on social media platforms: Reach a wider audience by creating engaging content that showcases your products, customer stories, and in-store events. This builds a community around your brand. 
• Optimize your inventory: Use your POS software to seamlessly integrate your in-store inventory with your online sales. By doing this, customers can shop your products through multiple channels. 

With an effective marketing strategy, you can drive more sales for your business.

Related Read: Manage Your Musical Instrument Inventory With These 7 Tips

Transform Your Music Store Product Strategies With Music Shop 360

There are many choices to make when you set up your music store’s product strategy. You need to decide on the type of music store, access vendors and product catalogs, choose your product mix, and market your core products. 

Luckily, Music Shop 360 makes it easy with its comprehensive set of features designed specifically for music stores. Our POS software offers everything you need to adapt and thrive in a competitive market.

Here are some key features to help you choose the right product strategies and effectively market your products:

• Integrated purchase orders: Seamlessly manage your product orders from multiple vendors to ensure you have the right stock at the right time.
• Vendor/distributor sync: Keep your product information up to date automatically to reduce manual entry errors and save time.
• Centralized database: Access consolidated information on your inventory, sales, and customer preferences to make informed decisions.
• Marketing features: Use tools such as email and SMS marketing, customer loyalty programs, and social media management to enhance customer engagement and retention.
• Customer tracking & history: Gain insights into customer behavior and preferences to tailor your offerings and promotions.

• Advanced inventory management: Manage your inventory with features like automatic purchase orders, integrated receiving, and barcode printing.

Schedule a demo today to experience how Music Shop 360 can transform your business and your product strategies.