If you run a private business and have your own store, you know how difficult it is to get ahead of your competitors. Whatever it is you're selling, you need to be aggressive and visible on the market. In most cases, quality is not a guarantee you'll make it out there. Luckily, you can maximize your sales with clever use of visual merchandising. Here's how: 1. Start with a plan Every visual merchandising strategy should start with a clear plan. You need to decide where it's strategically best to place your products. In case you have a wide offer of products (as most businesses do), it would be easier to do it with a planogram. The traditional approach would be to sketch the plan on a piece of paper. If you want something more detailed and challenging, use a planogram software. Whichever the option, it will definitely help you visualize the arrangement of products without having to actually do it. In other words, it saves you a lot of time. 2. Let colors speak for you The effect of colors on our mood is not a secret, so make them work for you. It doesn't mean that you should go nuts with colors in the store. Take your time when it comes to the choice of colors, as they should create a story for your customers. Research on the psychology behind colors is necessary - after all, it's your customers' emotions you're trying to affect. Also, avoid using the same colors as your neighbor's window - a contrast is what will make you visible. And never use a strong background color ' it will make your products invisible instead of easily noticeable. 3. Window display and exterior The exterior of your store is as equally important as the outside. It's what will attract the customers to enter your store in the first place. First of all, make sure the arrangement of the products in the window shop is clear and appealing. You already know that colors are important, too. Next, make sure you change the window displays every two months to attract new customers to the shop but also to keep the old ones. Lastly, let them have a more detailed pick into what's inside. You can put up a magazine stand with brochures of your products, along with its features or special prices. 4. Apply the Rule of Three When you create a display of your products inside the store, it's important to follow the Rule of Three. The Rule of Three has proved to be the most effective way to influence your customers. Your target customers will affect the height, width and best value of three products of your choice that should be grouped together. What you want to achieve is letting your customers make the choice, but make the choice very simple for them. You can also group the products in such a way that it also has a visual effect on the customers. Still this part takes a bit of serious effort and creativity, but it will pay off. 5. Be careful with the lighting The best strategy here isn't to highlight everything that's in the store. Too much lighting can ruin the whole carefully planned setup. The primary lighting should definitely be strong enough for the customers to see everything clearly, but not too bright. The contrast is the best method - use accent lighting to attract attention to the most important areas/products or the ones that could be overseen. Ambient lighting is also a nice idea if you don't overdo it. The point of different types of lighting is to skillfully guide your customers around to the products that matter most. Final comment The visual merchandising strategy will be as effective as you make it be. In other words, it all comes down to you and your careful planning of each step. The visual element is one of the most essential ones when it comes to selling a certain product. Most of us are deeply influenced by what we see, so it's only logical you turn this fact to your advantage and improve your business.

When it comes to the topic of innovation in the construction industry, most people immediately think about hardware improvements. After all, modern construction equipment is much more efficient than its traditional counterparts and with the appearance of new, cutting-edge technologies like 3D printers and VR devices, things are getting even more interested. However, people don’t give nearly as much attention to some of the greatest software improvements that the construction industry has seen over the last couple of years. Here, we’re mostly discussing the issue of building information modeling (BIM) software. Here are several ways in which this simple digital concept has revolutionized the construction industry as we know it. 1. Project visualization The problem with project visualization in a traditional sense lies in the fact that while it shows you what the structure will look like, you still have no clue how structural elements will behave under various conditions. In other words, with the help of a BIM software, you’re not just seeing what the building will look like, you’re “seeing” what it will be like once the construction is finished. This kind of insight can help you avoid some of the potentially costly mistakes, thus making the operation both cheaper and more reliable. 2. Assessment of costs Another thing you can get through the BIM is a much more accurate assessment of costs. Due to the fact that with a BIM you get a detailed rundown of everything you need for the completion of the product, the margin of error is substantially smaller. Sure, no software can ever predict how many materials will be damaged or destroyed in the process, however, this way you get a more accurate estimate than any other method could provide you with. 3. More efficient planning Perhaps the biggest difference that a BIM could provide you with is a more efficient planning process. What this means is that you can use this software to create a more elaborate business process assessment for your construction company. This can help the contractor better understand your core business objectives and coordinate scheduling, regular updates, and deliverables. Also, it can give you a chance to enable development and solution driven results. Finally, in order to run a successful construction business in 2019, you need to know how to get the right IT infrastructure, hardware and software solutions. All of this is something that a reliable BIM tool can provide you with. 4. Improved error detection The biggest problem with changes in the construction industry lies in the fact that you sometimes have to demolish or dismantle a part of previous construction. This means that you waste time, effort and often damage materials in the process. This also prolongs the duration of the project, further setting your business behind. With a BIM tool, you can spot these potentially troublesome areas long before the construction actually begins. This means that you can make changes to your plan and test how everything behaves with these changes before the works begin. In other words, you can avoid making physical changes to the construction altogether. 5. Reduces risks and increased safety Finally, errors in the construction industry can be quite hard to notice, which is why BIM reduces risks and increases the overall safety of both construction site and the construction itself, later on. A well-made BIM tool is incredibly intuitive and it’s bound to warn you of any potential structural issues that may ensue. This also means that the financial risk is drastically reduced which benefits both the construction company and the client. Overall, a good BIM tool is capable of pushing the entire industry forward in terms of safety and financial reliability. In conclusion From all of this, it’s more than clear that the benefits of using a BIM tool are numerous. Other than helping you make more accurate and realistic plans, it really helps in the field of resource and labor management. Moreover, in an industry that’s as schedule delicate as the construction, it helps provide both the client and the enterprise with greater reliability. The margin of error gets lower and the overall efficiency drastically increases. All in all, it’s a win-win scenario, regardless of how you decide to look at it.