Month: August 2015

Recently I was on the phone with a retailer, and he suddenly says, "Well I've got to go, my advertising rep just walked through the door and I need to figure out what I'm going to advertise this week" and with that he was gone. I would like to say this is a relatively rare occurrence- a retailer not knowing what they're going to with their advertising until the advertising rep...

Hey, it's like this I started out in retail myself. We opened our first store in 1985. I know what a struggle it is to not only keep your business afloat but to structure it in a way so that it gives you everything you've ever wanted. Financial freedom. Control over your future. Building something you and your family can be proud of. I also know how lonely it is. Employees can...

Well back in 1990 what they did if they were interested in what we were offering they either call or stop in within a day or two and check things out. Fast-forward to today, and customers don't follow the same path... I've read numerous studies; I've read what people post on forums or on Facebook on how they go about making their buying decisions today and if you think peopl...

This isn’t a topic for the squeamish. It’s bound to make a few uneasy. Many put it out of their minds or simply neglect the fact that retail is a zero-sum game. For one to win, someone will have to lose. I’ve been on both sides. I’ve been on the losing side and I’ve been on the winning side. And while it’s much better to be on the winning side (of course), the most valuable bu...

Several months ago I put together a phone book ad for a client (yes, there is still a group of consumers that use the phone book). Anyway I looked at all the competitor’s ads and came up a strong design.   The design was a real eye-catcher which is #1 goal of an ad, especially a phone book ad, where you’re going toe to toe with several competitors. I showed it to the...

It was one of my first retail businesses. And I still wince when I think about the circumstances I dealt with. Whenever someone starts a new business or is chosen to run one the hopes are usually pretty high. Sometimes there’s the thought of multiple locations, sometimes there’s the thought of a singly highly successful location. Either way you’re looking towards a future of g...

Recently I was chatting with one of my furniture store clients. Now keep in mind this guy had a large list of customers, 6,000 customers names and addresses for one store and 4,500 customer names and addresses for his other. And here’s the key point– he had never mailed anyting to anyone on his customer list. Not a sale flyer, not a greeting card not even a “Hey we’re still he...

Last week I spoke to furniture store owner who was “hoping” that sales would improve for his store. He was banking on next week’s “Clearance Sale” to really bump up the numbers. I asked him when was the last time he ran a clearance sale and he said 6 months ago.  I asked him, “So how did it do?” He said it was “OK”. Nothing spectacular?  “No”. I asked how oft...