Retail Planning & Best Practices

Getting Ready for the Retail Holiday Season

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It’s never too early to start planning your holiday season strategies. No, I’m not saying to decorate your store with snowmen and twinkle lights right this minute since it’s not even Halloween yet, for Pete’s sake (yes, I’m talking to you, the one who decorated for the winter holidays in August). But you might want to freshen up your store and fine tune your operations to get ready for the shoppers who will be looking for your great deals and services. Check out these previous blogs to help you get a jump start on the busiest shopping season of the year.

Hiring Temporary Employees. If you need help for the holiday season then you’ll want to make sure you hire the right people for your particular business. And why not bring them in a week or two early to help you get ready for the season? Read on….

Retail Store Presentation: What is Your Store Saying and Spruce Up Your Retail Store. Helpful hints to get your store in tip-top shape. Make sure your retail store is looking spiffy and sparkling clean because people want shop in a pleasant environment where they feel comfortable.

Retail Training Classes. So you’ve got your new employees and the store is looking good. Why not give your staff more tools to help them make the upcoming season a huge success?

Pump up the Volume of Impulse Purchases. Offer your customers a variety of little items that they can’t resist to help increase your bottom line.

Budget Conscious Shoplifting Prevention. You don’t have to spend a fortune to protect your investment.

Counterfeit Detectors. A counterfeit detector can protect you against hundreds, if not thousands of dollars lost due to counterfeit bills.

Effective Retail Lighting. You’ve got your products set up and the store looks good. Now make sure that your displays are shown to full advantage with the appropriate lighting.

Retail In-Store Event Ideas. They will come for the event and stay for your terrific customer service and great merchandise.

Improve your Retail Sales, Promotions and In-store Events. When the sales are over and the dust settles go ahead and take a deep breath. Then get your staff together to review the season and promotions, and to discuss what worked and what could be improved. You will be able to use these findings to help you throughout the year.

Good luck and have fun!

Specialty Store Services Back at the H.H. Backer Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show

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Specialty Store Services is pleased to be returning to the 45th Annual H.H. Backer Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show and Educational Conference, October 14-16, 2011, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Knowledgeable Account Managers will be at booth 4638 to provide information regarding Specialty Store Services’ numerous retail store fixtures, displays and retail supplies as well as warehouse support and logistical solutions.“Specialty Store Services has been providing store fixtures on a corporate level for nearly 25 years” states Quico Ayala, Account Manager for Specialty Store Services. “The Backer Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show provides our company the perfect opportunity to establish and expand relationships with both single store and multi-store business owners. Our service, flexibility, and attention to detail are what separate us from our competition. Come see us at booth number 4638.”

Specialty Store Services will be one of the 700+ pet supply manufacturers and distributors displaying their wares at the Show this year. Be sure to visit booth 4638 in between the grooming demonstrations and the free education sessions regarding operations, marketing and animal care.

About Specialty Store Services
Specialty Store Services, a second-generation family owned business, offers everything necessary to operate a thriving retail store, from logistical solutions and retail supplies to custom and stock fixtures. Over the last 25 years this service-driven company has cultivated relationships with global partners while developing the expertise and knowledge required to provide competitive prices, outstanding customer service and quality products.

Specialty Store Services to Exhibit at NACS Show

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Specialty Store Services is pleased to be exhibiting at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Expo October 2 – 4, 2011, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Knowledgeable Account Managers will be at booth #414 to provide information regarding Specialty Store Services’ numerous retail store fixtures, displays and retail supplies.Quico Ayala, Account Manager for Specialty Store Services states, “Specialty Store Services has been providing store fixtures on a corporate level for over 20 years. The NACS Show provides our company the perfect platform to network and expand our relationships with both single store and multi-store business owners. Our service, flexibility, and attention to detail are what separate us from our competition. Come see us at booth number 414.”

This year’s show, which is the 50th anniversary of NACS’s first meeting, will include workshops, general sessions and feature Tom Brokaw as the Closing General Session Speaker in addition to hosting another expansive expo. We look forward to seeing you there!

3 Steps to a More Effective Retail Facebook Presence

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Amidst the many clouds of uncertainty surrounding retail use of social media, a few key strategies are starting to emerge. Three recent studies, including a white paper written by yours truly, have examined customer interactions with retailers via social media. Encouragingly, all three studies (Emarketer recently summarized the findings from studies by Marketing Sherpa and Razorfish) have very similar findings regarding customer desires in their social media interactions with retailers.
While the percentages varied slightly, all three studies found customers who “friended” or followed retailers said they were interested primarily in learning about new products and new or exclusive promotions. How great is that? I have to admit I was a bit surprised to see these results because it seems like current conventional wisdom says to avoid being promotional on sites like

Facebook in deference to its more personal nature. In hindsight, that conventional wisdom seems a little questionable since it’s unlikely customers are going to interact with retailers like their friends. They know we’re about selling to them — we’re retailers!

More good news: It appears that the customers who follow retailers are really the best, most engaged and brand committed customers for those retailers. I suppose that’s not terribly surprising, but it’s certainly valuable information. Since our findings were part of a larger customer satisfaction study, we were also able to determine that site visitors who also interact with a company on a social media site are more satisfied, more committed to the brand, and more likely to make future purchases from that company than customers who don’t follow those retailers. Our study also found that 61% of people who follow retailers follow less than five retailers. That’s further indication that people are really focused on their absolute favorite retailers.
We also found that more than 80% of shoppers who use social media list Facebook as a site they use regularly, which makes it the overwhelming social media leader.

YouTube came in second place with only 31% of shoppers.

 
So, to summarize, our best and most engaged customers like to interact with us on Facebook (an incredibly viral platform) and want to hear about new products and promotions. This is a great foundation for a successful strategy!
Without further ado, here are three steps to a more effective retail Facebook presence:
1) Focus on best customers. Rather than trying to build our fan base to the highest possible numbers, let’s focus on getting as many of our highest value customers as fans on Facebook. They’re the most likely to become our Facebook fans anyway, but they’re also the most likely to recommend us to their friends. Facebook’s viral nature gives us the opportunity to put our Word of Mouth Marketing on steroids, and developing messages for our best customers gives us a clear focus. We should reach out directly to our best customers via targeted messaged and encourage them to join because we…
2) Give ‘em special promotions and news about products. These are our best customers. Let’s treat them well and make them feel special. Let’s give them exclusive offers and early notice on cool new products.

Victoria’s Secret does an excellent job here, and it shows. Of the Internet Retailer Top 40 retailers’ Facebook pages I looked at, Victoria’s Secret has by far the most fans at almost 2.7 million at the time of this writing. Clearly, they are delivering on customer expectations, and they’re being rewarded for it by attracting lots of really engaged customers.


My good friend Adam Cohen, partner and social media lead at Rosetta and blogger at a thousand cuts, (and my go-to guy on all things social media) correctly cautions against too many rich, exclusive promotions as they could be unsustainable as the fan base grows. This is particularly true if the offers start to attract deal seekers who are not our best customers. Good warning from Adam and in line with the excellent old adage “everything in moderation.”
3) Leverage Facebook viral features. We’re giving great, exclusive offers and product news to our best customers. Those best customers are the most likely to recommend us to their friends. Let’s encourage them to do so. It could be as simple as letting them know an exclusive offer can be shared with their friends by simply hitting the “share” link. There are lots of Facebook applications and other techniques that can be used, but I would personally just start simply and go from there.
Bonus tip: Make sure your page can be found in Facebook search. This isn’t really one of my key steps, but during my research I was surprised by how poor Facebook’s search is. For example, I searched for “LL Bean” and found nothing. Then I tried “L.L. Bean” and again got nothing. Their page is actually entitled “L.L.Bean” with no space between “L.” and “Bean.” Facebook’s search will only find it if you search for it exactly as it’s titled. So, my tip is think about how people might search for your brand and then name the page with the most common search term.
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Three separate studies have all found that customers who friend or follow retailers in social media are most interested in learning about promotions and new products. That’s some mighty strong corroboration, and it’s incredibly great news. Judging from the large percentage of retailers with little-to-no Facebook presence, I’m guessing many have been holding pat waiting for a clear direction on how to best leverage social media. While this information may not give the clearest direction for all social media channels, it certainly provides some clarity on today’s biggest channel, Facebook. Different social media channels require different strategies and tactics, and in the end it’s still important to learn more from our customers about their specific needs and desires and then work to satisfy them.
In the meantime, let’s build some really great Facebook pages for our best customers and give them some exclusive offers to enjoy. Please let me know when you’ve got your page running so I can become a fan!
What do you think? What have you learned about Facebook? What tips do you have?

Copyright 2010 www.retailshakennotstirred.com All rights reserved.

Secure Drop Box for Anonymous Suggestions

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People feel comfortable working in an environment in which they can make suggestions or alert management to potential or existing problems without fear of repercussions. A wall mounted drop box is a great way to allow employees the opportunity to express concerns or suggestions, anonymous or not, while feeling secure that coworkers won’t have access to their notes.

This drop box is also great for use in anti-bullying programs at schools, childcare facilities or after school programs. Children need to let those in authority know if they are being bullied, threatened or frightened in some way or if they feel a friend or peer needs help. This drop box is a way for the children to make their concerns known without having to work up the courage it can take to approach an authority figure, which can be intimidating. This is also a good way for children to alert adults without having to visit the office and be fearful of their peers seeing them and finding out about it. The drop box is locked with a key so there is no fear that others will open the box to read the personal notes.

Simply mount the box in an easily accessible but relatively private area where a person can swoop in, drop in their note and be on their way. This drop box is a great investment that will be rewarded with peace of mind and happier workers or children.

In addition for use as a suggestion box, the drop box is also excellent for ballots, keys, mail, checks, deposit slips and anything that needs to be dropped off outside of business hours. The slot size is 9″W x 1/4″D so it will accommodate a wide variety of items. The built-in storage compartment at the top of the box is ideal for holding blank forms, note pads, envelopes and ballots.

Improve your Retail Sales, Promotions and In-Store Events

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I know that a lot of stores and businesses are having all kinds of promotions and events right now so I want to talk about evaluating your events and how you could make them even better. Bob and Susan Negen of Whizbang! Training covered this topic splendidly recently so I’ll have them tell you about it. Take it way, Bob and Susan!

After EVERY promotion or event, big or small, have a Recap Meeting. This meeting is a chance to celebrate a job well done or talk about why something didn’t work as planned.It also gives you a chance to get everyone’s ideas on how to make the event better the next time around.These meetings are best when you have them right after you close, but you can wait until the next day if it works better. Don’t wait any longer than the following day. Wait too long and you’ll lose all the little impressions and fun, interesting ideas that are so important to continually improving your event.Here’s a quick list of things to things to make notes about in your meeting:

  • Sales: Planned vs. Actual
  • Cost of Event: Budgeted vs. Actual
  • Pre Event Planning: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do better/differently next time?
  • The Event Itself: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do differently/better next time?
  • After the Event: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do better/differently next time?
  • Promoting/Marketing the Event: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do better next time?
  • Other Thoughts/Comments/Ideas

Write everything down, put your notes in a file and you’ve got the beginnings of a bigger, better and more profitable event the next time around!

 

New Retail Catalog

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Specialty Store Services’ new catalog is out! Have you seen it? Following are some great new retail supplies and retail store fixtures that you will find in the new catalog.

All in One. Get a glass front display, register stand with drawer and service counter at a great price to fit modest budgets, all in this All in One Counter System. This clever All in One Counter System is 72″W x 20″D x 38″H and is available in white, maple, cherry and black.

You’ve got mail (supplies). SSS now carries mailing supplies and packing supplies! Choose from three sizes of bubble mailer envelopes to send out your smaller, more fragile items or pick up some bubble wrap which is great for packing boxes or for wrapping up breakable items for your customers. If you need to mail out CDs or DVDs then our new corrugated media mailers are what you need.

Wood displays. I am crazy about the Rotating T-shirt Display! It’s compact at only 23.5″L x 23.5″W x 63″H yet can hold a bunch of folded shirts. This 4-sided melamine display features 5 shelves per side so you can display up to 20 different styles, acrylic fronts to display the t-shirts next to folded stock and casters for easy relocation. Other terrific wood displays that we now carry are in the Sophisticate Collection which features maple melamine coupled with attractive matte silver frames. Choose from Display Pedestals, Nesting Display Tables and the Wall Shelving Display.

Attention getters. LED Rope Lights! Who doesn’t love them?! These new 9′ long LED rope lights are constructed of clear plastic with colored lights inside and plug directly into your AC outlet. You can string together up to 40 (yes, forty!) rope lights end to end without the need for connectors! Choose from red, blue, orange, green or white.

Security. Keep an eye on your investment with a new DVR Security System. This affordable security system comes complete with 10″ monitor, 4 channel DVR and 4 indoor/outdoor cameras. No need to worry about the security of your business while on the road because this plug and view system is Internet ready and smart phone compatible so you can access your system remotely!

If you currently do not have a catalog please do take a look at Specialty Store Services’ website to see all the terrific new items that we now carry.

Off-site Event Signage and Marketing

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I was at a music festival recently, got a little peckish and decided to get some food from the vendors set up at the fest. The vendors were varied in the way they promoted, or did not promote, their wares.

Many of the food vendors had large, professionally done signs stating their restaurant’s name and printed posterboard menus. Most of the remaining food vendors had handwritten posterboard menus but no business information posted. What surprised me most was the fact that a few of the vendors has no signage at all! Not a menu board, nothing; they just relied on people wandering up to their stand, looking at the food and (hopefully) ordering.

So, which vendors do you think had the lines of people waiting for their food? Yep, the vendors with restaurant signs and menu boards, followed closely by the vendors with simple hand-written menus. Now, I’m not saying that you need to spend big bucks on professional signage but, for Pete’s sake, handwritten signage is better than nothing! If you don’t do off-site events very often and want to save money by making your own signs that is perfectly fine, just make sure that they are neat, legible and only feature 2 colors at most. A couple of the signs I saw were apparently done by a younger person who tried to jazz them up by making every other word or letter a different color. All that does is distract and annoy people just trying to read a simple menu so simplicity is key. If you’d like to have a sign you can change and reuse then you may want to get a write on/wipe off sign. This double-sided sign will be perfect for use at off-site events and also out on the sidewalk in front of your store.

Some of the food I purchased was from a sign-less booth, simply because there were some ethnic dishes that I never tried before. I also purchased food from a vendor with full signage. The food from both booths was delicious but unfortunately, I cannot go to the tasty ethnic restaurant. Because I don’t know the name or where it is located.

Moral of the story? Don’t be shy, promote yourself! Now, this doesn’t just apply to restaurants. Any business that is presenting itself also needs to promote itself. Let people know who you are and where they can find you after the event is over. A weekend festival may bring in some extra cash for you but appropriate signage (and cheerful, helpful employees!) will bring in future business, as well.

Retail Window Displays – Part 2

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We went over some interesting window display ideas in a previous blog entry that I hope you found useful and here are a few more ideas to keep your window displays interesting and draw in more customers.

Phone a friend. Or, in this case, phone a vendor. The vendors who sell you merchandise will be happy to provide you with POP displays and posters to help promote the items you sell. After all, if you sell out of their merchandise you will need to order more so that’s a big incentive for vendors to assist you by providing marketing materials. This is a great way to decorate your window and promote your merchandise at a minimal cost to you.
Spread the love by sharing the window. Create a sense of good will and community by offering your window space to local non-profits who are doing good work in the community. Every few months you can have a local non-profit or community organization use the window for a couple weeks to promote their cause or events. The change of pace will draw attention to your retail window display while giving deserving organizations the opportunity to spread the word about the services they provide.
Get artsy. Approach local artists or art students and ask them to paint backdrops appropriate for your store’s retail window display, images that reflect your store’s brand and personality. They will get exposure by having their work displayed and you will have eye-catching backdrops for your displays. The artists may be more eager to help if you allow them to leave gallery or studio information at the counter for customers to view. Keep in mind, though, that everyone has a different vision so it’s a good idea to go over ideas for the backdrop to make sure you’re on the same page. After all, a painting of a flaming bicycle flying off a cliff may be captivating but will it really help showcase your body oils or pet food?
Scrub-a-dub. Remember to keep your windows clean and smudge-free! You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of potential customers so you want them to focus on your retail window display, not on the sticky hand prints or dusty rain spots.

Effective Retail Store Lighting

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Have you ever walked into a store and it just seemed kind of…meh? The displays are nice, the staff is friendly and the product is good but the store still seems to be lacking? Well, what kind of lighting did it have? Was it dim, was it too bright, were spotlights used ineffectively? We need to remind ourselves every now and then that sometimes just having sufficient lighting in order to see the merchandise isn’t enough.

In the spotlight. It is important to remember the different between spotlights and floodlights. Spotlights focus on a limited area whereas floodlights light up a large, expanded area. Using floodlights will flood the entire floorspace with light and if everything is highlighted then nothing stands out. We want to utilize spotlights to create a contrast in lighting and to draw attention to featured items and to create focal points, such as highlighting displays that showcase higher profit margin items. Spotlights will naturally draw the eye so also use them on wall displays, near the checkout counter and at the front of the store.

In the mood… For shopping, of course! Lighting can really set the tone of your store and the displays therein. Colored lights can help convey a mood within a store and a customer that makes an emotional connection may be more likely to make a purchase. For instance, you can use a blue-ish light on your sparkly winter displays or a reddish light on Valentine’s Day displays to suggest the appropriate mood. Colored LED rope lights around display windows can convey a festive mood while also drawing attention to the storefront.

On the shelf. Small spotlights and LED light strips can do wonders to draw attention to merchandise in a showcase. LED strip lights, for instance, can be quickly mounted to the inside of a showcase with mounting clips or adhesive strips and these little lights are very bright. Many showcases, including these large floor model lighted tower showcases and smaller countertop showcases, come equipped with halogen mini-spotlights

Practice safe shopping. Create a safe environment for your customers with outdoor lighting at the storefront and in the parking lot. A well lit area outside the entryway will help prevent trips and falls. A brightly lit parking area will make customers feel more safe and people are more likely to shop in areas where they feel secure.

What other ideas can you come up with to make lighting more effecting? Using strobe lights to showcase some fun displays? Ensuring that there is flattering lighting in the dressing rooms? Take a look around your store. Maybe you’ll come up with some ideas to make the lighting a little more effective and creative.