RetailBizBlog

It's official - Holiday shopping is here!! Malls have decked their halls, retailers are playing one of over a hundred versions of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", and the retail heavyweights are announcing their "Black Friday" plans....errr dare I say "Black Thursday"?!  WalMart confirmed their earliest Black Friday specials won't be found on Friday at all, but at 6pm on Thanksgiving day, with many others following at 8pm. For me, this will mark my 20th retail holiday season.  Watching how this time has evolved through the years has been very interesting.  When I started, I thought people would eat their Thanksgiving dinners early so they could induce their tryptophan coma early enough to wake up in time for the early bird specials - at 6am Friday morning.  Then online shopping offered an alternative to risking your life in the malls for shopping safely from your couch - now we have "Cyber Monday" (insiders tip - most retailers still

Is it just me, or does it seem that CEO's of today are everywhere?!  I can't recall such a time when CEO's have been such public figures.  The headlines have moved out of the financial pages and into mainstream news.  Power players like Mark Zuckerberg, Howard Schultz, Jeff Bezos, James Sinegal, Tim Cook, and Yahoo's new dynamo Marissa Mayer, have turned the front page into the business page! The greatest thing about this, is we have a glimpse like never before into the business and culture savvy these mega-executives possess.  Zuckerberg proved he is much more than a lucky (and very intelligent) college kid in a hoody, when he successfully navigated into the mobile space before his initial investors had to decide to bail on him in Q1.  Howard Schultz, has many wondering if there is a political future in store for him (he continues to strongly deny) when he decided to rally other business leaders against the indecision and fiscal irresponsibility of our elected offic

Yesterday I took part in a TweetChat presented by the #bealeader community.  The topic for the chat was the importance of self-awareness for a successful leader.  One of the questions posed was "How does one keep self awareness from becoming the less desirable self involved?".   I responded with a concept that I had been taught very early in my career that I have since dubbed "humility time".  I had a few responses that unfortunately, the 140 limit of Twitter made very difficult to properly respond to. Very early in my career, I worked off the premise that knowledge was power.  At the time, I had all the knowledge, and assumed that granted me all the power.  My team very quickly delivered me a very harsh reality check in letting me know that was not going to be the case.  My manager at the time explained the importance of self-awareness.  She recommended I mentally schedule time for myself to intentionally be the guy "that does not have all the answers&qu

Every retail leader has had those employees that have simply seemed to have "lost their mojo".  Is it better to move them out before they contaminate your team with their "funk", or should you find out where their mojo went, and give it back to them? Strictly from a cost perspective, hiring and training a replacement can be expensive.  I will always advise in the direction of getting your rockstar back on track.  People fall into a funk usually from one of two things.  First, they have repeatedly felt under-appreciated for the work they feel they are doing.  Or second, the appreciation is always there, but the challenge is not.  The common denominator is pride, which in your business translates to ownership and performance. Lack of Appreciation - Appreciation can come in so many forms.  The easiest is a simple "thank-you".  If you really want to turbo charge that thank you, use your employees name and actually tell them specifically what you are thank

As companies evolve trying to keep up with their tech savvy customers, there are still some very simple "Do's and Don'ts" to keep in mind. 5 Do's of Great Customer Service 1.  DO have a genuine greeting.  No longer is this a formal robotic welcome to every pulse that passes through your door, but a warm conversation intended to develop a connection with your customers. 2.  DO be honest.  I guess this should go without saying, but even if you ask the most successful commissioned salespeople, being honest will create a bond that will deliver long term results that will far outweigh any potential increase today (could even generate a larger increase today if your customer recognizes your honesty!) 3.  DO be happy.  If you don't like your boss, or are having a bad day, that has nothing to do with the customers.  They should always feel you are happy to be there. 4.  DO be Knowledgeable.  Product knowledge, corporate knowledge, current promotional knowledge,

Yesterday, I spent some time walking the mall.  I was specifically looking at the visual execution of stores in the mall.  While, I was overall pretty impressed with the elevated level of appearance standards from the last time I did this exercise, I still saw several things otherwise great looking stores missed. Mannequins - These are the most important displays in your store.  Not only should the mannequin be in good condition, but it should be dressed in such a way, that a customer would want to have the same look.  Mannequins can drive your store sales by also including accessories to add to the detail and complete the look.  I was disheartened to see mannequins that were in store windows, with broken pieces!  I also saw clothes that appeared "flat".  They looked as if they were unfolded and then just draped over the mannequin.  As you adjust your own clothes after putting them on to look right, you should treat your mannequin the same.  The more like a person they look