RetailBizBlog

I was talking to a friend the other day, that has now owned a bar for a few years.  He has enjoyed incredible success in a highly competitive market.  He shared some of his secrets to his success with me, and no matter how many times people mention how their "outside-the-box" thinking lead to their success, the ideas themselves are most often so simple, that you can't help but think "Why didn't I think of that?!" The most obvious unconventional thing he does, is delivers free "shots" to his guests for no reason at all other than to create an atmosphere of fun and generosity.  These shots he explained to me are more flavored water than anything else, and are so inexpensive, they barely touch his bottom line.  But it has enabled him to enforce a zero tolerance rule towards his bartenders over-pouring to "preferred guests".  This is where he said he saves all the money that most failing bars lose it.  In his bar everyone is a preferred gu...

Today, I want to share a story about how not "judging a book by it's cover" paid off. Several years ago, I was working for a premium retailer in Tuscon, Arizona.  It was a pretty slow day in the spring, and we were taking advantage with a little spring cleaning.  After a few hours of seemingly nobody coming through the door, 3 young teenage girls walked in.  Myself and the other sales associate gave a usual greet, and began to engage the customers.  My traditional experience would have grown a little suspicious when these girls amassed a rather large quantity for each of them to try-on.  Those suspicions would usually grow as these girls tossed product from one stall to the other. Instead of my allowing my suspicions to grow, I took comfort in my training of giving quality service and adhering to basic loss prevention measures (item counts).  These girls spent close to 30 minutes laughing and modeling.  They enjoyed their free reign of the store as...

Fortune has released their  Top 100 Companies to Work For  for 2013.  With all the financial turmoil this country is going through right now, there are still companies out there making a difference and doing it right.  Want your company to be on this list?  From small companies (#37 Nugget Market has only 1145 employees) to very large companies (#98 FedEx has over 200k!) these 100 have found a winning formula to keep their employees happy.  85% of them also reported job growth last year despite most of them boasting minimal turnover!! I get treated like family -   A lot of places claim to treat you like family, but at #5 Wegmans Food Markets, their employees are so happy, that they tell those closest to them to work there with them - 20% of their employees are related!  Or how about #28 Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, that send loved ones gift baskets in the event you get stuck working long hours.  Who is more family than your dog? #...

So the beauty of writing a private blog, is the ability to share my own thoughts and opinions without having to include another's voice to it. Since the release of the iPhone in 2007, the mobile market has been in a complete frenzy trying to keep pace with the trendsetting iOS platform.  In the home computer world, Mac also gained valuable ground on Windows with a user friendly operating system, integrated music platform (iTunes), and sleek designs.  Meanwhile, Windows was plugging along making improvements to a largely unchanging operating system, that is until now - Windows 8 is a huge change in the Windows world, and as many analysts see it, an equally huge gamble. The thing about computers, is they are whatever the end-user wants them to be.  The same can be said for mobile devices.  I am not a strict "Apple" or "PC" guy.  I have used both extensively, and am equally comfortable on both systems.  In most aspects I prefer a Mac desktop, but I believe...

A few years ago, I saw my first application of a retail mobile device while getting my lunch at a very busy Chipotle.  At the time, it didn't appear worth the technology cost, or the labor cost to operate it, as there was no noticeable change in speed or production.  About a year after that, I worked for a premium retailer, that had a scanner capable of pre-scanning purchases and saving them for a POS associate to call up and accept payment.  That worked a little better, as it allowed the "busy work" portion of the transaction to get handled ahead of time. Today, though, with apps and devices for both the consumer and the business so accessible, businesses are almost required to update.  Here are 6 Good Reasons to take action now! 1.  Capitalize on Emotion - Have you ever changed your mind in the time between deciding you wanted to buy something and finally making it to the POS?  Have you ever been in a fitting room and fallen in love with an outfit, o...

As we head into the new year, I am starting to see a lot of articles about how CEO's are identifying the "customer experience" as their key initiative for 2013.  My first thought was to start posting several links to some of the better articles and ideas that are being shared. Then I thought, that isn't really what I have started with this blog.  If you really wanted to find good articles...sign up for Twitter!!  My goal has been to simplify everything for anyone  that is curious about retail. Breaking down the "customer experience" is really what CEO's are trying to define and influence.  The experience has changed so much in the last 10-15 years, that many company's are finding themselves way behind to the point of having no clue how to catch up.  So here it is, the customer experience of today - Technology - Consumers are now equipped with devices that can far influence their experience before they even step foot in your door!!  Social Media, ...

The holidays are over! The malls have settled down.  Most retailers are getting ready for annual inventory counts this month, and then it all turns back on to your PEOPLE!!! When I first started writing this blog, I wrote several articles covering the full employee life-cycle that have gained a lot of attention.  I consistently see a spike in the views of these articles in January and September.  SO...To make it a little easier for you, here they are: How to Read a Resume How to Prepare to Conduct an Interview How to Conduct an Interview Effective Coaching Effective Counseling Delivering an Effective Performance Review Hopefully, you have already selected your top talent and rockstars from this past season.  But this is a crucial time of year to maintain momentum.  If you can keep your team as dedicated and as focused as you had them in December, this will be a very rewarding year!