Shownotes
Motivational Quote
A Candle Flickering Moment
How to retain your customers when Starbucks comes to town [7:03]Business Building Insights
Repackaging to be unique [12:43] A critical step – define your customer [17:09] Example of a successful store niche [17:45] Merchandise story example [18:16] 9 TOUCH POINTS OVERVIEW [19:12] Capturing emails [23:26] Bounceback coupons without discounting [25:33]Success Trait
Perserverance and quick decision makingProductivity/Lifestyle Tool
Mary creates systems that enable her staff to take on projects with independence, confidence and accuracyValuable Book
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great S ervice by Ari Weinzweig
FREE Businesses Building Resources – Thanks Mary!
90 Tips to Rock Your Holiday Sales Holiday Planning CalendarContact Links
Website Facebook Twitter Instagram PinterestIf you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz on wrapped episode 29,
Speaker:Unless you're standing in your success,
Speaker:you don't know where it is.
Speaker:You want to go.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host.
Speaker:Sue Monheit Unwrapped,
Speaker:whether you own a brick and mortar shop sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I am so excited to have with us,
Speaker:Mary Romeo of B business smart Mary has been in the
Speaker:retail environment for 23 years,
Speaker:both owning her own business as well as being a regional
Speaker:director, handling a multi-store chain.
Speaker:During that time,
Speaker:she always wished there was someone to turn to who really
Speaker:understood retail.
Speaker:Someone who could brainstorm ideas,
Speaker:talk through problems and strategize concepts,
Speaker:friends and family were supportive,
Speaker:but didn't really understand running a retail business.
Speaker:So what did Mary do?
Speaker:She created B business smart.
Speaker:It's a place where brick and mortar retailers can find tips,
Speaker:tools, resources,
Speaker:information, and inspiration.
Speaker:It's also a place where wearing many hats is understood,
Speaker:encouraged and applauded.
Speaker:Be business smart is a resource for insights and strategies on
Speaker:merchandise, concept development displays and visual merchandising,
Speaker:hiring and staff training,
Speaker:branding, signage,
Speaker:Packaging systems,
Speaker:marketing, and social media.
Speaker:I would say it covers everything.
Speaker:It's the place to go to get help with the million
Speaker:things. Every retailer deals with every day in their growing business.
Speaker:Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Mary, Thank you so much.
Speaker:I am so thrilled to be here.
Speaker:That was a huge bio covering.
Speaker:So many things.
Speaker:Would you like to include anything else?
Speaker:No, I think you've pretty much got it covered.
Speaker:I was getting a little tired just thinking about it.
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:wow, I'm exhausted from all that.
Speaker:Well, You know,
Speaker:it just brings to mind how many things,
Speaker:when you have a physical shop that you really have to
Speaker:be considering all the time.
Speaker:Absolutely. And I've been on both sides of it.
Speaker:I started retail actually on the developer side,
Speaker:I used to work for a shopping center developer and I
Speaker:did leasing with small business owners and I got to really
Speaker:help them create their concepts and design their stores.
Speaker:And I did that for 15 years before I decided I'd
Speaker:go to the other side and actually be a retailer and
Speaker:learn all the things that I really hadn't known before.
Speaker:I can.
Speaker:It's one thing to talk about us,
Speaker:the other thing to do it Well.
Speaker:And if you're consulting in an advising,
Speaker:other people,
Speaker:the credibility is in the fact that you actually have done
Speaker:it. Absolutely.
Speaker:Sometimes I think I'm still the front side of that learning
Speaker:curve because every day I swear to God,
Speaker:there's something else that pops up and I think,
Speaker:wow, you know what?
Speaker:I never thought about that before.
Speaker:So you're learning something new every single day when you're in
Speaker:retail, because it's constantly changing.
Speaker:Absolutely Well,
Speaker:as our listeners know,
Speaker:we align the conversation around the life of a motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you,
Speaker:Mary, while you share your stories and all of your experiences.
Speaker:So are you ready to light it up?
Speaker:Absolutely. All right.
Speaker:Well, this vision is very easy.
Speaker:You're going to be walking into a retail shop and it's
Speaker:a candle shop.
Speaker:There's lights flickering all over and you walk up to a
Speaker:rack of motivational candles that are all brilliant,
Speaker:bright, and pretty.
Speaker:What color candle are you going to reach for?
Speaker:We've got to reach for purple.
Speaker:I love it for its richness and vibrancy.
Speaker:Wonderful. And what quote's going to be on that candle.
Speaker:The one I've always kind of lived by is stand in
Speaker:your success and look back to see what you have to
Speaker:do to get there.
Speaker:Oh, I like that,
Speaker:that talks to look for the end result first,
Speaker:the goal first,
Speaker:and then figure out the steps.
Speaker:Absolutely. Because it really helps you to create all those systems
Speaker:and all that checklist that we love to live by to
Speaker:get to where it is we want to go to.
Speaker:But unless you're standing in your success,
Speaker:you don't know where it is you want to go.
Speaker:So I'm going to ask you a challenging question because I
Speaker:think that's really hard for people to recognize.
Speaker:I have to remind myself about that all the time.
Speaker:At what point in your career did you discover that that's
Speaker:the way to do it,
Speaker:to look at the end goal first and then back it
Speaker:up from there?
Speaker:You know what?
Speaker:I was very lucky when I worked in the shopping center
Speaker:industry, I worked for an incredible company that built shopping centers
Speaker:that were,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like the Faneuil hall marketplaces and not Harvard places of the
Speaker:world that were just unbelievable.
Speaker:And they really taught us to be able to stand in
Speaker:our success and look back.
Speaker:So I was lucky to kind of have that in that
Speaker:corporate mindset that I left with,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when I left them to open my own store.
Speaker:So I really had been trained to do that.
Speaker:That really helped me to be able to do the many
Speaker:things that I had to do and I was creating my
Speaker:own store.
Speaker:So would you say that that brought you to success faster?
Speaker:Not necessarily success.
Speaker:There were a lot of road bumps when you're a retailer,
Speaker:as your listeners know there's lots and lots of road bumps.
Speaker:So it brought me to an understanding of what I needed
Speaker:to do to get to success.
Speaker:How about that?
Speaker:I try to use that quote,
Speaker:not only for the big picture of what I wanted that
Speaker:store to be,
Speaker:but for every project that I started on.
Speaker:Okay. So if what I want to do is create this
Speaker:merchandise story.
Speaker:Let me think about what I want that to look like
Speaker:in the end and let me see what I have to
Speaker:do to get to it.
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:I guess in a way it did,
Speaker:it did contribute to its success early on.
Speaker:Yeah. Success of specific projects,
Speaker:perhaps you'd say exactly.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Because you're more now of a service provider with smart miss
Speaker:business. I'm not taking you through the questions that I would
Speaker:normally ask someone who runs a shop.
Speaker:But since you talked about road bumps,
Speaker:I'm dying to hear stories from you about one of those
Speaker:struggles. Can you pull one up like a really crazy one
Speaker:that you think would be valuable to everybody to hear,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:one of those road bumps and then how you overcame it?
Speaker:Absolutely Because there were so many,
Speaker:the story that I opened was actually a specialty coffee store.
Speaker:And this was back in the early nineties,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:before there was a Starbucks on every corner,
Speaker:but I really wanted to have a gift component to it
Speaker:because I just loved the gift business.
Speaker:And I'd gone to market every single year in my corporate
Speaker:job. And I loved going out there and finding great merchandise.
Speaker:So I had a specialty coffee store.
Speaker:It was also a gift store,
Speaker:which I will tell you for anybody that's in the gift
Speaker:business makes it a little easier because there's always somebody walking
Speaker:in the door to get just a cup of coffee.
Speaker:So I really love that piece of it and things are
Speaker:going great.
Speaker:In the first three years,
Speaker:I was in a small community room community of a bigger
Speaker:city. So there was a lot of affluent people there and
Speaker:business was growing.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:every month it was just unbelievable sales growth.
Speaker:And then all of a sudden Starbucks came to town.
Speaker:It was such a shock.
Speaker:And so I kind of had to really reinvent myself all
Speaker:over again.
Speaker:And even though I knew that what I had was better,
Speaker:we had the personal touch and we had the ownership and
Speaker:we have the gift business part of it that really helped.
Speaker:And we did build the business back up,
Speaker:but it was quite a shock to lose that much business
Speaker:in one year from a competitor.
Speaker:What types of things did you do in store to try
Speaker:and attract people back in?
Speaker:We really took customer service to the nth degree.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we sent birthday cards to our customers.
Speaker:We knew our customers by name and they came in every
Speaker:single day.
Speaker:I used to say it was like throwing a party and
Speaker:having all your best friends come in and see you every
Speaker:single day.
Speaker:So we really got to know our customer and we really
Speaker:catered to them.
Speaker:I would say that our customer service was so exceptional that
Speaker:that's what really brought us back.
Speaker:And the gift business piece of it really helped because you
Speaker:weren't just going in to get a cup of coffee.
Speaker:You're going in to get a cup of coffee.
Speaker:And, oh my God,
Speaker:I forgot that birthday gift for so-and-so.
Speaker:And I can do that at seven o'clock in the morning.
Speaker:And I don't have to worry about doing it later tonight.
Speaker:We did a lot of marketing when we would give things
Speaker:away. We wouldn't just do contest to give away a free
Speaker:cup of coffee.
Speaker:We would give away a half a pound of coffee.
Speaker:I liked to do things that are really outrageous kind of
Speaker:way, because I just thought you had to really be outrageous
Speaker:in your marketing sometimes to really get their attention.
Speaker:So that really helped us tremendously.
Speaker:And we were able to build it back up.
Speaker:We changed our offerings and really hit on specialty staff.
Speaker:So Mary,
Speaker:you bring up a couple of really important points.
Speaker:I've also been in the retail environment and I've had the
Speaker:influence of a Walmart coming into town or a Starbucks coming
Speaker:into and having to deal with my businesses.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:people that I was consulting.
Speaker:And how do you handle that when a big name comes
Speaker:to town?
Speaker:And one thing that I think if biz listeners,
Speaker:we all need to recognize is people are initially going to
Speaker:go and try out the competition a little bit less,
Speaker:maybe if it's a smaller local retailer,
Speaker:but for sure if it's someone like Starbucks.
Speaker:So if you're in that type of situation,
Speaker:recognize that you probably will naturally have an initial dip in
Speaker:business because people are just going to go check it out.
Speaker:It's just going to happen.
Speaker:But it doesn't mean that that is going to necessarily shut
Speaker:you down.
Speaker:You have to be smart about it.
Speaker:As Mary's talking about use customer service,
Speaker:use the relationships that you have to retain your business,
Speaker:but it's good just to recognize that that naturally will occur.
Speaker:The other thing,
Speaker:Mary, that we kind of glossed over and I really want
Speaker:to underline cause it's really a great point is the insight
Speaker:that you shared about being able to naturally attract traffic into
Speaker:your store.
Speaker:If you have a consumable such in Mary's case coffee,
Speaker:where people are coming in and coming by the gifts,
Speaker:that's just a natural flow of traffic that you can have.
Speaker:So think within your business,
Speaker:what types of things can you do that could bring in
Speaker:natural traffic?
Speaker:Maybe if you're a popcorn shop,
Speaker:you have little cups of daily samples that people can try.
Speaker:And if people are just walking by,
Speaker:they can see,
Speaker:oh, let's pop in and get a sample,
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:But I'm sure there are many creative ways you can think
Speaker:of for your unique businesses,
Speaker:but that's a really good tip.
Speaker:So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker:Sure. Let's move on and talk a little bit about retail
Speaker:in general.
Speaker:And we're going to talk specifically here on this show about
Speaker:brick and mortar shops and any of you who have online
Speaker:shops or are home crafters,
Speaker:or haven't really been thinking about it,
Speaker:please stay tuned because you never know what kind of information
Speaker:is going to come up.
Speaker:That can be appropriate.
Speaker:And we're talking specifically brick and mortar,
Speaker:but could be a really good insight for you as well.
Speaker:Mary, you know,
Speaker:brick and mortars changed over the last 20 years with all
Speaker:the online ordering that's possible.
Speaker:Now it's a whole different ball game.
Speaker:I would say It is such a different ball game,
Speaker:the internet with its convenience,
Speaker:as well as big box stores because of their buying power,
Speaker:they can offer lower prices.
Speaker:So you really have to hone in your merchandise concepts so
Speaker:that you can have things that are as unique as possible,
Speaker:or that are branded specifically for you.
Speaker:And you can do that yourself as well as getting your
Speaker:vendors to do that.
Speaker:We do a lot of buying in bulk and repackaging things
Speaker:under our own name so that it reflects our brand and
Speaker:they can't find it anywhere else.
Speaker:And it might be very much the same product somewhere else,
Speaker:but because it's under our name,
Speaker:kind like what the grocery stores do,
Speaker:we're able to price it where we need it to be.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:again, it walks out the door with our brand on it,
Speaker:Right, for people who don't know what we're talking about,
Speaker:you think about private labeling and I'll just go down the
Speaker:diaper aisle of a supermarket.
Speaker:If you will,
Speaker:a supermarket brands,
Speaker:diapers might very well be made in the Huggies plant or
Speaker:another brand names plant.
Speaker:So it doesn't mean a product is inferior.
Speaker:You've just put your name on it.
Speaker:And you may not be going so far is to going
Speaker:to a factory and relabeling product that you're purchasing.
Speaker:But just like Mary's talking,
Speaker:you can bring it in and repackage it,
Speaker:maybe put it into gift baskets,
Speaker:just remerchandise it in some way,
Speaker:and then add your logo or a specialty message for a
Speaker:season. And it takes on a whole different appeal.
Speaker:Sure. Just like if you're selling jewelry,
Speaker:for instance,
Speaker:you can bring in those earrings and take them off the
Speaker:card that they come in and put them on a card
Speaker:with your name on It.
Speaker:That's a great idea besides that.
Speaker:What are some of the other overall challenges that you see
Speaker:brick and mortar stores having these days?
Speaker:Well, if you're in a shopping center and you do get
Speaker:some protection with use clauses so that everybody's not selling the
Speaker:same thing that you are,
Speaker:but if you're a,
Speaker:just a neighborhood shopping area,
Speaker:sometimes your fellow retailers start to infringe on your categories.
Speaker:And all of a sudden you see somebody suddenly show up
Speaker:with the same merchandise that you've got and then that throws
Speaker:you for a loop and you don't know exactly what to
Speaker:do. So you're always having to be on the lookout as
Speaker:to how you can pivot your unique concept.
Speaker:And I think that's also where that Randy can come in
Speaker:and be very important because if those earrings are on a
Speaker:card that has your name on it,
Speaker:or that candy is in a bag that has your name
Speaker:on it,
Speaker:then it's not quite the same thing as what the guy
Speaker:down the street is selling.
Speaker:Right? But the other things,
Speaker:I think that independent retailers have great abilities to be better
Speaker:than the big guys is that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the customer gets to talk to you the honor,
Speaker:and they love being up close and personal and really understanding
Speaker:you and knowing you and your ability as an independent retailer
Speaker:to really turn on a dime and react to the needs
Speaker:and trends much,
Speaker:much faster than any of the big box guys or anybody
Speaker:online can do.
Speaker:So we do have such an incredible advantage in that.
Speaker:What Do you think the power is now of the whole
Speaker:shop local or the small business Saturday?
Speaker:Do you think people are really following and supporting small businesses
Speaker:through those events?
Speaker:Oh, I think they are.
Speaker:I think it's huge just in the same way that restaurants
Speaker:are really captivating their customers with the whole farm to chef
Speaker:concept. It's very much the same way with retailers.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if you can have merchandise that local vendors are providing,
Speaker:that's fabulous,
Speaker:but also just because you're a local vendor,
Speaker:you really,
Speaker:really want to take advantage of things like small business Saturday
Speaker:and promote the fact that you are an independent retailer.
Speaker:Good Advice.
Speaker:Let's go back a little bit and talk to some of
Speaker:our listeners who might be thinking to open up their own
Speaker:shop. What types of hard questions should they be asking themselves
Speaker:to determine if this is the right choice for them?
Speaker:Obviously the first thing they want to have is a great
Speaker:merchandise concept and something that's not necessarily a copy of something
Speaker:else, Defined merchandise concept.
Speaker:If you're going to be a gift store and you don't
Speaker:want to just be a general gift store,
Speaker:you might really want to do a niche.
Speaker:That's maybe it's handcrafted gifts or maybe it's gifts for gourmets
Speaker:or maybe it's kitchen items.
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:So you really want to hone in on what that merchandise
Speaker:focus is so that you can create a store that when
Speaker:that customer walks in the door,
Speaker:they know without a question in their heart,
Speaker:what that store is all about.
Speaker:I really hate walking into retail stores that kind of are
Speaker:all over the board.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:they've got t-shirts and they've got books and they've got jewelry
Speaker:and you can have all of those things that tie into
Speaker:one concept.
Speaker:But if they don't somehow tie in,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it might be that all of those things are related to
Speaker:your door at the beach.
Speaker:And so everything's beach related.
Speaker:So you can have all those categories within a beach related
Speaker:theme, for instance.
Speaker:But if you're just throwing stuff at the wall to see
Speaker:what sticks and your merchandise isn't connected to each other in
Speaker:the store,
Speaker:then it doesn't make any sense.
Speaker:And I think you confuse the customer.
Speaker:So I think that's a really important thing,
Speaker:Right? And I think a lot of people would kick back
Speaker:against that idea of saying,
Speaker:well, then I won't have product for everybody.
Speaker:I don't know if you've heard.
Speaker:They'll saying that if you're everything to everybody,
Speaker:your nothing to anybody,
Speaker:right. So really seriously take Mary's advice to heart in that
Speaker:somehow you want to tighten up,
Speaker:even if you're in the gifting arena,
Speaker:like Mary's talking about tighten up what your concept is around
Speaker:some type of a theme.
Speaker:And number one,
Speaker:it separates you totally from other people who are in your
Speaker:area. And number two,
Speaker:it just makes you unique and helps you with how you're
Speaker:going to position yourself in the market in terms of messaging,
Speaker:how you're going to relay social media posts,
Speaker:all of that just makes everything easier and very clear to
Speaker:someone who's walking In.
Speaker:If you could figure out who your ideal customer is,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I want to sell gifts to the woman who's between 35
Speaker:and 55.
Speaker:That's married with children.
Speaker:And as a working mom,
Speaker:it helps you really hone in on what that merchandise might
Speaker:be, as opposed to I'm going to sell to everybody.
Speaker:We'd like to think we could sell to everybody,
Speaker:but that's really not possible.
Speaker:We've learned from enough people that you try and do that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:unless you are a Walmart,
Speaker:unless You're a Walmart or a target,
Speaker:you've got 35,000
Speaker:square feet.
Speaker:But none of us have that.
Speaker:If you've got 500 or a thousand or 1500 square feet,
Speaker:you've really gotta be true to your concept.
Speaker:I just saw a great store in Chicago.
Speaker:That was all that were imported from France.
Speaker:Now, granted,
Speaker:they were able to have every possible category in there from
Speaker:soaps to books,
Speaker:to home decor and things like that.
Speaker:But the tying factor was that it was all imported from
Speaker:France and it all had that French feel to it.
Speaker:Don't just throw in t-shirts because you think t-shirts have a
Speaker:great margin on them and your sell a lot of them.
Speaker:Now that doesn't mean that you can't make that fit into
Speaker:your store.
Speaker:I remember when I had my coffee shop,
Speaker:I went to market and I found these really great flip-flops
Speaker:beach flip flops that I just fell in love with and
Speaker:I wanted to have them in the store.
Speaker:And so what I did was I created a merchandise story
Speaker:around ice tea,
Speaker:and I had beach tote bags made with our logo on
Speaker:it, pulled in some other things that were kind of related
Speaker:to that.
Speaker:So I brought in those flip flops,
Speaker:believe it or not.
Speaker:And they sold really well,
Speaker:but I still was able to keep it true to what
Speaker:my concept was.
Speaker:Right. Great example.
Speaker:So another thing that we haven't really talked about and I
Speaker:want to move into is in a retail shop atmosphere and
Speaker:customer service are both terribly important.
Speaker:And I realized that there are two separate topics,
Speaker:but it all has to do with the experience that somebody
Speaker:has when they're walking into the shop.
Speaker:Do you have any guidelines that you can share with our
Speaker:listeners on either one of those topics or perhaps both?
Speaker:I Do.
Speaker:I actually have what I called the nine touch points that
Speaker:every retailer has to pay attention to,
Speaker:to really make their story of success.
Speaker:Find those on my website.
Speaker:I'll talk about that in a little bit,
Speaker:but those nine touch points are so important and it's everything
Speaker:from, what is your store look like on the outside?
Speaker:Does it say welcome and come in,
Speaker:do you appeal to all the senses,
Speaker:sight, sound,
Speaker:touch, taste,
Speaker:smell again,
Speaker:going back to,
Speaker:what is your merchandise story?
Speaker:Is it clear customer service?
Speaker:Just making those moments of magic for your customers?
Speaker:How easy is it for them to buy from you?
Speaker:Your displays really massing it out,
Speaker:keeping them full,
Speaker:keeping them clean and making sure that they're attractive.
Speaker:And if you don't know how to do displays,
Speaker:because that's one of those things that can be difficult,
Speaker:either go find someone to hire freelance.
Speaker:You can go to one of the big department stores.
Speaker:The first person I ever hired to do my displays was
Speaker:somebody who worked for crate and barrel because he used to
Speaker:love Creighton barrels displays.
Speaker:And I hired that person to come in part-time and teach
Speaker:me as well as do the displays for me so that
Speaker:I could really kind of learn your signage.
Speaker:And branding is very important.
Speaker:Is it consistent?
Speaker:Is it clean?
Speaker:Is it clear?
Speaker:And is there a call to action?
Speaker:Do you really get a sense from your signage,
Speaker:what you want that customer to do?
Speaker:And there's a place to the right place.
Speaker:Your branding is important.
Speaker:Your packaging is that unique and distinctive and it doesn't have
Speaker:to be expensive.
Speaker:It can be a handled bag with your logo on it
Speaker:and some colored tissue in your stores colors,
Speaker:but it really makes a difference when the customer walks out
Speaker:of that store with their purchase,
Speaker:do they have something that they're number one,
Speaker:proud to be carrying around or that they can then just
Speaker:actually give as a gift right then?
Speaker:And there really makes you a unique place to go buy
Speaker:things. And then of course your social media and your marketing,
Speaker:you can't escape social media today,
Speaker:but it can be really overwhelming.
Speaker:You have to figure out where your customers are hanging out
Speaker:on social media and just use that platform.
Speaker:I certainly wouldn't use any more than two,
Speaker:but most importantly,
Speaker:you have to get emails every possible place you turn,
Speaker:because once you have the customer's email,
Speaker:you can really connect with them on a much better level
Speaker:than you can on social media.
Speaker:Social media helps you find them,
Speaker:but your email list helps you sell to them.
Speaker:And then lastly,
Speaker:I think you really want to surprise and delight your customers
Speaker:in some way,
Speaker:shape or form really going the extra mile,
Speaker:hand out candy hearts on Valentine's day,
Speaker:or you send them a birthday card.
Speaker:What are you really doing to surprise and delight your customers
Speaker:when they come in,
Speaker:maybe it's offering them a cup of hot cocoa on a
Speaker:cold winter day when their Christmas shopping Great points.
Speaker:And we are going to talk about these touch points a
Speaker:little bit later when we're wrapping up,
Speaker:but I want to do just a little deeper dive on
Speaker:two of these.
Speaker:When you talk about packaging and it brings to mind apple
Speaker:and their whole strategy,
Speaker:which is for those of you who don't have any apple
Speaker:products is when someone purchases.
Speaker:And that is not a low priced item,
Speaker:of course.
Speaker:But part of the experience is actually opening that box for
Speaker:the first time and everything was planned out how the packages
Speaker:released what's inside when you open the lid,
Speaker:it's a whole entire experience.
Speaker:So not that you have to take it necessarily to that
Speaker:level, but think about that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what are you doing so that when a product is purchased
Speaker:from your shop,
Speaker:it is special because of the packaging,
Speaker:because it's something beautiful or maybe there's a little extra tissue
Speaker:in there,
Speaker:or it's wrapped in a fun way,
Speaker:or there's a fun ribbon on it or something,
Speaker:but that ought to all be planned out.
Speaker:It doesn't just happen by accident.
Speaker:So something for everybody to consider.
Speaker:And the second point is about emails.
Speaker:Obviously when you're online,
Speaker:we've talked a lot about in past episodes,
Speaker:on lead generators and how you get customers to opt in
Speaker:so that you're able to attract their email.
Speaker:When you have a brick and mortar shop,
Speaker:you have a very unique opportunity because you're face-to-face with a
Speaker:customer. When they walk into your store,
Speaker:do you have any creative or interesting ways or ideas for
Speaker:our listeners,
Speaker:Mary of ways you can capture that email when they're right
Speaker:in your shop?
Speaker:Well, the last thing you want to do is say,
Speaker:sign up for my newsletter because nobody wants one more newsletter
Speaker:in their email.
Speaker:But what you can do is possibly have a giveaway and
Speaker:maybe each month you offer a giveaway of a $10 gift
Speaker:certificate or a $20 gift certificate.
Speaker:And so it could be,
Speaker:I sign up to win this basket or gift box or
Speaker:this gift certificate,
Speaker:or sign up to get our monthly specials.
Speaker:Oh, There you go.
Speaker:That's kind of a newsletter,
Speaker:but it's really not termed that People love to get specials
Speaker:and be in the know.
Speaker:So maybe,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they're signing up to be part of your private shopping group,
Speaker:their own private little community that gets specials that nobody else
Speaker:would get.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:customers love to feel that they're a part of a unique
Speaker:community, any place that you could possibly get emails.
Speaker:You definitely want to get it.
Speaker:If you're out doing an event,
Speaker:I always take some kind of gift that we're going to
Speaker:give away.
Speaker:And it's a registered a win type of thing so that
Speaker:I can get emails from people that are at the event.
Speaker:You might want to give people a bass back coupon,
Speaker:for instance,
Speaker:customers that are coming in during the holidays,
Speaker:when you're probably have more traffic than normal,
Speaker:give them a bounce back coupon for something that's going to
Speaker:happen in January or February,
Speaker:whether it's a discount or whatever,
Speaker:but in order to use that coupon,
Speaker:then they have to give you their email address.
Speaker:Oh, there you go.
Speaker:Yeah. So things like that as opposed to sign up for
Speaker:my newsletter,
Speaker:which nobody wants to do anymore.
Speaker:And Not that this is totally connected with emails,
Speaker:but you do bring up a good point about bounce-back coupons,
Speaker:look at Kohl's.
Speaker:And I'm sure a lot of us here,
Speaker:especially if you're listening from America have gone into Kohl's,
Speaker:they are experts at that.
Speaker:They give you a coupon,
Speaker:right at checkout,
Speaker:which gives you a discount off starting maybe a week later,
Speaker:or, you know,
Speaker:and then it goes for another week or something like that.
Speaker:And I am sure that's how they just keep getting more
Speaker:people in the store and repeat customers in the store.
Speaker:I'm sure their platform allows for that because they offer such
Speaker:deep discounts,
Speaker:but they know they're going to have the repetition of customers
Speaker:as well.
Speaker:Absolutely. And I really want to make sure everybody understands that
Speaker:when you give a bounce-back coupon,
Speaker:it doesn't have to be for a discount.
Speaker:Cause I don't think we want to be known as always
Speaker:giving discounts and always being on sale,
Speaker:kind of like the department stores app,
Speaker:but you could give something extra.
Speaker:So possibly for a bounce back coupon,
Speaker:as opposed to doing a price off or a percent off
Speaker:or a dollar off you offer them something extra.
Speaker:So maybe it's come back in January and buy a pair
Speaker:of earrings and get a scarf for free.
Speaker:That's a little exorbitant,
Speaker:but you know what I mean?
Speaker:If you want to give them something extra,
Speaker:as opposed to giving them a dollar or a percentage off.
Speaker:Great Advice.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So Mary,
Speaker:we've been talking about and pulling out from you all of
Speaker:these insights that you have in the retail environment.
Speaker:Talk to us a little bit more about be business smart
Speaker:and what it is that you can provide retailers and not
Speaker:necessarily how they can get in touch with you because we're
Speaker:gonna do that later.
Speaker:But what your business is all about and what you are
Speaker:doing now to support brick and mortar shops.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:thank you.
Speaker:Well, I mean,
Speaker:obviously I work one-on-one with retailers to help them find you
Speaker:in their merchandise concepts or maybe hiring and training,
Speaker:putting their systems in place so that they can indeed have
Speaker:a life outside of their retail store.
Speaker:Because as we know,
Speaker:owning your own retail store can be all consuming and you
Speaker:do want to have a life outside of it.
Speaker:It always kind of helps.
Speaker:So I am working one-on-one with people,
Speaker:but I'm also creating systems.
Speaker:So that next year after the holidays are over and I
Speaker:can concentrate on it.
Speaker:We're going to be launching a membership site as well as
Speaker:some online courses for a retailer so that they can learn
Speaker:online and that they can become a part of this membership
Speaker:site. That's all of these other retailers who love being in
Speaker:business and who can support each other and help each other
Speaker:and be there when you've got just the silliest question that
Speaker:you can't possibly figure out how to do,
Speaker:but you can go online to this private Facebook community and
Speaker:say, Hey,
Speaker:this is what I'm struggling with right now.
Speaker:Who's got an answer for this.
Speaker:And it's just amazing when you're in these private Facebook groups
Speaker:and these membership groups,
Speaker:the answers and support that you can get from people in
Speaker:the same community.
Speaker:I absolutely agree with you.
Speaker:I have a private Facebook group for the ribbon print company
Speaker:and it's only available for customers of ours.
Speaker:And it makes me so happy to know how supportive each
Speaker:person is of each other,
Speaker:even if they have a similar business,
Speaker:but they're in totally different areas of the country.
Speaker:So they're not competitors At all.
Speaker:I love seeing as some of the membership sites that I'm
Speaker:in with some of these Facebook groups and it's just women
Speaker:primarily from all over the world.
Speaker:And it's just amazing what I've learned from them.
Speaker:Totally agree.
Speaker:So good luck with that.
Speaker:And we'll have to make sure to make an announcement when
Speaker:that is up and running for sure.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:We're going to move now into the reflection section.
Speaker:This is where we take a look at you and what's
Speaker:helped you with your success along the way.
Speaker:What natural trait Mary do you have that you think has
Speaker:helped you to succeed?
Speaker:Well, I think there's two first off perseverance.
Speaker:I just kind of a little tenacious,
Speaker:I guess I just like a little bulldog plus also the
Speaker:ability to make a decision quickly.
Speaker:I have always been good at just thinking through the problem,
Speaker:making a decision,
Speaker:moving it forward.
Speaker:No angsting about it,
Speaker:because I mean,
Speaker:that can get you caught in just a whole horrible web
Speaker:of not moving forward at all.
Speaker:So the ability to make a decision quickly,
Speaker:and even if you find out is the wrong decision,
Speaker:then you can turn on a dime and you can make
Speaker:a different decision.
Speaker:And I think that has helped me tremendously.
Speaker:That is really good input.
Speaker:I've heard recently.
Speaker:I don't recall exactly where,
Speaker:but the whole comment of be quick to fail.
Speaker:Yes. You know,
Speaker:you don't have to just sit and decide pros and cons
Speaker:like, you know,
Speaker:analysis paralysis type thing.
Speaker:Just make a decision and move forward and I can clearly
Speaker:see why that trait would help you succeed.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:What tool do you use regularly that helps you keep productive
Speaker:or create that balance that everyone needs in the whole brick
Speaker:and mortar life?
Speaker:The ability to create the systems that let me run the
Speaker:stores and let my staff run the stores so that when
Speaker:I say to a staff member,
Speaker:I need you to check in this merchandise that there's a
Speaker:system in place that they'll do it exactly the way I
Speaker:want it to be done,
Speaker:because we all know we ask a staff member to do
Speaker:something. And we think in our brains that they know how
Speaker:to do it because they've seen us do it so many
Speaker:times and it never gets done the way we want it
Speaker:to be.
Speaker:So it's all of those systems that have really helped me
Speaker:be a success.
Speaker:So Do you then document the systems as well,
Speaker:somewhere? So they have a resource to go to Everything's in
Speaker:writing and I'm crate for forms.
Speaker:I am known as the form queen.
Speaker:There, there is never a doubt as to if you're taking
Speaker:an order from a customer.
Speaker:What the question is you have to ask,
Speaker:or if you're checking in the merchandise,
Speaker:what are the things you have to check in?
Speaker:I have a form for everything and people joke that I
Speaker:have forms for my forms.
Speaker:I bet it gives a certain comfort level to the people
Speaker:that work within the shop to then,
Speaker:because they know that if they are going to encounter something
Speaker:that they're not familiar with,
Speaker:there's a resource that they can go to to get some
Speaker:direction. I know you're not in a shop right now,
Speaker:but a shop owner is not always going to be there
Speaker:as the business grows.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:initially they would be.
Speaker:But as the business grows and you have people helping you
Speaker:can't be in your shop forever,
Speaker:or you're not going to be a very short-lived business cause
Speaker:you're going to burn yourself out And that's not on how
Speaker:to do things,
Speaker:but it systems on the conversations to have with the customer.
Speaker:So we have a page,
Speaker:that's a merchandise page for every kind of category so that
Speaker:we list what the benefits and the features are of that
Speaker:particular piece of merchandise and how to sell it and what,
Speaker:how to overcome the objections.
Speaker:Because knowledge of merchandise is everything.
Speaker:Customers really want us to be the experts in what we're
Speaker:selling and we need to be right.
Speaker:Really good input.
Speaker:What book have you read lately that you think our listeners
Speaker:could find value in?
Speaker:I really love jab jab,
Speaker:jab, right hook by Gary Vaynerchuk.
Speaker:It's a terrific book on social media strategies that really takes
Speaker:the overwhelm out of it and gives you some clear strategies
Speaker:on how you can be best on each platform.
Speaker:And then a second book that I love is anything that
Speaker:the Zingerman's people have written Zingerman's is a deli out in
Speaker:Ann Arbor and they are worldwide known for their customer service.
Speaker:And they have several books on great customer service and how
Speaker:to manage and how to be a leader.
Speaker:And their whole system of teaching is just phenomenal.
Speaker:Yeah. You know,
Speaker:that was recommended just on a recent episode.
Speaker:Maybe even the one right before this.
Speaker:Yeah. But both of these are fabulous.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:I think what I'll do is I'll go look and see
Speaker:what others Zingerman's books there is.
Speaker:Cause you've read all of them.
Speaker:You say they're all good.
Speaker:All fabulous.
Speaker:I mean their guide to great service is phenomenal.
Speaker:It's a very quick read and it really,
Speaker:really gives you great insight into how you can create great
Speaker:customer service for your stores.
Speaker:And then Ari who's one of the owners of the whole
Speaker:Zingerman's complex as written a couple of other books that are
Speaker:just really good on leadership and visioning and things like that.
Speaker:Fabulous. Well,
Speaker:I'll put a couple of those then on the show notes
Speaker:page, right?
Speaker:So, and listeners,
Speaker:just as you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can also listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to
Speaker:get an audio book,
Speaker:just like all these Singerman books or Geary's jab,
Speaker:jab, jab,
Speaker:right. Hook for free.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection that's gift biz,
Speaker:book.com. Well,
Speaker:Mary, I'm really sad that our time is winding down.
Speaker:Cause I think we could probably talk all afternoon and turn
Speaker:this into like a five-hour podcast.
Speaker:I won't Do it right.
Speaker:We're going to circle into our dare to dream question.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or goal of almost unreachable Heights that
Speaker:you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside Inside for me as a raving community of
Speaker:retailers, that's part of the be business smart group and that
Speaker:I'm able to serve them with resources and tips and inspiration
Speaker:that will help them take their stores to whole new Heights
Speaker:and work through all the many hats that every retailer has
Speaker:to wear.
Speaker:I would like to help you obtain that dream because I
Speaker:think with the retail environment right now,
Speaker:doesn't get as much support as they might've felt they had.
Speaker:And with the changing environment,
Speaker:I'm very anxious to see and excited to see what you're
Speaker:putting together for everybody.
Speaker:So I think your dreams going to come true.
Speaker:I think that's going to be a pretty easy one.
Speaker:Well, I hope so.
Speaker:And now Let's go on.
Speaker:How can our listeners get in touch with you in the
Speaker:future? All right,
Speaker:well, B is spelled B E like the bumblebee.
Speaker:So on Facebook where it be business smart,
Speaker:Twitter and Instagram,
Speaker:where it be biz smart Bizz.
Speaker:Our website is B business smart,
Speaker:which is where you can also get two different things that
Speaker:we're offering both the nine touch points of great retail stores,
Speaker:as well as right now,
Speaker:our holiday thing,
Speaker:90 tips to rock your holiday sales.
Speaker:And it's 90 tips that have to do with everything from
Speaker:merchandising, the social media to displays to everything possible,
Speaker:as well as a great planning calendar.
Speaker:So you can go on our website and get both of
Speaker:those and hopefully they will help our retailers get to the
Speaker:other side of Christmas with their Christmas spirit and tax.
Speaker:Well, I have to tell you as Mary and I were
Speaker:planning for this episode,
Speaker:I did download the 90 tips to rock your holiday sales.
Speaker:And I've got to tell you,
Speaker:it is the most complete guide,
Speaker:all in one place.
Speaker:Things I'd never considered before every single person without fail should
Speaker:go and grab that document.
Speaker:It is spectacular.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:And don't be overwhelmed by the fact that it's 90 tips.
Speaker:You certainly don't have to use every single one of them,
Speaker:but I think it's good fuel for inspiration.
Speaker:Absolutely. And it's broken a little bit into sections too,
Speaker:so you can just go through and highlight the ones that
Speaker:you need to use right now and save the rest for
Speaker:later. Cause it's some of these also don't need to apply
Speaker:just for holidays,
Speaker:but they're great for specifically brick and mortar.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:I just don't miss out on this one,
Speaker:grab it while you can,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:Sure. And if anybody goes through it and has any questions
Speaker:on any of the tips,
Speaker:they can certainly email me at Marriott,
Speaker:be business smart.com
Speaker:and I'll be more than happy to help them kind of
Speaker:work through it or give them some other tips and a
Speaker:little bit further information about it.
Speaker:Thank you for that.
Speaker:And remember too,
Speaker:that you can always go over to our show notes page.
Speaker:I'll have all of Mary's contact information,
Speaker:including links to where you can go and get both of
Speaker:these freebies that Mary is offering us today.
Speaker:So no excuses.
Speaker:You guys need to do this for your business.
Speaker:Mary, thank you so much for all of the really valuable
Speaker:guidance and information that you've shared with us today.
Speaker:And may your candle always burn bright.
Speaker:Thank you so much your with you and I look forward
Speaker:to listening to your many,
Speaker:many podcasts in the future,
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:in life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com
Speaker:slash tools.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
Speaker:Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,
Speaker:looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever grant your product from
Speaker:your logo or print a happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica Griffin,
Speaker:to add to a gift right at checkout,
Speaker:it's all done right in your shop or across studio in
Speaker:seconds. Check out the ribbon printing company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:Would you like to be on the show or do you
Speaker:know someone who can provide valuable insight from their experiences?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.
Speaker:You can access the form@giftunwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash yes.
Speaker:That's eight biz on.com
