Just one week until Valentine's Day! Are you feeling the love yet?
What better time to send a love note to your customers? That's right. A Valentine. Just a Valentine. No strings attached! Show your love!
No expectation of them doing anything more for you! Just an out-and-out thank you note. A love note for being your customer! Don't limit this to just the recent customers. Go back in time as far as you can. They'll love it! No matter how they shop with you, in-store, online, or some combination of that. And match your Valentine to however they connect with you. Post it on Facebook, or Instagram, or TikTok; or emails; text messages; or printed mailers. All the ways you use to connect with them.
Show them that you care – because we know you do. And especially now, especially in today's environment, should we really need an excuse like Valentine's Day to share a little love?
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And yes, we thank you for your interest in and support of The Retail Owners Institute. We appreciate you more than we can express!
Happy Valentine's Day! Pat & Dick
We hear it over and over. "Good business citizenship" matters to shoppers. Might Labor Day weekend be a good time to start getting the word out about your citizenship contributions? Customers vote with their feet, their wallets, and their hearts, and increasingly choose those retailers who "do the right thing", whether it's how they source product, hire and pay employees, reduce environmental impacts, etc. There are things that independent retailers do day in and day out, without perhaps even realizing how special they are! Most retailers we know are "aw shucks" type people. It's charming, but, especially in today's world, your leadership can be a competitive edge! So, why keep it a secret?
Let's assume your stores have been closed for weeks now.
We recognize how conscientious you are. So, after paying what you can to your employees (and yourself), the next most-worrisome dilemma is your rent.
As you likely have discovered, a common choice for many landlords is to offer to defer your payments. But that means taking on more debt, as those payments are only being postponed to a later point in time. You need a better solution than that.
As your stores are able to re-open after the coronavirus shutdowns, how they look tells a powerful story. And for you, a great opportunity. This is no time to try to go back to normal, back to business-as-usual. Nor to simply have all kinds of protective shields in your store. While necessary, how welcoming is that? Instead, this actually IS a second chance to make a good first impression! Take full advantage!
There's a very important annual job for you, the owner, and all of your senior staff. It's vital, and it involves your presence. The pressures are mounting on your stores, and in particular, your front line staff.
This is, after all, The Retail OWNERS Institute. We long have specialized in alerting, coaxing, and applauding retail owners worldwide. Today's message is a major heads-up. Keeping pace with the relentless changes in retailing has never been easy. Retailers know that constant adjustments are demanded. Then, the three pandemics of 2020 happened: COVID; the economic meltdown; the social unrest. And life changed modestly or enormously for almost everyone, including owners of retail businesses.
What is the definition of "value" for customers? Pretty straightforward, actually.
Wait. What? "Benefits received?" "Burdens endured?" Turns out, the only single answer to "What is value?" is, "It depends." Don't just roll your eyes. What constitutes value for your customers increasingly is a make-or-break part of retailing.
Incredible value! 👀
Start NOW!