More isn’t More. What you can learn from Costco and Trader Joe’s. (Copy)

I’ve been obsessed with reading about Trader Joe’s and Costco lately. We can learn a lot from these stellar companies, especially the way they so thoughtfully manage their product selection.  The key to their success  (and it’s not rocket science) is they offer what customers want to buy or at the very least, what customers think they want to buy (no one really needs a 25-pound tub of peanuts, right?)

The average Costco warehouse stocks only about 3700 SKU’s in a 144,000 square foot store. Just to give you an example of an extreme “more is more” mentality, I worked with a 3,000 square foot. toy store that stocked 4200 SKU’s! Visitors were so confused they just turned around and walked out.

Most examples of “more is more” aren’t this extreme but I see it all the time with my clients. An addition of a line here, a few new menu items there and none of it pays off in the end! The reason?

People don’t want more choices. They just want what they want!

Barry Schwartz, author of the Paradox of Choice, says too many choices can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and stress. By proudly offering a smartly curated collection of items that target your ideal customer avatar, Schwartz say you are claiming, “You can’t have everything but everything we’ve got is worth having.”

Are you guilty of the “more is more” mentality? If so, it probably a sign that either don’t know your customer as well as you should or don’t have confidence in your ability to purchase on their behalf.

But with a little research and a bit of confidence, you can get past this. And you really should. After all, your ability to purchase properly for your customer is the key to improved sales!

Here are a few tips to get started.

Pull POS reports of your top 20% sellers
Analyze them for 3-6 months. What do these items have in common

Were they in the same price range?
Were the majority sold to your best customers?
    Regular customers?
Were they all displayed in the same area or the same way?
Are the similar in nature or pricing?
Were they mostly sold by the same person?

You get the idea. Do a forensic deep dive into what’s selling to whom, when and why.
Yes, it takes a little effort but this is your business!

Now take a look at your bottom sellers
Can you find commonality in the items that always end up on the sale rack or rarely move?

 Put those bottom sellers on sale or take them off your menu! You don’t need them. They’re messing with cash flow and making your business less exciting. Going back to the toy store example, a sale- by- item report revealed only 1800 SKU’s had sold more than one in 6 months. That means more than half his stock never moved! His overbuying was killing his business.

Ask people what they want
I love the idea of doing short, in person surveys with customers and visitors. Just a few questions will get you a lot of information. Find out what types of items they like. The price points. How often they buy. How they use your products. Retail stores and restaurants are mini research labs. Every person that walks in can give you valuable feedback that will help you fine tune your selection to the point

Search for the unicorn
Once you’ve done the research and are more intimately connected with your customer avatar, look for one or two items that scream, “I know you and I know what you want.” In today’s retail environment, you have to find ways to distinguish yourself and the way to do that that is finding a few things that are exclusive to you and resonate beautifully with your tribe.

Take the time to go through the process. And don’t be afraid to offer less, especially when less can translate to improved sales and more loyal and emotionally connected customers. The last thing anybody needs is more stuff. They can go to Amazon for that!

Until next time remember….
You can do this!
Angel

Read more about Costco and Trader Joe’s.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trader-joes-how-gets-you-spend-money-psychologist-2019-1

https://thehustle.co/costco-membership-economics/amp/

Download my Customer Avatar Worksheet

Click here

Restaurant increases revenues by 20 percent during pandemic.

Nick Moon, owner of Melbourne Seafood Station, opened his 4th location about 6 months before the pandemic.

Today, he has increased revenues by over 20% by doing 5 simple things:

1. Menu adjustments with a focus on value

2. Transition customers from 3rd party to self-delivery/pick up

3. Implementing a strong loyalty program

4. Taking pre-orders to increase capacity during peak times

5. Creating a consistent social media program

He tells you exactly how he did it in this video interview.

Plus, he started using Numa, an AI based platform that answers your phone and converts calls to orders. Numa was featured on an EASY+RETAIL+TECH podcast you can listen to here.

https://www.angelcicerone.com/easyretailtechpodcast/numa

Angel: We have got a great story to tell you today. You hear a lot of bad news during COVID, but today we feature a really good story about a business that is exceeding revenues from its pre-COVID days. Today we welcome the owner of that business, Nick Moon. Nick is the owner of Melbourne Seafood Station. He has four restaurants, but we're going to talk about one, the most recent one that he opened, which is in the Orlando, Florida area, correct, Nick.

Nick: Yes. In Hunter's Creek neighborhood of Orlando, Florida.

Angel: And this restaurant only opened in September of 2019. And by March, 2020, boom, the axe came down with Covid, correct?

Nick: It did, it really kind of kicked us in the gut.

Angel: Tell everybody a little bit about what you serve at Melbourne seafood station. And I want to add, the other three restaurants have been wildly successful.

Nick: Absolutely. We are a fast casual seafood restaurant. We focus on seafood boils. So it's primarily shellfish, shrimp, lobster, crab, scallops, oysters, mussels, clams, that kind of thing. We also do fish and chicken as well.

Angel: And it is fast casual, but it's a little pricey, correct? 

Nick: Compared to a hamburger, it's going to be a little bit more expensive, but if you're comparing us to Red Lobster or another seafood restaurant, it's a really good value.

Angel: Fantastic. So you opened up in September and then the Covid lockdown came and you were not prepared. Everybody was unprepared, but you were so new and you hadn't done this in any of your restaurants. You didn't even have delivery or online menus or any of that kind of thing set up yet, right?

Nick: No, we definitely didn't have any delivery setup or any online menus. It was just people walking in and people calling in.

Angel: And so how long before you set up delivery and how did you do it?

Nick: Immediately we started repurposing employees as delivery drivers and we signed up with GrubHub to handle deliveries for us.

Angel: This is when you and I started working together and you did one thing very early on that has made a tremendous difference in your business. What was that?

Nick:  We did a $29 family meal that included two pounds of shrimp. And they could get either rice or pasta, plus corn on the cob or broccoli. And that fed four people, and it was an extremely successful promotion.

Angel: And I want to make sure that everybody understands that was still a profitable deal.

Nick: Yeah. So it was about a 50% food cost for us. 

Angel: Fantastic. And you're used to high food costs in what you do anyway, so you pivoted immediately to provide that value. Then the next thing that we did, which I loved was the idea of delivery. I'm glad that GrubHub was delivering, but I don't want to use them if I don't have to. So tell everybody what you did then.

Nick: We added promotional cards to each delivery package to promote our own delivery.

Angel: So you put a card in with each order that went out through GrubHub.

Nick: Right. All orders that went out or were pickup included a promotion card, letting customers know that we deliver as well.

Angel: And did you offer a discount for that first one?

Nick: We offered $5 off their first store delivery order.

Angel: So inside of the GrubHub delivery order, you put a coupon for $5 off if they ordered directly through you. And I don't know if you know the percentage, but what kind of response did you see?

Nick: It was strong. Once the dining rooms were reopened again, then we saw the delivery kind of fall off. But during delivery we definitely saw an increase in store delivery - maybe about 50% more than we were doing before we offered the discount.

Angel: And then over the course of time, you kept adjusting and updating those family meals.

Nick: We did. Initially there was only one option, which was shrimp and the two side options. And then, we offered it with salmon, cod or chicken. So we had four different options for the family meal for the $29 price.

Angel: And did you see what percentage of sales did that family meal end up making of your total revenue?

Nick: Across all four restaurants, it was about 30% of our revenue.

Angel: Wow. That's a lot, people really did gravitate towards that, didn't they?

Nick: They did. So we actually added it to the menu now. Now it's something that's on our offerings permanently and it still accounts for 10 to 15% of our sales.

Angel: When you opened for dine-in, your delivery business stayed strong, correct?

Nick: The takeout stayed strong, the delivery kind of fell off a little bit.

Angel: So as we sit here today in August, what's your percentage delivery versus dine in?

Nick: Dine-In is going to be about 40% and delivery is about 10%.

Angel: Excuse me. That’s dine-in and delivery versus takeout? 

Nick: About 50% right now. 

Angel: Wow. That's huge. Another thing that you did during all of this craziness is you implemented a loyalty program.

Nick: We did. And I think when I ask our employees, “what's the number one thing you think that's working right now,” that's what they say; the loyalty program. They say the customers are just loving it.

Angel: Tell us a little bit about what your benefits are and what people have to do.

Nick: Just for signing up, they get a $10 reward in the mail. It takes about two weeks for them to get that, but it’s a hook. “Hey, sign up for this. You're going to get $10 off your next meal.” They also get a point for every dollar that they spend. Every 200 points they receive a $10 reward. They also get a birthday coupon for $10 and a free entree on their anniversary. 

Angel: And you offer double points on Tuesday.

Nick: Yes. We wanted to see if we could increase business during the week. We decided to just do it on Tuesday, which was one of the slower days and it really works.

Angel: Do you have any numbers for us on that promotion, in terms of increase?

Nick: Yes. It's been about 20 to 30% increase since we started doing that. 

Angel: That is really big. Now most of your business is weekend business, correct?

Nick: Yeah. Friday, Saturday and Sunday accounts for two thirds of our business.

Angel: So you created a preorder system and rewarded customers for ordering. Tell us about that.

Nick: When we knew we were going to be really busy on mother's day and father's day and a couple other times we implemented a $5 coupon toward their next purchase if they pre-ordered by the day before. And that really helped out. We had almost so many preorders that we weren't taking new orders.

Angel: That's amazing. And your mother's day was absolutely stellar, correct?

Nick: Across all of our locations. It was phenomenal. 

Angel: Isn't that amazing in the middle of all of this, the best ever. And your mother's day offering was the family meal with some additional things, correct?

Nick: We offered a, it was a whole lobster with scallops shrimp and it was, I think it was $30 or something like that for mom, it was a really good value.

Angel: I want to make sure everybody knows that during this time seafood prices were going down. So you weren't losing money on any of these things that you were making money. 

Nick:  That's one of the things that I’ve found has been the biggest savior is finding a good value item, like a lobster or something that people are really going to draw their attention in and then coming up with a great special, and then promoting the heck out of it on social media.

Angel: Let's talk about promotion. Because I know that wasn't your favorite thing to do when we first met, you've been more aggressive on social media. Tell us about some of the things that you've done that have worked for you.

Nick: The biggest thing is taking like a really appetizing picture and then promoting it through Facebook ads and boosting posts. We didn't do that consistently before, so we've been adding more money, at least a hundred dollars per post. And we've seen the revenue really take off from that. I believe it's because people are on their phones a lot with Covid, they are trying to get updates and they're just, they have more time to do that. So that's really the best way to reach them.

Angel: That's fantastic. So you are a new restaurant that's not doing as well as it could be. Covid hits, you implement five or six key things like menu items, loyalty program, marketing, value oriented deals. And why don't you tell everybody the upshot where your revenues are right now?

Nick: So right now our revenues for the last three months have been up 20% from where they were prior to Covid.

Angel: If anybody says you can't be making money during this time, what do you tell them, Nick?

Nick: You have to try. You have to try as many things as you can and find something that works and then stick to it and then find the next thing that works. But you can't just sit back and do nothing.

Angel: So I want everybody to understand Nick implemented quickly. He took new ideas and he executed quickly and well. It didn't really take you that much time, right? It didn't cost you any money. 

Nick: No, no it didn't. 

Angel: So it can be done. One of the things I want to talk to you about is a company called Numa, which I did a podcast on. And I happened to mention to you early on, and you actually went in and order their service. So why don't you tell us a little about how that works and what results you've seen?

Nick: Well, it's taken about two weeks to implement it. Because we do have four locations. We had to install it at four locations, train everybody and get it set up. But it gets to the phone requests that you can't get to. So in the busy periods, you're going to have a customer on the phone that you're trying to take an order for, another customer on hold and then other people trying to call in. And Numa takes on everybody, leaving the customer that's either in front of you placing the order or the one that you're on the phone with by answering the phone for those other customers. And it uses an AI technology that response to the basic converts to call into a text message where it can answer the customer's basic questions, as far as what time you're open, where to find the menu, those kinds of things you can prerecord responses to. And then if they want to order, it gives them a link to put their order in. Customers can even pay for their order on the system.

Angel: We're going to have to circle back with you in a couple of months to see the effectiveness of it. Because I think it's going to help a great deal.

Nick: It is. Just this Saturday we saw 20% of orders going through Numa.

Angel: Wow that is amazing. Great job. Great job. So we are definitely going to come back in six months from now, Nick, and we're going to hope that you have doubled business everywhere, particularly Orlando.

Any plans for the next new thing, between now and the end of the year? Because things are not going to change so quickly. So anything you've got on your mind?

Nick: We're just going to try to come up with as many creative marketing and advertising campaigns as we can address providing value for people, letting customers know that, hey, we're in this with you. We're not trying to make a fortune right now. We're just trying to get people good food at a reasonable cost.

3 Questions about....Facebook

Jamie Palmer, CEO of Outlier Marketing Group, answers your most pressing questions about Facebook.

To learn more about Jamie, visit www.outliermarketinggroup.com

6 of my best tips for keeping your sanity as a business owner

As CEO of your business, you will need to manage your own education, information flow, inspiration and passion. Being an effective leader means keeping yourself at the top of your game, not just in business but in spirit as well

The key to success is sustainability. What can you do to maintain high levels of passion for your business? First, take ownership of the fact that you are responsible for maintaining your passion. If you don’t nurture yourself, it won’t be hard to let employees, clients or colleagues suck you dry.

Make “What if?” your favorite question

What if I hired a different person to do that job? What if I bundled my products differently? What if I changed my work flow? Consistent questioning of your concept and processes will lead you to new and better solutions.

Don’t work in a vacuum

Studies show adults produce 65 to 93 percent more ideas in groups. So find passion partners – (no, not that kind) or form an informal advisory board by identifying friends and colleagues who are, in your opinion, passionately curious. Preferably, they will come from different industries and backgrounds. Arrange to meet with them on a regular basis and use these meetings as forums where participants are invited to throw out the biggest, best and dumbest ideas. No judgments allowed. You’ll all share tremendous energy and inspiration.

Allow yourself time away from the day-to-day minutia

The biggest killer of big thinking is the mundane. If you can, delegate some of the daily chores. If you can’t, schedule time to get away from them. Even if you take an hour a week to think quietly and create, you will reap the rewards.

Manage your expectations

Few things are more detrimental to success than expecting more than is realistically possible at a given moment in time. I have worked with owners who were doing quite well for their particular stage in business, but because they had such lofty expectations, always felt defeated.

Self-motivation and inspiration

There’s a certain amount of isolation that goes along with being a business owner. You and you alone are responsible for the majority of the decision making and certainly the hard work of leading by example. It can lead to burn out. Business ownership is draining. You have to constantly replenish your soul with information and inspiration. Whether it’s through reading, keeping a journal, practicing yoga or trying new experiments with your business, keep a constant flow of new information and experiences going that will help trigger ideas, creative energy and new perspectives. Create your touchstone by envisioning what your life will feel like when you have reached your business goals.

Get out of your store

Successful retail ownership requires a 360 degree view of the world. Since retail requires to you spend many hours in the store, it may prevent you from benefiting from different perspectives. So get out. Network. Join a community group. Go on field trips. See what the rest of the world looks like and use that new information to help grow your business.

Treat yourself with respect

You are, after all, the CEO. Treat yourself as well as you would someone who works for you. Be kind. Be complimentary. Be appreciative of all the things you do. Being the top dog doesn’t mean working like one. Commit to doing what it takes to keep your head clear and your passions ignited. No one wants to work for a crazy person. Least of all, you.

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

4 Questions for Business Clarity

What do you really want from your business?

To feed your family?
Leave a legacy?
Start an empire?
Work less?

According to Bloomberg, eight of our 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months. In retail, there’s a 53 percent failure rate in 4 years. For restaurants the failure rate is even more unforgiving.

So whether you’re in the middle of writing your very first businesses plan or celebrating your 20th business anniversary, take a step back to get crystal clear. Because clarity is the power play. It provides the framework for decision making. It takes the stress out of your daily operations. In short, clarity = confidence.

Start your journey to clarity by answering these four questions. Jot the answers on a sticky pad and keep it where you can see the answers daily.

1.   What makes your business unique, different or special?

I was watching Fleabag on Amazon Video and heard a phrase that resonated with me. The main character was describing her old boyfriend as a person of insidious, overwhelming mediocrity. It made me laugh but it really hit home because so many of the businesses I visit are at best, boring. And boring is a one-way ticket to bankruptcy these days.

If there are stores or restaurants similar to yours in the immediate area, how can you possibly differentiate yourself to potential customers? Do you see the same clothes as a boutique down the street? Are you serving the same burgers as five other restaurants in your area? Can a customer get your products cheaper online or at Costco?

Whether it’s your product selection, level of service, pricing or delivery channel, how do you differentiate your store or restaurant from the rest of the pack?

2   Who is your target audience? Be very specific.

A successful concept starts by filling a need or void for a very specific targeted audience. To put it another way, it’s not about what you want, it’s about the customer you serve. And the wider the net you cast, the more generic your concept and the bigger the opportunity for failure.

A concept looks something like this: My business solves (this problem) for (these people) by (doing this).
By completing this concept statement, you should be able to better define your target audience.

3. What is the life you’d like to lead as a business owner?

I love this question because it’s not one we often take the time to ask ourselves.  I know for a fact the most retailers are definitely not living the life they want. They feel tired, unappreciated and underpaid – and often scared. It really isn’t good for the soul or the wallet!

So what does a better life look like? Working less? Expansion? Saving for retirement? Flexible hours and duties? What do you want?

4.  What do you need to know more about to make that life happen?

This is a biggie and I’ll tell you why. So many owners I work with seem to put a hard stop on learning once they’re up and running. They open the doors of their store but shut them on learning new things.  You have to keep up with new ideas, methods, opportunities. New competition. New technology.  The world is turning fast and you need to, at minimum, stay with flow, get ahead of it or find your own detour that works. Digging your heels in the sands of the past will find you with an unfavorable balance sheet very quickly.

It you’d like a copy of the 4 Questions for Business Clarity Worksheet, click here.

How to get your staff into the spirit of selling more this holiday!

Looking for ways to get your staff pumped this holiday season?  I know one surefire way to light a fire under them….and that’s pay them!

Even if money is tight, there are ways to incentivize your staff to sell more without it being a drain on cashflow or margins.

Even if you don’t ordinarily have a bonus program, there’s no reason not to implement one this holiday season.

Most retailers earn 20-30 percent- or more- of their annual revenue during the holidays.  This is the time of year you want to maximize every single sales opportunity! And incentives are a great way to motivate staff.

Here are some DO’S and DONT’S for setting up a successful bonus program.

DO
Understand what motivates your staff. What makes them drool? Depending on their age and tenure, it might be time off or perks like gifts or gift certificates. It doesn’t always have to be money.  

DON’T
Just offer a reward on a blanket sales goal.  A bonus program needs to work on both sides. That means your employees get incentivized for meeting their goals – and yours!

Let’s say for example, last year your sales were $100,000 during the holiday season and your goal is to increase that number by 20 percent this year to $120k. Your staff incentives would be based on achieving or exceeding this year’s goal. That way any additional commission or bonus you’re awarding is coming out of new revenue.

DO
Consider segmenting. Let’s say you’d like to grow sales for a new line or service. Perhaps you’d like to increase average sale. You can create a bonus program around any specific segment of business or goal you’d like!

DO
Tier the bonus structure. Add an even more delicious opportunity for your staff after they’ve hit the goal. Using the example above with a goal of $120k, add an additional incentive if you reach $130k. In sales, we call that a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal.) You’d be amazed at the enthusiasm you can generate around a big, fat opportunity.

DO
Train. Train. Train.
Just implementing a program isn’t enough. You need to host regular training to you’re your staff achieve their goals.

DON’T
Be afraid to instill a little competition among your staff. Most owners I work with are afraid that competition is divisive but it can create a ton of energy and ultimately, great results!

DO
Make sure your goals are reasonable and achievable. Goals should be a stretch but not so stratospheric that they can’t possibly be met. If your goals are excessive, it will have the opposite effect of motivating your staff…it will discourage them.

Good luck in putting together your bonus program! If you have any questions, email me at success@angelcicerone.com

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

Is BOPIS right for your store?

Buy Online Pick Up In Store, also known as Click- to- Collect, is gaining traction with consumers and it’s easy to figure out why. They can purchase their desired products online 24/7 and be assured it will be at the store when they get there. It saves time, shipping costs and the customer can return it instantly if it doesn’t fit or meet their expectations.

BOPIS provides a frictionless experience for those who demand both the convenience of online shopping and the instant gratification of in-store shopping. It eliminates friction and importantly, the disappointment of finding the product isn’t available after driving to the store.

It’s a great benefit to the customer but perhaps, an even a bigger boon to retailers because 67 percent of BOPIS customers make additional purchases in store.* BOPIS gives you a competitive advantage by offering customers options for purchase and truly leverages your physical presence.  Plus, it’s important to get on the bandwagon now because according to Retail Touchpoints, 90 percent of all retailers will be offering BPOIS by 2021.

But I don’t sell online!

You don’t have to have a full ecommerce program to enjoy the benefits of BOPIS. Consider offering only best sellers for sale on your website or create a simple Facebook or Shopify store. Create a curated mix of best sellers, special offers or exclusives as part of your BOPIS program. By utilizing today’s easy- to- use and inexpensive online platforms, you can enjoy the benefits of omni-channel retailing without the expense of a full online store.

Best practices
Here are a few tips to make your BOPIS program effective.

Service
Provide a high level of service to customers who come in to pick up their purchases. Don’t just hand off the package. Train your staff to review the purchase with the customer to insure satisfaction and use the interaction to begin discussions about upsell and future purchase opportunities.  

Incentives to increase sales
There’s a good chance the customer will make an additional purchase while picking up their order, but if you want to create an additional incentive to do so, offer a bounceback during the pick up transaction valid for additional purchases only on the day of pick up.

Promote
As with any new service, promote it like crazy. Use all your digital assets, including website and social media, emails plus in-store signage and flyers with purchase to advise customers of the new opportunity.

Test before and during the holidays

If you decide to offer BOPIS this holiday season, be sure to take your systems for a test drive before the roll out. Who will be responsible for monitoring orders? Pulling and packaging items? Staff training? Marketing? Be sure your logistics and in-store experience is fine tuned to delight the customers and leave them wanting more!

*International Council of Shopping Centers, 2019

More isn’t More. What you can learn from Costco and Trader Joe’s.

I’ve been obsessed with reading about Trader Joe’s and Costco lately. We can learn a lot from these stellar companies, especially the way they so thoughtfully manage their product selection.  The key to their success  (and it’s not rocket science) is they offer what customers want to buy or at the very least, what customers think they want to buy (no one really needs a 25-pound tub of peanuts, right?)

The average Costco warehouse stocks only about 3700 SKU’s in a 144,000 square foot store. Just to give you an example of an extreme “more is more” mentality, I worked with a 3,000 square foot. toy store that stocked 4200 SKU’s! Visitors were so confused they just turned around and walked out.

Most examples of “more is more” aren’t this extreme but I see it all the time with my clients. An addition of a line here, a few new menu items there and none of it pays off in the end! The reason?

People don’t want more choices. They just want what they want!

Barry Schwartz, author of the Paradox of Choice, says too many choices can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and stress. By proudly offering a smartly curated collection of items that target your ideal customer avatar, Schwartz say you are claiming, “You can’t have everything but everything we’ve got is worth having.”

Are you guilty of the “more is more” mentality? If so, it probably a sign that either don’t know your customer as well as you should or don’t have confidence in your ability to purchase on their behalf.

But with a little research and a bit of confidence, you can get past this. And you really should. After all, your ability to purchase properly for your customer is the key to improved sales!

Here are a few tips to get started.

Pull POS reports of your top 20% sellers
Analyze them for 3-6 months. What do these items have in common

Were they in the same price range?
Were the majority sold to your best customers?
    Regular customers?
Were they all displayed in the same area or the same way?
Are the similar in nature or pricing?
Were they mostly sold by the same person?

You get the idea. Do a forensic deep dive into what’s selling to whom, when and why.
Yes, it takes a little effort but this is your business!

Now take a look at your bottom sellers
Can you find commonality in the items that always end up on the sale rack or rarely move?

 Put those bottom sellers on sale or take them off your menu! You don’t need them. They’re messing with cash flow and making your business less exciting. Going back to the toy store example, a sale- by- item report revealed only 1800 SKU’s had sold more than one in 6 months. That means more than half his stock never moved! His overbuying was killing his business.

Ask people what they want
I love the idea of doing short, in person surveys with customers and visitors. Just a few questions will get you a lot of information. Find out what types of items they like. The price points. How often they buy. How they use your products. Retail stores and restaurants are mini research labs. Every person that walks in can give you valuable feedback that will help you fine tune your selection to the point

Search for the unicorn
Once you’ve done the research and are more intimately connected with your customer avatar, look for one or two items that scream, “I know you and I know what you want.” In today’s retail environment, you have to find ways to distinguish yourself and the way to do that that is finding a few things that are exclusive to you and resonate beautifully with your tribe.

Take the time to go through the process. And don’t be afraid to offer less, especially when less can translate to improved sales and more loyal and emotionally connected customers. The last thing anybody needs is more stuff. They can go to Amazon for that!

Until next time remember….
You can do this!
Angel

Read more about Costco and Trader Joe’s.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trader-joes-how-gets-you-spend-money-psychologist-2019-1

https://thehustle.co/costco-membership-economics/amp/

Download my Customer Avatar Worksheet

Click here

Take a hot minute to figure out why you don't have enough time!

Warning! This blog contains tough love.

When you tell me “I don’t have time,” I get a little nuts.

  I don’t have time to implement new ideas.

I don’t have time to study my POS reports.

I don’t have time to map out a social media strategy.  

I don’t have time to run my business correctly!

WTH?

I’m not completely insensitive. I get that you’re busy. And overwhelmed. And perhaps confused about which step to take first.  So here are my best pieces of advice to help you dig out of the time spiral.  

1.  Put on your CEO hat.

Remember, you are the only one with the power – and the responsibility – to turn your business into everything you want it to be.

If you’re inundated with details and non-revenue producing tasks, it’s time to recalibrate.  Your job is to steer the high level thinking that produce maximum sales results. This is a non-negotiable.

2.  Stop.

Now, take a hot minute and figure out how you are spending your time. Keep a running daily calendar of tasks for about a week.  How much time are you on the sales floor? Doing administrative work? Ordering? Paying bills? Scheduling? Training? What is eating up your time? (BTW, serving your customers shouldn’t be considered a time suck. That’s kind of why you’re in business, isn’t it?)

3.  Figure out what you like doing.

What made you want to get into business in the first place?  You are, after all the CEO of your company and running it shouldn’t be torture. You should be able to do the things you like and enjoy — and are good at!

4.  Get creative about finding help.

How can you offload operational tasks and the duties you hate or aren’t great at when you can’t afford extra help?

Utilize current employees.
Most stores and restaurants have slow times and you can schedule certain tasks during those hours. Get your employees on board with a list of operational duties. Just 30 minutes per employee can make a huge difference! They can do everything from prepare weekly schedules to taking photos for social media posts to merchandising and reviewing POS reports for trends and opportunities.

If you need more help and can’t afford it, start small.
For example, maybe you can’t afford a social media consultant or visual designer, but you can afford to give one of your employees an extra two hours on the schedule each week to free up your time to do this. Use the time to attend a networking breakfast plan your marketing for the next quarter or create your social media posts. That’s certain worth an extra $20 or $30!

Hire a virtual assistant
For about $25 and hour, you can have a remote assistant a couple of hours per week to handle routine and recurring tasks. 

Even if money is tight, don’t let a $50 or $100 investment get in the way of y moving your business forward. You have to shake the tree a bit to create change.

Small expenditures can have a domino effect – to help increase sales and then, in turn, afford additional help.

5.  Calendar essential tasks

Now that you’re paying for some help, take full advantage of that extra time.  Paying an employee an extra two hours? Be sure to calendar those hours for yourself. Use them to work on the CEO tasks you’ve identified. Make that commitment so you don’t get sucked into the menial again, defeating the purpose.

6. Commit to making the short term sacrifices.

If your business is failing or flailing, you have to work right now, this minute, to improve it. There is no time to waste or complain about not having time! Doing the same thing over and over again isn’t going to affect change!

Make that full court press to improve business…and make it quickly. It may take a few sleepless nights or some really busy weeks but the results will be worth it.  Not prepared to make the sacrifice? Well, then you should probably reevaluate being a business owner because there will always be cycles of ups and downs that will make extraordinary demands on you.  It’s the nature of the beast.

7.  Ask yourself every day, “ What did I do today to move my business forward?”

When you look at your daily ”to do” list, start with the items that have the potential to improve your business. It’s that simple. At the end of the day, as long as you’ve done something that builds on your business potential, you’re good!

Owning a business is hard work.  So now you have two choices. The first is to make the time to dig in and get it done. The second choice is far less appealing.  

Until next time, remember…
You can do this!
Angel

How to Create an Easy and Effective Community Donation Strategy for Your Store or Restaurant

You’ve probably been approached hundreds of times to participate with local charities and asked to do everything from donate merchandise for silent auctions to springing for sponsorship dollars, organizing walking teams and buying tables at banquets.

Before you spend another dollar, take a minute to think about how you give your money, merchandise and time.

There are two ways to approach charitable giving. The first is altruistic. If you have a cause or passion in which you want to participate because it’s meaningful to you, by all means, do so. This is not a business decision, it’s one that comes from the heart.

The second is using charitable involvement as a business builder. For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll talk about the latter.

Let’s start with merchandise and gift card donations.

I highly recommend creating an annual budget and formal process for giving donations. This allows you to handle your giving gracefully and without creating bad feelings. You certainly don’t want to offend representatives of local organizations by having them think you are snubbing them or don’t take your community participation seriously. After all, they may be potential customers.

To avoid an uncomfortable situation, create a charitable donation request form for the organization to complete including their charity name, contact person, reason for the donation (i.e. silent auction, raffle, etc.), purpose of the charity, how long in business and their 501(c)3 number which a legitimate nonprofit must have and finally, what type of recognition you will receive for your donation, i.e. logo on all event marketing, signage at event, etc.

Explain to them:

•      As a small business, you have an annual budget for charitable giving

•      All requests must be submitted in writing

•      You evaluate all requests monthly, make your choices and will notify them of your decision at that time.

Be sure to review these forms on a regular predetermined timetable and notify all applicants of your decision.

The formal process will help mitigate bad feelings from the rejected parties and help you make the most of your charitable contributions.

Get Creative

There’s no law that says you need to give money or merchandise to support your local non-profits.  Think about:

Volunteering

Can your staff help at an event or fundraiser?

Creating an experience
How about a free wardrobe styling or haircut?  A cupcake baking or pizza making lesson? These experiences have great perceived value and help to build a one-on-one relationship with the potential customer.

After the giving

Keep the momentum going by continuing to yourself and your selected charities. Post signage in your store about upcoming events that your involved in. Promote them on your website and social media as well. At the end of the year, compile a list of your selected charities and encourage customers to include them in their charitable giving.

Bottom line

Take a few minutes to create a process and through in a couple of creative ideas. It will save time, make your store or restaurant stand out from the fray of ordinary gift cards givers and establish your business as a valuable member of your community

If you’d like a free copy of the Charitable Donation Form Template, go to https://www.angelcicerone.com/charitable-donation

Until next time remember, you can do this!
Angel

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9 Deadly Retail Customer Service Sins

Personalized service and attention is the hallmark of small business and customer satisfaction is the key to retention. Is your staff doing its part to promote loyalty? Keep a careful eye out for these transgressions in your store or restaurant.

9 Deadly Customer Service Sins

1. Making a customer wait to pay
    Whether it's a line at the cashwrap or waiting for the check in a restaurant, 
    making a customer wait to pay leaves a very bad last impression and 
    spoils an otherwise pleasant experience.

2. Associates chatting on cell phones or texting
    It's not just enough to have a no cell phone rule. You need to enforce it! 

3. Not having a customer's best interest at heart
    People are intuitive and know if you're efforts are insincere. Service and hospitality 
    come from the heart. Hire only those who care about an excellent outcome 
    for every customer.

4. No suggesting alternatives/upselling
    Visitors truly want to find the perfect item or service. Not making recommendations on 
    how you can potentially fill their desires is a disservice to them.

5. Ignoring a customer
    Pretty much says it all.

6. Not resolving complaints quickly and to the customer's satisfaction
    Would you rather be right or keep a customer? The choice is yours.

7. Sales associates don't have product knowledge
    One of the big reasons people patronize independently owned businesses is for depth 
    of product knowledge not found in impersonal, larger stores.

8. Not validating a customer's purchase
    A customer should be congratulated for every purchase in your establishment. 
    "You're going to love this."  "I know you'll be happy with this."  
    In other words, you've made the right decision shopping with us!

9. Pre-judging the customer's desire or ability to buy
    We don't judge in sales. We assume everyone is a potential customer and work 
    towards that inevitability. Even those visitors who seem difficult or distracted may be 
    back another day ....if treated well.

The best way to insure great customer service is to make it the cornerstone of your store's experience and consistently train staff in the skills and attitude necessary to provide an exceptional experience.

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel