Sunday, February 13, 2011

GoodBye Blogger.

I am not moving to Hawaii. I am moving somewhere closer.

Tuesday February 15th is a very special day. It is the day that I launch my new company website: Cavern Retail Consulting (CRC). Included in that launch is a new home for my blog.
So I hope you will visit me at my new home on the www.

I think you are going to like it!

www.CavernRetailConsulting.com

Friday, February 4, 2011

CRC Website...Coming Soon!

I have been continuing to work on my Cavern Retail Consulting website. It has been about 3 weeks since my last post. In that post I outlined my first steps:

1) Contacting a designer.
2) Filling out a questionnaire about my company, and my expectations for my new site:
( Your Organization and your New Website)
3) Receiving and reviewing the quote from the designer,and providing the deposit.


Over the last 3 weeks I have spoken to my designer every 2 or 3 days. This has kept both of us on track and engaged in the project.

To start, I was e-mailed 3 different 'looks' for my website. It was explained that what I liked or didn't like about each of them would move the designer forward in my preferred direction. It appeared that I liked round shapes, not square ones. I liked photos with a soft, rather than a hard feel. I preferred cool colours to neutrals.

With the above information, a basic look and layout for my home page and my interior pages was designed. I was also asked to decide how many pages I thought I needed, and menu buttons were named to reflect the future pages.

I would estimate that the above, took me 3 days at the most. The next step was, and continues to be, the most challenging and rewarding thing about designing my website. The CONTENT.

I had to provide the content for each page. In my case, because I am my product...the 'About Me' and the 'Services' pages have been where I had to do the most thinking and writing,and re-writing. I had a bit of an advantage. I had been working as a consultant before I started designing this site. This gave me experiences,and aspirations to draw from. My other advantage was that I had always liked writing, and had taken an online writing course last year. I have also written almost 200 blog posts. After I e-mailed my copy to the designer, a day or so passed, and I was e-mailed back a 'mock up' of each page. The thing I liked was that the designer had re-organized my words, and added photos, quotes in the side bar etc. It was at this phase that I really began to appreciate the skills of an experienced designer. I can see my website becoming something that reflects me and my business. These little adjustments are what add character and personality to a page full of WORDS. I finally began to understand what this process has been all about.

My designer gave me some great advice. He said that I didn't have to think of this site as 'WRITTEN IN STONE'. I really appreciated that. I tend to be the kind of person who likes to work until something is 'RIGHT', whatever that means. I realized yesterday that my site does look good, my words make sense, and are written in my voice. I will see the site on Sunday, in it's almost final form...

To be Continued...

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

BOGO MADNESS...I Don't Understand!!

I was at The Village at Park Royal last week. If you have a Retail Store, you are aware, that January means one thing...CLEARANCE TIME! When I go into a store in January, I expect to see 2 things: A regular priced section...with new Spring merchandise, and a SALE section, with clearance merchandise. The store windows may have different messages,but each store should have something on sale.

We headed into a store that had huge BOGO signs in the window. I know from experience, that BOGO can mean several different things. You have to enter the store, and read the signs, and especially the small print to understand the offer.
In this store, the sign on the first rack said " Buy one get one 50% off." Other racks had signs that said "BOGO." Some racks had no signage, yet had sale prices marked on each tag. There were also a few racks that had no signage, and no sale prices.

The store had a poor layout. There was a maze of racks, with no defined SALE section. My friend took a few items into the change room. While I waited, I observed a conversation between the sales associate and the only other customer, at the till. The customer's items had come to a little over $100. The customer disputed the amount saying that if 1 item had been $34, then the second item should have been $17, not $24 as she had been charged. She had 4 items in total. The associate kept pointing to the till and saying that the amount was correct. The customer then walked over to the rack with the SALE sign that said, "Buy one item, get the next item for 50% off", and read the words out loud. The associate said that perhaps the customer had forgotten that tax was charged on each item. The customer asked for a pencil and paper, to manually add up the items, and asked the associate to re-do the transaction in the till, doing 2 items, and then 2 items, and read her the total. There was more explanations, and the customer left.

By this time my friend had chosen 3 items, and I warned her that there seemed to be confusion at the till. My friend put her 3 items down on the counter, and the conversation proceeded almost identically to the other customers. My friend got irritated, and muttered something about false advertising, after learning that to take advantage of the BOGO, 2 items would have to be from the same rack...otherwise it was the sale price as marked. Things were further confused as my friend had only 3 items. The associate actually suggested that she purchase a fourth item, to take advantage of the larger discount! To my complete amazement, my friend purchased her 3 items. As we left, I believe I heard the associate let out a sigh. I felt sorry for all of us.

When we were outside, I looked at the Store window again and realized that all the huge sign said, was BOGO. No small print, no other information. I told my friend that I was surprised that she would reward the Retailer by making a purchase when she was clearly being mislead. She said that the one piece only cost $10, so it was OK. I also felt empathy for the associate, who's marketing department had designed the misleading and confusing sign package. I believe that this associate was doomed to replay this comedy of errors with every customer she served. How motivated would she be to come to work the next day? The other issue, was the fact that the store was very heavy with sale stock. The stock looked to be from the past 2 or 3 seasons. Why didn't the Retailer want to clear the stock in a legitimate way, with a simple: Buy one get one free? I know that Spring stock is arriving every few days, Don't they need the cash flow?

I checked out this Retailer's website and found the home page covered in 'Promotion Speak.' Here is exactly what their Promotion Poster said:

" Buy one, Get one 50% off
all sale items
item of equal or lesser value, select styles.
Offer subject to change without notice."


The website was the only web presence this Retailer had. Too bad they didn't have a business Facebook page. If they had, they would have been able to have a dialogue with their customers. Some of those customers may have commented on the Retailers convoluted and misleading BOGO promotion. Perhaps someone in their marketing department would have read the multiple negative comments, and considered a solution to the obvious problem. Perhaps the store managers and associates would have gotten in on the conversation, allowing customers to know that the BOGO policy was changing effective immediately, and offering all customers who shopped their stores in the month of January a $10 coupon to be used, NO STRINGS attached, anytime they like, as an apology for the confusion.

But they don't have a Facebook page. I don't believe they have a future, either.
Have you ever had a Retail experience like this? Did you complain? Leave a comment here, or on my Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/pages/Cavern-Retail-Consulting/130690110314227

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Groupon...Is it good or bad for your business?

I have been doing a lot of reading this month. Reading articles,e-books and white papers on Retail and Social Media is a big part of my job as a Retail Consultant. Most business owners are far too busy operating their businesses to do a lot of reading. I summarize and present the information I think the owner needs to know.

Are you familiar with Groupon? I learned about it through an interior designer friend of mine. It looked like fun. Money saving coupons in your in-box. Only good for 1 day! I signed up. But lately,the 'deals' seem to be getting more and more outrageous.

Today's 'Deal' is a great example:
ONLY $149 for an In-Office ZOOM Teeth Whitening treatment! A $450 Value!! OR...$69 for an at home Teeth Whitening Treatment, a $250 Value...a 72% DISCOUNT.


I don't know about you...but I simply don't believe this. Not one word of it. I was a retailer for almost 20 years, and the one or two times I offered something at a 60% discount...I lost money for months! The REASON I offered the discount as a last resort,was to clear stock very late in the season that NOBODY wanted. Wool sweaters in July. Regular price $89.00 Sale price $19.99. I still SHUDDER at the memory.

If these dentists want to offer a discount on teeth whitening, do they pay their hygeinists 72% less wages to perform the treatment? WHY is teeth Whitening ON SALE in the first place? Is the treatment flawed in some way? If I purchase this 'DEAL', will I be able to use it in a reasonable amount of time? Will the hygeinist doing the treatment use only 1/2 the product? Do You Care? Or do you think that the original price of $450 was SO artificially inflated, that $149 is probably closer to the REAL price of the treatment?

If you are interested in reading a fascinating 11 part series on Groupon, complete with real case studies, and pages of comments, pro and con...visit Bob Phibbs Blog. He calls Groupon the Worst Marketing for your local business. Here's a quote:

" Just because millions of merchants have fallen under the spell of Groupon, a PR juggernaut, and their like, it doesn't mean you should. It's a killer alright. a profit-killer." Bob Phibbs-The Retail Doctor

Remember what your mother told you about following your friends off a cliff? This series is eye-opening...and demonstrates what happens when you don't adhere to the old adage, 'if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.'

I would appreciate your comments. If you need an opinion before signing on with Groupon...I would be happy to speak with you. Before another Retailer gets hurt!

http://www.retaildoc.com/blog/groupon-worst-marketing-business/

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Customer Service: Version 2.0

This is a very cute baby. This baby is just learning to talk, so communicating with him is a bit of a challenge. Sometimes he seems to be saying something and I don't understand...and I expect it's the same situation for him, with me.

I read a great article on today's customer, and their expectations around customer service...and it made me think about babies. Customers seem to need such care and attention these days. They also will tell you some things that you don't always understand...until they never come back to shop at your store. It's then, you wished you could have had a real conversation to determine what they wanted, or needed...but sometimes it's too late.

The article is titled: Customers want relationships, not low prices. Please,click on this link and have a look. I think outstanding customer service should ALWAYS be considered the number one priority of your business. This article examines customer service from the CUSTOMER'S point of view. I think you will find it worth reading.

http://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/article_print/177147/Opinion-Customers-want-relationships-not-low-prices

Friday, January 14, 2011

My New CRC Website: First Steps

Shortly after New Years Day, I started working with a company to design my new CRC company website. I am going to blog about the various steps involved in building a B2B website from scratch.

Step one: I contacted someone I had previously worked with about possibly designing a site for me. I knew this person, as he had done some work on my previous Retail Store's website. We had one or 2 phone conversations regarding what I thought I wanted, and he sent me an e-questionnaire entitled:

Your Organization and Your New Website. It contained approximately 30 questions. Some questions were around who I was as a business, and some questions were around the actual design of the site. I filled it out on-line, and e-mailed it back to him.

After reading my responses, I was contacted again, and invited to a face to face meeting. We went over the questionnaire in more detail, and was given a price quote. If we were to move forward, I was to be given a formal quote outlining the services I was to expect and I and needed to provide him with a deposit of approximately half of the final price. I agreed to get back to him in a day or so.

To be continued...

The 2011 Retail Recovery

I just got back from a trip to the Okanagan. I was only gone for 5 days...but I really had a LOT of e-mails waiting for my attention in my 'IN' Box. So, for the last few days, I have been sorting through them. I realized that of course, it is January! January seems to be the month where if you are studying Social Media and or Marketing, as I am...every organization is coming up with a recap of last year...or a forecast for this year!! I have downloaded and printed my fair share of relevant articles, and e-books in the last few days, but this morning I read something that really got me thinking.

I receive an e-newsletter from a company called Retail Customer Experience. They were reporting on the 2011 National Retail Federation's Convention and Expo in New York. One of the speakers was Matthew Rubel: Chairman and CEO of Collective Brands. He was one speaker on a panel that was discussing " Retail's Prospects For Recovery in 2011". I found his quote to be brilliant:

" Focus on your customers" he said. " Innovate for them. Know how they shop and why they shop. Buy low, sell high, keep your overheads low. Anybody who goes beyond those fundamentals will wander."I feel this quote is incredibly timely, because it's so simple. I believe that with the huge amount of information we are bombarded with on a daily basis, comes the feeling that life is far more complicated than it used to be. This quote cuts to the HEART of having a Retail business. Keep it simple...and you will prosper. Remember the basics...Look after your customers, and watch your bottom line.

I think that this is great advice, and a little wake up call for any of us trying to over complicate what is essentially a very simple industry.

Here's to a GREAT 2011!!