2012 and The New Rules of Retailing
Posted on Tue, Jan 03, 2012
My mother used to tell me stories about her father, a grandfather I had never met, who was a produce peddler in Superior, Wisconsin. He would use a phrase constantly to explain all of the changes taking place in the country in the early part of the 1900s. He would simply say, “It's a new America.” Can you imagine if he were alive today?
As the great entertainer of that generation, Al Jolson, would say, “You ain’t seen NOTHING yet.” We are experiencing changes at lighting fast speeds. We better adapt and adopt quickly, otherwise we will be left holding an empty shopping bag.
The traffic count of shoppers going into stores has reached its ALL TIME PEAK in 2011. Oh sure, you can be clever and creative and have a successful promotion that will bring a new peak in the amount of people crossing your threshold. I don’t mean to take those initiatives lightly, after all that is the backbone of my business, creating promotions that make registers ring.
However, the facts speak for themselves. You don’t need to even read all the surveys, sales data, and all of the online reporting to see the shift from buying at retail to purchasing online. (I am writing this article as I am traveling with my wife back home after the holidays. She got up to go to the news store at the airport. She said she was looking for a book to read on the trip. That seemed strange to me because she now reads all of her books on her iPad. She returned without a book and I asked, “Didn’t you see anything you wanted?” Her response was, “Oh no. I have 3 good ideas. I just want to check the reviews online then download it from Amazon.”
The poor retailer was just a free catalog for Amazon. That is just the beginning. Brides think nothing of going into bridal shops to try on bridesmaid dresses, have the store take all the measurements, and buy it online. That sucks but that is the new Retail Reality.
The new acronym is P.C.R. which stands for Party, Conversion, and Returnability. There are the 3 Legs of the Stool of The New Retail Reality.
The Party Principle means that a store must be Event Driven. We need to attract more people through our front doors. We must create an event calendar of all type of activities, from Anniversary promotions, to classes, to book signings by local authors and, of course, price-driven events. We MUST become party planners and event mangers. Thus the name.
What is the biggest part of any party? Deciding who to invite and how you are going to invite them. Then you want your guests excited about coming to your party. We need to create the buzz, the spin, the word of mouth advertising that turns a party into an Event.
That’s why the most important part of the process is our commitment to all of the new ways to communicate that Social Media provides. From blogs, to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. This might be tough for some BUT it is a requirement today.
The Conversion Formula is all about making the register ring. It is all about converting lookers into buyers. It is where the rubber meets the road. Here is the formula to generate additional revenue immediately:
Interested Buyer + Visual Enhancements + Human Touch Point = Sales!
Visual Enhancements encompass all of the ways that we visually display our merchandise including the store layout and our interior advertising initiatives, AKA our instore signage program. Signs Sell. This is not only the title of my new book but it is the single fastest way to immediate sales increases.
The other aspect of the conversion formula is the Human Touch Point. It is the service we offer but it is also how we sell. Yes, Retailing is Selling. I strongly recommend that every retailer adopt my GREAT Selling System. It is from my book, The Retail Sales Bible, and knowing how to sell is a critical element to the Conversion Formula.
The Returnablity Quotient is the part of the process that insures that customers return again and again. Not only to the store but return on a regular basis to your website. Look for my new book this year called the Returnability Quotients… 101 Ways to Have Customers or Clients Return to Your Websites Again and Again.
This is a science today and I can’t wait to share my finding with all of you. Until then, think about the 3-legged stool. With one leg for The Party, one for Conversions, and one for Returnability. Of course, you could also look at it as the 3-headed dragon that is all-powerful making, this an all-powerful concept!