Refocus, Reposition, Regrow…

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Every year I look at the webinars that I will be doing for the upcoming year and I look at the hot topics of the day and how they will affect my readers. This year, there is an overabundance of new ways of doing business for all of us to consider. The majority of the changes are within the area of communications with our customers. As new technologies are uncovered, they open up new opportunities for all of us to change the way we do business to make it more customer focused, enhancing the shopping experience, and in many cases reducing our cost of doing business.

The world is changing and we must change with it. Business conditions are challenging but there is business to be had and great stores are doing business. They are finding their niche for merchandise that they sell and they cater to a select group of customers who appreciate what the store does and how the store does it.

Let me give you the cold hard facts that you probably already know and really don't want to accept. 2011 will go down in retail history as the peak year for in-store traffic. The exodus from the brick and mortar store to buying online has reached epic proportions. The sales increases for online merchants are in the double digit range which is remarkable considering all of the increases this sector has had. It’s no longer having a website and selling from the website, online selling has become a requirement and, for many, a great source for revenue.

Here is the list of webinars we will be conducting starting the end of January. They are as follows:

January 25, 2012

What’s Hot in Communicating with Your Customers

The way we reach customers today has become our most valuable asset. At one point, all we needed was their home address and phone number and we were connected to that customer. We’ve gone beyond that stage to e-mail marketing and now social media – texting and sharing our planned events. Retail communication technology has come a long way. This program is not for “techies.”

The participant will learn the hottest new trends in reaching your customers and treating your preferred customers as preferred customers.

You will learn:

1. The things that you can implement immediately and have the biggest bang for your buck.
2. The power of QR codes.
3. Why there are better alternatives to e-mail marketing.
4. Mastering calls to action.
5. The power of landing pages.
6. Why advertising as we know it is dead.
7. An overview of Twitter and Facebook.

This power packed session will open your eyes and even change the way you think about communicating with your customers. This is not to be missed.

February 29, 2012

Retailing is Selling

Customers crossing the threshold of a retail store today have become as rare and valuable as gold. We cannot afford to lose a sale and we can’t let add-on sales opportunities slip through our fingers. The Retail Sales Bible has become an instant success and the training packages that accompany the book are now being used by some of the biggest and best retailers in the world.

This program reviews the steps it takes for sales excellence.

You will learn:

1. The first step of selling is selling ourselves.
2. The secrets to Likeability and having the customer buy us first.
3. The Greeting – how powerful it is and the effects it has to set the mood and get the customer ready to buy.
4. Researching – study after study proves that the more we ask questions of potential customers the more they will buy
5. Experimenting – suggesting merchandise to the customer and the secrets to avoid painting yourself in a corner.
6. The Add-On – this is where retailers make their money; you already have the customer who likes you and has bought from you, failure to suggest another item is criminal.
7. Tethering – the skill of extracting information about a customer so that we can service and sell them better.
8. The do’s and don’ts of selling – the things to avoid and the things to embrace that will make everyone a more effective salesperson.

March 28, 2012

Motivating your Employees for Peak Performance

The success of our business depends on the performance of our employees. Learn the techniques of the masters and become a more effective manager who generates strong sales results.

You will learn:

1. How to master the skill of being up when they’re down and down when they’re up.
2. How to understand monkey management and the subconscious power of copying.
3. The effectiveness and the team building capabilities of the compliment concept
4. How to identify the pillars of good management.
5. How to understand bad management and how businesses fail.

We are only as strong as our weakest link. We need the skills to strengthen those links that this program offers.

April 25, 2012

The Returnability Quotient

What’s the sense of building a website where the customer only goes once? The goal is to make your website exciting with the power to make you return again and again. This program is the result of a research project that Rick Segel & Associates was asked to participate in and conduct for the best ways that retailers and small businesses employ to have their customers return to their site over and over. There will be excerpts from the book 101 Ways to Have People Return to your Website Again and Again.

You will learn:

1. The most common, proven techniques that can be implemented easily at a minimum cost.
2. How to harness the power of event marketing
3. The surprising impact that product reviews have had on retail businesses
4. The effects of texting and other communication vehicles>
5. The use of surveys and customer opinion goals
6. Some of the off the wall techniques that are considered on the fringe today but will be mainstream in a relatively short period of time.

The more people go to your website, the greater opportunities they have to buy from you. The key element of returnability is the word “free” and the consistent and long-term management commitment to this type of endeavor.

May 23, 2012

Planning your Promotional Calendar – Event/Promotional

Retail stores have become event driven. The challenge comes when we define what events are. They are not all sale events or price reduction events. These events include things such as trunk shows, fashion events, educational workshops and seminars, clearance sales, bounce back coupon events, online only promotions, etc., etc. This program is the complete package of retail tools and tips that will make all of us better retailers.

You will learn:

1. Ways to handle price reduction events.
2. How to promote your event and to what audience.
3. How to coordinate your social networking with your in-store promotions.
4. That rarely is there a bad promotion or a great promotion.
5. That the key is constantly promoting and building a base from these promotions.

This is why it is important to plan your promotions in advance so that you can have on your calendar a list of things that need to be done prior to the promotions.

June 20, 2012

Visual Merchandising for the Artistically Deprived and Financial Handicapped

This program is one of the few programs that is being repeated from previous years. However, the program is always different because we will be featuring different stores and critiquing their visual expressions and how their store looks and feels in the eyes of the consumer.

You will learn:

1. Basic customer service skills.
2. Why selling is really service and service is really selling.
3. What colors work well together and what colors don’t.
4. Visual merchandising challenges from real stores and real people and what we can learn from their experiences.

We will be accepting applications from stores that would like to be evaluated online by Rick Segel himself which will pay huge dividends in the near future. This program will accommodate as many people as possible and is one of the longest programs we will do this year.

July 25, 2012

Website Review

This always popular program will critique 3-5 websites and give pointers on how to improve them and techniques that are being used by many but might not be used by yours. Or this program, we will be looking for any stores that would like to have their websites reviewed.

You will learn:

1. How to attract more customers to your website.
2. Proven techniques that build consistent traffic.
3. The power of the Call-To-Action and what it can do to the effectiveness of your site.
4. Why product reviews should be on your site.
5. The effective use of the logos for Twitter and Facebook on your site.
6. The way customers surf and find us.
7. Why landing pages are part of effective websites.

This program will accommodate all volunteers who are willing to submit their website for review and commentary. This has been our number one program every series and will probably receive the same high marks as in previous years.

August 29, 2012

The Power of PR and How to Get It

Advertising you pay for and public relations you pray for. Advertising has the ability to transform a business overnight. An appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show has represented millions to that vendor. The majority of the guests on all of the major and minor talk shows don’t just happen; they are “pitched and proposed” by some of the best public relations people in the business.

A few years ago I worked with a store that had been in business for 28 years and would always maintain a 3-5% sales increase until one year where sales jumped way over 40%. How is this possible? That person wrote a simple guide to buying a wedding dress that was picked up by a news service and the rest is one of the greatest retail success stories known to mankind.

Many people believe that’s not a maintainable increase in sales. There are two ways to answer that. It’s OK, an increase in sales is an increase in sales. It sure beats a decrease in sales. Plus, you are exposing so many more people to your business.

This program will cut through the maze of public relations advice and narrow it down to the techniques that you can adopt as you feel comfortable and are capable of implementing immediately.

You will learn:

1. The power of the headline in everything you do.
2. How to write benefit-oriented material .
3. Why timing is key .
4. The killer words and phrases that get noticed .
5. How to get your reader excited about what you’re writing.

In addition to the list above, there are five more must-know techniques in becoming a darling of the media. This program has the ability to change your business forever.

September 19, 2012

Learning how to Read your Financial Statement , AKA Know the Numbers that Affect your Business

This program is not for bookkeepers or accountants. It is also not for anyone who can analyze a financial statement. This is a basic, “The numbers you need to know, what they represent, and how it affects you” type of program.

There are far too many retailers every year who hear the message from their accountants indicating that they had a strong sales year but they don’t have any money to show for it. Why does that happen? Simply because the retailer spent all of their money and profits on stock and their assets are hanging on their shelves and on their racks.

You will learn:

1. That just because you’re doing business doesn’t mean you’re making money.
2. The effects of markdowns and markups and why they are so critical.
3. Why some stores are highly successful staying small and why larger stores can experience financial Armageddon.
4. Why overbuying is NOT the root that causes financial disasters.
5. Simple formulas that will make you a better owner, a savvier business person and your own personal consultant.

In addition to the above, you will learn simple controls that will address your needs, your concerns, and are appropriate for any size retailer today. It is accounting for people who hate accounting.

October 24, 2012

Store Layout and Design

Recently, a major retail chain did a store layout change. They changed their floor plans from a straight line with displays on the end caps to a circular racetrack type of style. The people who worked in the store hated it and their customers complained constantly about this new layout. After only a seven week test, the company adopted the design for all of their stores even though everyone hated it. Why would they do that?

The answer is simple. They hated it because they were not used to it. As people get older they don’t like change or surprises. Therefore, this major change would have upset a rather vocal group. The reason why they adopted the change was because the sales numbers were so spectacular that they couldn’t help but adopt this change.

The question is, “What was so powerful?” It was the simple fact that customers were exposed to more merchandise. Look at it this way – if a customer were to go into a supermarket and their eyes reviewed 500 different products and labels and they ended up buying 70 pieces what would it be like if they were exposed to 1,000 items?

This program on layout will discuss various store designs and models that can make immediate impacts on a business. It is a combination of organization, display and financial savvy that can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

You will learn:

1. The best layouts for your business.
2. The power of creating a positive shopping experience.
3. How to change layouts for maximum performance during various season .
4. Why a store should always look full regardless of the season and the techniques to making it appear full .
5. A better understanding of the use of color and props that enhance store layouts and designs .

November 28, 2012

Free Advice: Networking and How To Do It, Plus Ways To Build Advisory Committees and Boards Of Directors

There’s an untapped source that pays huge dividends that seems to only be employed by the savviest of businesses. There are three varieties of free advice.

1. Networking – Networking is sharing information with other business owners who have struggled and have overcome some of the same challenges as you have.
2. Creating Advisory Boards – An Advisory Board is made up of your customers who meet quarterly for the purpose of sharing firsthand information, not only about your store but about other stores as well
3. Boards of Directors – Boards are comprised of business leaders, consultants, accountants and even salespeople you deal with. They become your business advisors and ambassadors for your business.

You will learn:

1. The importance of having Advisors.
2. Why they are paid so little
3. The motivations for people wanting to serve on your Board
4. How to make your Board of Directors your eyes and ears to business trends
5. How to attract first class Board members to serve on your Board
6. How to make your Board of Advisors your eyes and ears for shopping in your area and have them become a type of mystery shopper
7. How to form Boards
8. The secrets of power networking

This program will change the way you look at advisors and boards of directors and why they should become an integral part of your business intelligence.

December 19, 2012

Breakthrough Tools To Use For a Better 2013

Just as texting has changed the way we communicate with customers and how Facebook has become a requirement for retailers, there are new and exciting tools available today that were conceived within the past year.

You will learn:

1. The next generation of Facebook.
2. The importance of video in your business.
3. Why video is so cost effective.
4. New-age preferred customer programs that generate loyalty
5. New applications for your mobile telephone.
6. The yet-to-be-proven new concepts that will make some of your systems obsolete.
7. Why there is a stampede to the Cloud and how it will affect all of us

From the time this description is published to the time when the program will commence there will be tools that will have been created which didn’t exist at the time this description was written. Yes, the world is changing that quickly. Attend this program and see why.