Here's a practical suggestion that can be as much fun as it will be informative. Assume various shopper perspectives; then, shop your store. For example, if you are not physically disabled, sit in a wheel chair to shop. Start outside as even your entryway might add to your perspective. Carry a squirming child to see how quality is communicated to the young mother. You get the idea. Every perspective needs to be "WOW'd" differently if you want to communicate a "shopper-first focus." Then again, isn't that what we are all about?

Research suggests that customers prefer service that improves as the shopping experience unfolds. This says that checkout should be a highly choreographed process designed to impress the customer. It's the punctuation point on the entire shopping experience. Be sure you leave an exclamation point . . . not a question mark.

Here's a bit of information I personally relate to. A recent survey found that 64 percent of shoppers say they will leave a store if the checkout takes too long. Is that you, too? Annoying, isn't it?! Will you go back if the experience at checkout is slow? You might be interested to know that 70 percent of shoppers said "No." Leaves us with a challenge, doesn't it!

My wife and I recently replaced all of our counter tops with granite. Before you think, "Wow, that must have cost a bundle!" let me say we got a great deal. The price was terrific, the sales personnel were pleasant, and the installer did a fantastic job. BUT . . . there was one very small detail that needed finished. Not to worry, I thought, so I paid the bill based on their promise to finish the next day. It has now been three weeks and the job is still not done. I cannot even get the company to return my calls. Lots of promises, no fulfillment. Here's the point I am coming to: 99½ percent of the job got my rave reviews – the countertops look beautiful! It would be easy and natural to send business their way. But it is the ½ percent unfulfilled that is determining my impression of the company, driving these comments, and preventing me from recommending them to anyone. See how many people are ultimately affected when we ignore the little things? No detail is inconsequential.

Sometimes a good quote stands alone and needs no other comments added. Here's one. "Remember their size, remember what you sold them last time. Make them feel important! If you can make people feel important, they are going to come back. Everybody likes to feel important!"*

* Robert C. Prus, Making Sales: Influence as Interpersonal Accomplishment (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1989), 225

Business has discovered that it costs six times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one . . . and that 68 percent of all business lost can be attributed to poor customer service! Not sure whether you're delivering good customer service? Hire a secret shopper to check you out. It just might be some of the best money you will spend.

According to Willard N. Ander and Neil Z. Stern in their delightful book, "Winning at Retail," the top four reasons given by customers when they're asked to define great customer service are:

1. Having the product they are looking for that solves their needs – and having it in stock.
2. Having a store that is logically laid out so customers can find what they want without wasting their time. This includes proximity of similar products, clear signage, and fast–moving checkout lines.
3. Having information readily available to answer questions and to help the customer decide what to buy. This can include signs, brochures, and/or salespeople.
4. Friendly, knowledgeable people.

Ander and Stern go on to say that customers and retailers have very different notions about customer service. Retailers tend to define great customer service as hand-holding, smiling, and heavy doses of "yes ma'am, yes sir, thank–you–very–much–and–have–a–nice–day." Look again at the four top reasons given by customers when they're asked to define great customer service. Notice that "friendly" personnel is only fourth most important. So . . . how is your customer service?

(Quoted liberally from "Winning At Retail: Developing a Sustained Model for Retail Success." John Wiley & Sons, 2004)

Running a successful business is all about the choices. Make the right choices and life generally smiles at you. Make the wrong ones, and well, few of us get any kudos. Starting, and running, a business is all about the choices. Is it the right business? Is it the right time to start a business? Do we have the right capacities to run a successful venture? Then, there are other choices: which manager, which sales personnel, how many, brand, and the like. It is very easy to get excited at the prospect of becoming an entrepreneur, and to assume that these and other choice–decisions can be made on the run. They can’t. Think long . . . and hard . . . before taking even the first step. Do your homework. Whereas time waits for no one, and opportunities generally must be grasped quickly, the success of your business requires careful consideration at all stages of the process – beginning with a feasibility study. If you are uncertain how to proceed, we can help you. Give us a call. Oh, by the way, if you're not having hilarious fun while you’re at it, you might want to ask, "Why not?"

The Container Store culture operates by an equation that goes something like this: One average employee equals three lousy employees. One good employee equals three average employees, and one great employee equals three good employees. If you extend this logic, it says that if you hire great people who are three times as productive, you can pay them twice as much and still come out ahead. Think maybe that’s what we need to consider in our retail culture?

Here's one to think about – marketing experts tell us that all those "abnormally happy" faces we see in television commercials actually add believability to the product being sold. In other words, we are much more likely to purchase a product that's being demonstrated by someone who is smiling. Now the drill down – it matters whether your store associates are happy . . . and smiling. Happy staff make happy shoppers . . . happy shoppers make happy customers . . . and happy customers bring many happy returns.

Have fun out there!

Wondering how to "bring up the subject" in a corrective conference with one of your staff? Try this phrase. "I have a problem . . . and I need your help." It's a great non–threatening opener. Then, state the problem and impact, and ask your employee how to handle.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the biggest complaint from employees in not about pay or security as one might imagine. Rather, it’s that someone isn’t doing his or her share of the work. Your move.

A national survey by Office Team, an employment agency, found that nearly 14 percent of the average work week is wasted because of poor communication. That's nearly 280 hours each year! Well worth the effort to see how you’re doing.

Many of us have trouble letting-go of responsibilities – especially if it means turning them over to one of our staff. When we do so properly, however, nearly everyone gains (organizations, employee, you). Here's how to delegate well.

• Before assigning a task, be sure you can define the problem. Good solutions don’t emerge for abstract problems.
• Confirm that the assignee is aware the baton is being passed. Putting the assignment in writing is one such way. Asking for the assignment to be repeated back to you is another.
• Clarify your expectations. Be clear. Instructions do not flow by osmosis.
• Contribute your experience. State what you have learned, or think, about the problem.
• Set a target date for completion.
• Be accessible for legitimate, impromptu progress reports but have your own schedule for follow-up. Never assume that assignment of the task means the task will be completed.
• Rigorously resist the temptation to do staffs' thinking for them. Give guidance, but make them do their own thinking.

(Adopted liberally from J.D. Baton’s Tough Minded Management.)

Ever wonder why so many retail thrift shops can succeed in relatively small communities? Treasure hunters! They're the great folks who make our jobs fun. They carefully glean through another's castoffs . . . in search of treasure. It doesn't matter that there are other stores. Each shopper is unique and each has potential gold waiting to be discovered. Capture this powerful customer reality in your shopper experience and you will never be "just another thrift store."

What are you selling? Really! So much is donated, how do you determine what to put out for sale? TQT suggests you stop selling the best of what is donated and, rather, identify what the customer is actually buying. Too often "what is donated" governs "what is sold." Check your retail numbers carefully, then sell what is selling instead.

"It's the start of a new month . . . Have I learned anything?" Come to think of it, that’s a great question to ask yourself every month. Here's why. At the conclusion of each 30 day period, you have one more, formal opportunity to drill down into what your store's performance is trying to tell you. If principally, you capture gross revenue numbers, then bounce against prior year comparative months, you get one bit of information, i.e. whether your store pulled more (or fewer) dollars than prior months. Assuming that you acknowledge all of your expenses (this month and in prior comparatives), you may also derive a valid net income bottom–line. That's good. If this is largely as far as you go, however, you are missing some very important efficiency indicators, like "What is it costing you per net dollar raised?" "What is your net income per employee hour?" "Which product is pulling best net dollars, and is the respective square footage of retail floor space allocated, commensurate with how well the product is pulling?"

Asking these, and many other similar questions, is for me the fun of retailing. The answers give you the tools you need to make informed decisions. In retailing as in nearly every other discipline, we get what we measure . . . and by implication, if we don't measure, getting it is left to chance. Talon Company staff are available to help you (1) determine what information is important to assessing – and improving – store performance, (2) identify the metrics which will provide that information, and (3) establish monitoring systems for monthly reporting.

Your programs and ministries are too important to leave dollars on the table. Give us a call. We would love to discuss how we can help.

Recently, a nonprofit leader asked me a very straightforward question: "Why should I hire Talon Company to evaluate my retail operation?" Very pointed, don’t you think! In lieu of answering, I asked these questions of him.

• Does your highest grossing retail item also produce the highest net return? Is this product also your net income leader in dollars generated per square foot?
• Do you track what it costs you to produce $1 of net income? If yes, are you pleased with the direction your costs are going?
• Do you know how to structure a bonus for your manager that can be an incredible win–win for both your agency and your store manager?
• Which of your staff are specifically tasked with selling? Is it written into the job description?

So – how would you have answered these questions? If you are less–than–satisfied with any one or more of your responses, you're probably leaving thousands of dollars on the table every year. Honestly! Enough of a reason?

Here's one to think about – marketing experts tell us that all those "abnormally happy" faces we see in television commercials actually add believability to the product being sold. In other words, we are much more likely to purchase a product that's being demonstrated by someone who is smiling. Now the drill down – it matters whether your store associates are happy . . . and smiling. Happy staff make happy shoppers . . . happy shoppers make happy customers . . . and happy customers bring many happy returns.

Have fun out there!

Today I spent a good amount of time getting my yard ready for the winter. Discarded flowers, tossed out potted plants, cut limbs, and hopefully gave the yard a final mowing. What I noticed is that for nearly the entire time I worked outside, my thoughts were on the coziness of the season. And you guessed it, Thanksgiving and Christmas! I thought of turkey, and pumpkin pie, and even smelled cinnamon.

Here's where I'm leading: retailers typically depend quite heavily on the 4th quarter to produce a disproportionate share of the year's total revenue. Though a majority of retailers are justifiably antsy about this year's projections (3.5% decline), some economists, e.g. Deloitte Research and TNS Retail Forward predict sales will be nearly the same as last year. Which will be true can only be revealed by time. What is not in dispute, however, is that consumer ability to spend is much less than last year. This means that more retailers – including your competitors – will be doing more both to attract shoppers and to get them to buy.

In a couple of informative articles¹, AP retail writer Anne D'Innocenzio notes that shoppers are looking for sales and real bargains. She observes that "Retailers hope embracing holiday traditions from cozier times will tempt recession-weary consumers to open their wallets."

So where do we go with this? Let me give you a hint: sensory marketing. If you must do more to (a) get customers into your stores, and (b) get the sale, use the senses–touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell. Remember, this year financially–weary shoppers want to be reminded of better times. Ask yourself, "How can I use the senses to remind shoppers of better times?" Obviously, your first challenge is to get a shopper to visit your store. What sense or senses would you use to get their attention? What would that look like? After you have successfully motivated a shopper to check you out, which sense or combination of senses might encourage purchasing? Remember my earlier comment that I "even smelled cinnamon" while working in my yard? For me, smelling cinnamon evokes strong images of apple and pumpkin pies and family-oriented gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Could you use a cinnamon or perhaps evergreen aroma to trigger a purchase decision in your store? There's a good chance you could.

Are you ready to play ball on this field? Customer loyalty will likely not pull too many new or return visits this year. To win at retail, you're going to have to earn every customer. Use the tools at your disposal, however, and the odds are that you'll have a prosperous season.

Enjoy the challenge!

¹ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091004/ap_on_bi_ge/us_old_fashioned_holiday
http://www.wnep.com/business/sns-ap-us-retail-sales-outlook,0,4692555.story

Unmanaged time is opportunity lost. Distinguish your performance in this all–important area. Here are some practical tips for gaining mastery.

• Stand up and gradually move toward the door when it is time for a drop-in visit to end. The message is polite but unmistakable.
• Meet unwanted visitors outside your office and talk there.
• Say "No" if you don't have a minute.
• Rearrange your desk so that your natural line of sight is not out your office door.
• Write less – phone more.
• Stand up when the ideas stop flowing. Doing so can recharge the process.
• Clear your desk of distracting material.
• Set time limits on meetings. Hold to them.
• Require reports to be one page only.

Is your retail operation a program, or a business?  If you've not thought of it before, answer this question:  "Are you okay with a monthly loss IF you're able to meet physical, social, or spiritual needs in the process?"  If you said yes, you're probably running your business(es) with a program emphasis.  Now here's the real question:  "Does it matter?"  I contend that it does.

Here's why.  In the nonprofit world, we are generally accustomed to offering programs that cannot sustain themselves.  In fact, that's the principal reason the government grants 501(c)(3) status--there is a legitimate service need of a group of individuals, animals, etc. that cannot be met profitably by the private sector.  Hence, the government "subsidizes" remediation so that the need can be met.  Within this 501 (c)(3) sector, revenues are generally unearned versus earned, e.g. grants, direct mail, major gifts and the like.

  Importantly (and key to the business / program differentiation), measurement of program progress and accomplishment is almost always in terms of outcomes, i.e. effective change at an acceptable cost per unit of service delivered.  Unfortunately, compliance with whatever the metric is usually at the end of a fixed period, e.g. quarter or year, and is many times delayed for a period of time so that real change can be ascertained.  The nature of the nonprofit animal is generally to resist both attempts to quantify results quickly and to link results to levels of profitability.  For these reasons and many more, when decisions are made in the context of a nonprofit mindset, the essential consideration will most always be tied to impact on a specific population cohort (assuming people is the targeted subset).  Retail-related decisions made from this perspective will be more attuned to alleviating need than to alleviating need via a positive bottom line. In this context, deficits may well signal loss of demand for the product – a fact that may be missed entirely even if all the indicators are present.

Consider now decisions made from a "profit taking" perspective.  Here, by obvious contrast, the important element is whether a service can be delivered at or above break-even.  The goal is not directly to meet a human need; rather, it is to produce a profit by meeting a community need – and not necessarily one for which the government is willing to grant 501(c)(3) status to agency providers.  For leaders and organizations espousing this thinking, net income becomes a tool for decision making sans outside, social constraints.  In other words, all decisions run thru the filter of "Will it add to, or take away from the bottom line?" If it does not add-to, a deliberated action is not considered further. Period.

Finally, whether viewing the retail offering through a nonprofit or profit-taking lens, every business decision should always be made with an acute awareness of opportunity cost(s).  If dollars are pulled from another of the nonprofit's social programs to fund a deficit, the opportunity cost is the good that might otherwise have been accomplished (in the social program) had dollars not been pulled.  If the business is operated on principles of pursuing a profit, the opportunity cost of funding a similar deficit will be fewer dollars for business development and/or other purposes of the organization.  In the latter case, it might also suggest that the business should be closed since a deficit can only mean expenses are too high . . . revenue is not substantial enough, or both.  Theoretically and practically, profitability points to public demand for the product being sold.  In most cases, costs can be somewhat controlled.  If gross revenues decrease, however, the public might have spoken on whether the business is of value to the consumer.

WRITER'S NOTE:  The question of whether a nonprofit organization should manage a business as a program, or as a profit–taking offering is quite complex.  If you followed me throughout, you likely also noticed that there were many considerations to the question that I only scarcely touched on . . . or failed to make mention at all.  I'll try to develop some of these at a later time. 

Let me know what you think.