Just as major weather events can affect foot traffic on Mainstreet, health crises—such as the current COVID-19 pandemic—can throw a wrench in store sales. That’s why the importance of flexibility in business simply can’t be overstated. It may mean making a change to your business model, leveraging innovative, value-added pricing strategies, or finding more creative […]Continue reading
Customer Retention
The Answer to Customer Loyalty is Not New
How do you retain the loyalty of your customers? If you said maintaining a CRM database, offering a loyalty rewards program, and using social media, you’re not alone—lots of marketers use these same traditional channels. The problem is, loyalty is getting hard to come by. Not only that, but consumers often “cheat” on brands. In […]Continue reading
What Trends are Driving the Customer Experience in 2020?
Did you know that only 10% of consumers agree that most brands meet expectations for a good experience? Conversely, about 82% of marketers believe their brands are meeting customer expectations. That being said, you’ve probably noticed the unique challenges your company faces in today’s experience economy. But you may not be entirely sure which existing business […]Continue reading
8 Tips That Really Work When Dealing with Difficult Customers
As a business owner or manager, you’ll deal with all types of customers in your lifetime. It’s inevitable that some of them will be difficult. For most people working with customers, this is the trickiest part of the job, but it’s unfortunately unavoidable. You’ve probably noticed that in today’s fast-paced digital world, customers expect so […]Continue reading
What Target Did That Retailers Can Learn From
“Turnarounds—however you define them—are hard,” says Retail Dive. “That’s especially true in retail, where tastes and the markets change quickly. If you are a retailer whose sales trends have turned negative, chances are your path back to greatness, or even stability, is steep.” While our constantly fluctuating market has sunk numerous retailers, turnarounds can be […]Continue reading
When Will the Wonder Return to Retail?
Many of you, along with people throughout the nation, probably spent a portion of Thanksgiving Day watching the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade—an event that practically launches the holiday season and has been televised since 1948, after the film “Miracle on 34th Street” helped bind its connection to the Christmas season. But Macy’s isn’t the […]Continue reading
How NOT to Greet Your Customers
It’s time once again for one of my “What Not to Do” articles for retailers. This particular experience occurred at a local discount retailer. I guess discount retail also means “discount service” for that establishment. This is what happened… I arrived a few minutes before the store was supposed to open and patiently waited for […]Continue reading
3 Best Practices for a Successful Rebrand
Branding defines who a company is and conveys a particular image and message to customers and consumers. “Your brand can influence your business reputation, your target audience’s decisions, and even the internal path your business takes,” says ThriveHive. Be that as it may, brands aren’t always permanent. Businesses may make changes to aspects of their […]Continue reading
Slashing Prices Isn’t the Answer to Acquiring More Customers. THIS Is!
“The Pearle Vision Center offers great service and has quality products.” The above quote, recently found on Google, reflects a business that is profoundly focused on customer care. But that wasn’t always the case. Although the Pearle Vision eye care chain has been around since 1961, somewhere along the way, the company lost it’s vision, relying heavily […]Continue reading
4 Ways to Prevent the Loss of E-commerce Customers
Every once in a while, I like to write about my experiences as a consumer in an effort to inform retailers of what not to do. This article will focus on an experience I recently had with a large chain company’s website. I will admit that I probably shouldn’t have ordered from the brand based […]Continue reading