What your customers really like about your store might be...your customers!

Recently, we heard how the cafe/bar in the recently-opened Whole Foods store in downtown Los Angeles had a live jazz combo playing on a Friday night. "And the place was packed! Can you believe it? All the cool clubs in downtown LA, and people come to the Whole Foods for live music?!? A grocery store??"

Actually, yes. We CAN believe it. Here's why.

• These folks trust Whole Foods because of the customers it attracts. They know they will be comfortable there; they want to be around people like themselves.
• And, they may not know much about who they might find in any of the "cool clubs".

Specialty stores are particularly suited to expand on this kind of engagement with your customers. You already have been selecting and editing product assortments - what's known today as "curating" - that speaks to a certain taste level. And attracts a particular group of shoppers.

And thereby, you have also been "curating customers"! You see, it's your customers – not just your merchandise – that really make your stores "special".

And these folks - your "best customers" - might like to hang out with each other when they are NOT shopping. 

• This is your opportunity to engage in real life(or IRL, as they say) with those who care about your merchandise - and what it represents - the same way you do.
• Make your stores more than a great place to shop. (Remember, there is the internet, after all.)
• What experience can you offer that will make your stores the place to be for folks like your very best customers? (They're what really make your stores "special." And don't they love to hear that about themselves?!)

We believe you will find it energizing! One more way to put the fun back into retailing!

Must owners pass through the "Valley of Bankruptcy?"

Recently we received an email from a long-time follower of The Retail Owners Institute®. It included a comment and a question that you, too, may have wondered:

How do you go about changing the mindset of the owner/CEO about GMROI, inventory management best ideas, etc? 

Our CEO stills buys by intuition, hunch, seat-of-the-pants. He likes to use phrases like: stack-em-high, watch-em-fly. One-to-show, one-to-go.

Can CEO's go from mediocre to great, or do they have to pass through the valley of bankruptcy first? 

Wow! Quite a question, speaking volumes about the underlying concerns.

Those Owners & CEOs who still "stack-em-high, watch-em-fly", who buy by hunch and intuition are in fact disappearing. It's what we call "Retail Darwinism". But, must owners pass through the "valley of bankruptcy" in order to change?

Every case is different, of course. In our work with retailers in "turnaround" situations, we've found that the fear of impending failure, the acceptance of being on the brink of bankruptcy, can prompt changes. Unfortunately, sometimes it is too little, too late.

So, how can Owners and CEOs be motivated to change?

• It starts with increasing their financial skillset and confidence.
• Enabling them to have a positive answer to "Am I running this business…or is it running me?!"  
• Doing integrated financial projections can be eye-opening.
• Knowledge IS power!  

Occasionally, however, fear is more paralyzing than motivating.

• These retailers simply do not appreciate how much control they could have! 
• Not able to recognize their alternatives, they become frozen in the headlights.
• This is especially true for those who have delegated the "accounting and financial stuff."

That's not to say that Owners & CEOs need to do all of the accounting and bookkeeping themselves. Far from it!

But since Owners are responsible for projections, for playing "what if…?" about their business, they must understand the cause-effect financial levers in their business.

That's how they can be empowered, better able to respond as the business environment changes.

Emails such as that one cause us to redouble our dedication at The ROI to help any retailer, anywhere be able to look ahead, compare potential outcomes of their own financial projections, and then use those insights to inform their judgment and decisions.

Or in other words, empower retailers to "Turn on their financial headlights!"