The Retail Doctor's Blog

Graham, a friend of mine went to a local electronics store to buy a microphone. The young sales associate took him to the microphones and then stood there silently hovering over him.

Let’s stop kidding each other and be honest…

When a customers' experience in your store was crappy, they won’t be back.

And let’s put a finer point on it… when shoppers don’t return, it's because of your employees.

And that is employees at both ends of the spectrum.

They either have been around so long and know too much that they can come off elitist, judging, disinterested and intimidating, or they’re so new that they know too little and can come off as ignorant.

Christmas in July...or August. We’ve all heard the phrase.

It’s summer and a lot of retailers are thinking about what they will do differently for the upcoming holidays.

In a media world itching to say how expectations are soft for retail sales this shopping season, you might be worried, and that’s definitely understandable. You can easily drown in a sea of worry.

But you’re reading this post so take heart!

Here are my top nine actions you need to take to have a successful holiday season in 2016.

Businesses across the country are struggling.

Retailers are asking me what to do and what I tell them is that the only thing you can control is how you approach your business - not business conditions.

Blaming it on anything else won’t get you anywhere.

You can’t lock the doors of Walmart, unplug Amazon, best Best Buy or cover the Target.

You can only control what you have the ability to control.

How to attract customers? That is a frequent question to my retail consultancy.

Macy's held their annual flower show at their flagship store in NYC this past April. It has to be one of the last vestiges of when department stores used events to differentiate one over the other.

I was about to pay for my purchases at CVS when the cashier asked me, “Do you want to update your account with your text number and receive 20% off today’s order?”

As I was only buying deodorant and a candy bar, I quickly did the math and figured 20% wasn’t worth getting spammed on my phone.

I’ll admit, mobile marketing is gaining traction, and it makes sense as over 50% of consumers carry a smartphone with them.

But I still see the difficulties of getting mobile messaging right for your retail store. Especially if you sell luxury goods.

When I was in fifth grade, my dad took me to the Schwinn bicycle shop in Toledo and told me I could have any bike I wanted for my birthday.

So many possibilities!

It was like winning the lottery!

Nowadays, when it comes to my speaking and consulting business, spending money rarely has that exuberance. That’s because I have to do it if I want to remain competitive.

Wanting to do it has little relevance. If I want to be here tomorrow, I need to invest today.

For many retailers, investing in their business is usually thought of only in a crisis:

• We have to get a new A/C system; the compressor stopped working.

• The POS system crashed, and we lost all the data.

• We need to replace the roof; they can’t patch the leaks anymore.  

You get the idea.

The smart retailers are always looking for how they can invest in their future long-term success. They know that finding out how to attract customers and also close the sale are priorities.

When I was looking to move away from the crowded, noisy, dusty freeways of Los Angeles, I checked out the green Mid-Hudson Valley of New York. While there were no Westins in that part of the world, I did discover a great off-the-beaten-path alternative, the Union Street Guest House in Hudson, NY.

A large, spacious suite was outfitted just right. Their location was superb for walking and the excellent local restaurants kept me from having to use the fully functional kitchen in my suite.

Over the years, I’ve recommended that place to many visitors, and I even posted a review on TripAdvisor in 2008.

So imagine my surprise when I read that the establishment mentioned in this headline, “Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online” was indeed, the Union Street Guest House. 

Websites have progressed to become the most important marketing tool for any retailer, small or large.