Bringing Business to Retail

You've managed to get through the holiday season, the frenzy of the sale season, and now, you're in that post-holiday lull. Or perhaps you're one of those retail stores, whose trade actually drops during the holiday period. So what do you do, to make that time effective for you and your business? There will always be slow times in your business.  The most obvious thing to do to make this time effe...

 Why you should send out a newsletter no matter how big your store & 6 things you can put in it Do you think your store is too small for a newsletter? Have you contemplated putting one together, then thought "I don't have anything to say", "nothing exciting is happening in my little business"? If so, today's episode is just for you. The first tip is to have a reason to sign up, and this should NEV...

When it comes to advertising, does your hand subconsciously grab your purse, and your mind conjure up big invoices and a not knowing where or what you should try first? Well, today, I'll let you in on a little secret - This simple place you probably haven't thought of advertising, that won't cost you any money. If you've managed to overcome the hard part, the getting people into your bricks and mo...

Today, I want to talk about one of the biggest trends that I think, will hit in 2016. They're already starting to creep out in all forms of retail, from shoes to shavers, from toilet paper to believe it or not, tampons. So, just what is this retail trend? They come in all colours, shapes in sizes, but they have one thing in common. They get delivered to your door [Tweet "Around the world, the sque...

As a small business retailer, one of the key differentiators that you have is the relationships that you build with your customers. And, a lot of this hinges on how your business is perceived Being on the shop floor, or having regular staff, allows your customer to build trust. Find out 11 Ways To Make Your Business More Professional The psychology behind building successful, ongoing relationships...

Should you accept returns in your retail store? It won't be long now, before the tide of gifts that 'weren't quite right' get besieged upon retailers. Does your store accept returns? First off, let's get the legalities sorted. Each country, and even state will have different laws regarding when you are legally required to accept a return. Generally, these revolve around instances when an item is f...

According to a comscore survey, free shipping was such a key motivator, that 93% of online shoppers had taken extra actions, such as purchasing more, or opting for slower shipping, in order to qualify for free shipping. Hey there, I'm Sal from SalenaKnight.com and the Bringing Business To Retail podcast, and today, let's talk about the REAL cost of free shipping First up, let's look at the benefit...

Welcome to 2016 Last year, I committed to learning more and getting fitter. Never in my wildest dreams, did I realize that learning was actually the key to getting me up off my butt, and out the door to exercise. Normally on Bringing Business To Retail Tv, we talk about actionable business strategies, that you can implement, to grow your business. Well, this episode is about you, because YOU are y...

Cast your mind back to high school of college. At some point, you will have heard of Abraham Maslow, and Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. At the bottom of the pyramid are our survival needs. Food, water and shelter. Move up a notch, and it's all about safety. These two steps of the hierarchy are what we technically need to function. If you start to move up the pyramid, you encounter social needs, of b...

Have you heard of the term dropshipping? Do you know how it works and is it actually a profitable way to run a business? Hey there, I'm Sal from SalenaKnight.com and the Bringing Business To Retail podcast, and today, let's talk about dropshipping for your retail store. Let's start with what Dropshipping actually is. You may have heard other retailers talking about it, or even suppliers who offer...

Phone companies do it, cable tv networks do it, even banks do it. But are you doing this simple product strategy to increase sales and benefit your customers in your retail store? Bundling is used by many companies. Quite simply, it's when you put a group of products together to provide a product or service with greater value. You may already do this to an extent, when you put together gift basket...

You've just had a decent sized order come in through your website. You wrap it, package it and are just about to log it in for collection by the courier, when you get an email saying the customer wants to cancel. What you do next, is all dependent on the systems you have in place. Hey there, I'm Sal from SalenaKnight.com and the Bringing Business To Retail podcast, and today, let's talk about how...

Back on BBTRtv3, I talked about affiliate income as an additional revenue stream into your business. Affiliate income is where you sell the products or services of a complimentary company, and you receive a referral fee for doing so. It's a great way to bring in additional income to your store, without having to outlay money for stock. Hey there, I'm Sal from SalenaKnight.com and the Bringing Busi...

In the lead up to Christmas, I had to do something I always dread. And what happened next, reinforced my frustrations, my annoyance with retail, and reminded my why I do what I do. Today, was the 21 st of December. Ok, so it's not the 21 st of December when you're hearing this, but as I typed away, you can appreciate that in the Monday before Christmas, a lot of stuff needs to be done. I was feeli...

You know the feeling, you're dashing off to your store, your mobile phone is ringing, your partner/child/ or employee is asking you a question, all the while, you're thinking about orders that need to go out, stock that needs to go onto the shop floor, bills that need to be paid and heck, did you even have breakfast. How often, do you experience that feeling of being pulled in every direction. You...

  If you shop at Amazon or eBay, you've probably checked the seller's reviews before you went ahead and purchased. Why, well, if you're anything like me, it's so that you can see the credibility of the seller, or the actual product, the have the security that you weren't the first to buy, that others liked the product. When I say that reviews are important, I'm stating the obvious. You already kno...

Group buying sites can get your business exposure. If your business is new, you're struggling to get fresh customers or have branched out on the products and services you provide, group buying sites might be a short term way to get more business. As a business advisor, I'm not particularly a fan of group buying sites, but I can see that they have merit as a quick way to get an influx of new custom...

When it comes to cash flow, there are a lot of business owners that put their head in the sand. But cash flow is the lifeblood of your business, so day, we're going to make you pull up your big girl business pants, and confront the numbers, head on. I recently asked a bunch of retailers what their biggest fear about confronting cash flow head on was. And the answers are probably going to sound fam...

Should you sell stock before it arrives in your store? What are the pros and cons? Pre selling stock before it comes into your store can generate significant cash flow for you. Just look at any Apple product. People line up, sometimes for days, in order to purchase their products, and quite often, they don't even get to walk away with a physical product . Sometimes it's months, before they receive...

When you first put together a website, there is so much going on, you often through in everything you need, load up your products, test your cart, and move on to the next thing that needs to be done. Like everything in life, a good spring clean is in order, to keep your site fresh and up to date A spring clean of your website is an essential, to keep your customers happy, to keep your business tra...

When I went to New York recently, I was looking forward to some amazing shopping, but, not looking forward to those pesky currency conversion charges on my credit card, that can add up super quickly. So when I found that my airline Frequent Flyer card could also be used as a pre-paid credit card in local currency, I immediately transferred some cash into it, and watched the exchange rates daily. E...

Download Are you using your B&M store, market stall, or pop up shop, to the best of it's ability. Whilst a lot of retailers shy away from the overheads and the responsibility that comes with having a bricks and mortar store, the fact is, with the overheads, comes a distinct competitive advantage. But, are you using that, to the best of it's ability. When you have a bricks and mortar store, not onl...

Consumer sentiment. Technically speaking, it's a statistical measurement and economic indicator of the overall health of the economy as determined by consumer  opinion. Personally, I think the media has a lot to do with the way that consumer sentiment rollercoasters. If the media is telling everyone that we're heading for a recession, then of course people are going to become more wary about spend...

Is it worth outlaying the money to gift wrap items in your retail store? By the time you've bought paper, ribbons, card, somewhere to store it all, not to mention the time it takes to wrap, the dollars add up. Today we're talking about whether you should bother with gift wrapping in your retail store. Should you offer gift wrapping as a retailer? [Tweet " Do you offer gift wrap services?"] Do you...

What you will learn in this episode: How Stacey helps business to get fantastic results Where to find the biggest place where businesses leaving money on the table How Google can help you with your business How to develop your relationship with your customers and readers