Flooring The Consumer: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Retail Experience in the News - 4/29/11

Here is the 4/29/11 issue of Retail Experience in the News... recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week.

[By the way, you may want to check out Practical Simple Marketing in the News, recapping #practicalmktr tweets.]

Retail Experience and Customer Service

Gr8 advice on how to communicate change to customers re: expectations in new locations - #retailexp http://ow.ly/4GLrS
Retailers beware! In-store sales begin at home http://ow.ly/4JoWZ #retailexp

Retail Experience Ideas

Office Depot focusing on smaller stores; note effort made to understand #retailexp http://ow.ly/4HIrv
Retail anthropology at work: camera ready in grocery stores http://ow.ly/4Jq1c #retailexp
Read Trendwatching's "F-Factor" as in friends, fans, followers who influence consumer purchase dcsns http://ow.ly/4JmCK #retailexp

Integrating Online with Offline

How Lands End is using the iPad in its #retailexp: http://ow.ly/4GLiC
Fascinating! The changing role of retail, how mobile fits in, how supply chain logistics become more important http://ow.ly/4HI51 #retailexp
How to productively use Yelp for your #retailexp business http://ow.ly/4HIuD #practicalmktr

For previous issues of Retail Experience In The News, see Retail Experience News.

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this article, perhaps you would consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer via email or

RSS.

Simple Marketing Now, a marketing communications consultancy, helps organizations integrate social media and content marketing with traditional marketing to better connect with customers and improve business profitability. Simple Marketing Now issues the Social Flooring Index which monitors the social state of the Flooring Industry, Flooring The Consumer, about marketing to women and the retail experience. For more information, and the Simple Marketing Blog, about social media and content marketing to better connect with customers.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Retail Experience in the News - 4/22/11

Here is the 4/24/11 Happy Easter issue of Retail Experience in the News... recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week.

Retail Experience and Customer Service

I love this advice about building online communities. You need to care! http://ow.ly/4D3KM #retailexp
Lots provoking insights in @retexperience How big do U have 2B 2 not care re:how customers R treated? http://ow.ly/4DQeH #retailexp
How might we make green more integral to the #retailexp? http://ow.ly/4E8mW
Best Buy intends to shrink stores, add mobile units: http://ow.ly/4Cw02 Bigger is no longer always better for #retailexp
Martha Stewart credits hard work, customer focus, authenticity for success http://bit.ly/fDsgUO #retailexp
New #retailexp benefit: shopping helps you live longer http://lat.ms/i3mP2o
Macy's is reinventing its #retailexp with renewed focus on customer service vs. scripts http://on.wsj.com/hrHHWl

Retail Experience Ideas

Oh! It;s about time to improve the fitting room/changing room #retailexp. Lots great ideas here: http://ow.ly/4D3Pr
FastCo article re: sharing economy has me rethinking many assumptions: http://ow.ly/4E9Gu #practicalmktr #retailexp
Here R Starbucks' Green Goal results. Cups still a challenge in creating Green #retailexp http://ow.ly/4E8vI
Have you considered disrupting business habits to create innovation? by Martin Lindstrom http://ow.ly/4C9sk #practicalmktr #retailexp
Historic perspective on Abercrombie & Fitch [aka awful crummy & itch by my mother in law] http://ow.ly/4D3Xc #retailexp

Integrating Online with Offline

ECommerce in radical transition b/c of mobile, local & personalization http://ow.ly/4Cb9c #retailexp
Fascinating insight into how local, mobile, social, retail will converge w/ element of gaming http://ow.ly/4Cabi #retailexp
Interesting #retailexp: stores must reach out, touch more mobile users http://ow.ly/4Ca6l How R U doing this?
Interesting examples of using QR codes as part of #retailexp. Good watchouts, too http://bit.ly/hXD8GA

For previous issues of Retail Experience In The News, see Retail Experience News.

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Have a great Holiday and an inspiring Earth Day!

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If you enjoyed this article, perhaps you would consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer via email or
RSS.

Simple Marketing Now, a marketing communications consultancy, helps organizations integrate social media and content marketing with traditional marketing to better connect with customers and improve business profitability. Simple Marketing Now issues the Social Flooring Index which monitors the social state of the Flooring Industry, Flooring The Consumer, about marketing to women and the retail experience. For more information, and the Simple Marketing Blog, about social media and content marketing to better connect with customers.

Graphic Created Via Wordle.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Trader Joe's Neighborhood Grocery Retail Experience

A recent conversation about the food and grocery retail experience with Penny Hammond, co-president of Columbia Business School's Alumni Club of New York and expert in food restrictions, had us discussing Trader Joe's, the national chain of neighborhood specialty grocery store.

The Trader Joe's experience is always one of delicious discovery and thoughtful customer focus. In a recent visit, when the daffodil bunches had run out, a 'crew member' [aka store associate] found a handful and gave them to my distraught daughter. No charge. I love browsing and shopping there and wish one were closer to me.

My conversation with Penny reminded me of a CNNMoney.com article about Trader Joe's that my nephew, Sean Sullivan [who contributed My Election Day Experience], shared with me. It's titled Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's - Full Version and is worth reading for perspective on this savvy retailer that "elevates food shopping from a chore to a cultural experience."

The article states that Trader Joe's now "boasts 344 stores in 25 states and Washington, D.C., and strip-mall operators and consumers alike aggressively lobby the chain, based in Monrovia, Calif., to come to their towns. A Trader Joe's brings with it good jobs, and its presence in your community is like an affirmation that you and your neighbors are worldly and smart." I agree! We tried to petition Trader Joe's to come closer to our neck of the woods.

Furthermore, "the genius of Trader Joe's is staying a step ahead of Americans' increasingly adventurous palates with interesting new items that shoppers will collectively buy in big volumes." Trader Joe's sets food trends.

Other highlights:

Sales for last year approximated $8 billion [equivalent to Whole Foods].
The company has a "deliberately scaled-down strategy... opening just five more locations this year" [and sadly not in our neighborhood]
Stores remain relatively small with a limited [~ 4,000 SKUs vs. the usual 50,000 SKUs that traditional groceries carry] and carefully curated selection of products that turn over frequently.
Stores sell ~ $1,750 per square foot in merchandise

The article refers to The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less and how having too many options available for shoppers can paralyze them, preventing from making purchase decisions. No such problem at Trader Joe's where those curated selections mean deliberately limited options. It details the transparency that Trader Joe's has brought to the grocery model and the simplification it has brought to food distribution by seeking to "minimize the number of hands that touch a product, wherever possible."

Did you know that placement decisions in-store have to do with what's best for customers rather than solely on profits? On top of that, you find at Trader Joe's the kind of genuine personal engagement that has patrons returning regularly for more. Each store feels just like a neighborhood grocery retail experience.

Long time readers of Flooring The Consumer may remember an early post from 2007 titled Trader Joe's: Where Values Drive the Brand based on a presentation by CEO Dan Bane. It's a popular post.

If you read Inside the Secret World of Trader Joe's and my 2007 post, would you let me know how you might apply some of these ideas to your retail experiences? I'm thinking it's time to make a trip to my Trader Joe's...

BTW, no surprise given Trader Joe's secretiveness, I noticed no official social media presence. However, I did notice an unofficial fan based forum site focused on Trader Joe's recipes and products. Here is a link to the unofficial Trader Joe's Facebook Fan Page. There's also Cooking With Trader Joe's on Facebook and several blogs...

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If you enjoyed this article, perhaps you would consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer via email or RSS.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Retail Experience in the News - 4/15/11

For your weekend reading pleasure, here is the 4/15/11 issue of Retail Experience in the News... recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week.

Retail Experience and Customer Service

Have you thought about H2 market to yr hispanic customers? http://ow.ly/4x5XK #retailexp
Women dominate global market, but roar hasn't been heard? Read @TomPeters @Andrealearned Marti Barletta http://ow.ly/4yXOr #retailexp

Retail Experience Ideas

Reimagining the airport experience of future: SFO Virgin Terminal http://ow.ly/4x5bG Lots ideas for #retailexp
Insight on what makes Urban Outfitters an unique #retailexp http://ow.ly/4zQgu
Aldi: a retailer intent on simplifying the #retailexp http://ow.ly/4AH1M
Acc to eMarketer, SMBs turn to social before search. True for you? How is it affecting your #retailexp? http://ow.ly/4yZvw

Integrating Online with Offline

5 hurdles to mobile geotargeting - sobering & realistic http://ow.ly/4x5Bz #retailexp
eMarketer article re: surprising familiary w QR codes highlights how intuitive they R: http://ow.ly/4A82z #retailexp

For previous issues of Retail Experience In The News, see Retail Experience News.

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Simple Marketing Now, a marketing communications consultancy, helps organizations integrate social media and content marketing with traditional marketing to better connect with customers and improve business profitability. Simple Marketing Now issues the Social Flooring Index which monitors the social state of the Flooring Industry, Flooring The Consumer, about marketing to women and the retail experience. For more information, and the Simple Marketing Blog, about social media and content marketing to better connect with customers.

Graphic Created Via Wordle.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Simple Marketing Now Update - March 2011

March 2011 SIMPLE MARKETING NOW Update and Looking Toward April

We may be fully immersed in April, but I think you will enjoy these updates from this past March from Simple Marketing Now. I've categorized posts into Social Media Marketing Resources and Simple Marketing News.

Looking toward April, I'd love your input! Over these next few weeks, I intend to explore several ideas that have been percolating for a while.

One includes a series focused on reviewing business blogs and offering suggestions for improvement. If you have a blog and would like to be included, please let me know.

Another has to do with questions small and medium businesses and retailers have about integrating digital and social tools into their retail and business experience. What is working for you? What isn't? What questions are your grappling with ? I'd love to hear.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

[If you are new to Flooring The Consumer, I also write the Simple Marketing Blog where I discuss marketing strategy and creative, practical, simple marketing approaches and share best practices - many of which may be relevant to you and your business as you consider what's possible. The blog also acts as newsroom for Simple Marketing Now.]

Simple Marketing News for March 2011

March was intense - to say the least! Not only did I take part in my inaugural online seminar with MarketingProfs - see Press Release: Concerned About Managing Your Company's Reputation in a Social World? - but I also celebrated two years as Simple Marketing Now! Details are in Happy Simple Marketing Blog Birthday #2!

I was invited, too, to take part in a New York Law School panel discussion - see Press Release: New York Law Panel Discussion 4/4/2011 - during which many aspects of privacy, disclosure and consumer protection came up. I plan on summarizing many of those points in a separate blog post.

Social Media Marketing Resources:

At the beginning of March, I participated in the annual BRITE Conference at Columbia Business School. I summarized highlights in BRITE Conference 2011: Highlights and BRITE Conference: Steve Rubel & 11 Digital Trends to Follow in 2011. I particularly enjoyed meeting in person BL Ochman from What's Next? Blog and Denise Lee Yohn from Brand as Business Bites. Denise is as fascinated about the retail experience as I am and we've already had one conversation during which we shared retail observations. I'm looking forward to more!

Here is a summary from my MarketingProfs online seminar: Managing Your Social Reputation: Highlights which also inspired this post: How Do I Increase My Followers? - a topic that comes up in every presentation I've made...

Finally, here are the latest links to articles and news about practical marketing on Twitter, coded #PracticalMktr:

As always, Thank You for reading. If you enjoyed this article, perhaps you would consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer via email or RSS.

Have a wonderful April.

Best,
C.B.

Friday, April 08, 2011

Retail Experience in the News - 4/8/11

This 4/8/11 issue of Retail Experience in the News... recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week... comes to you from Dallas, where I've spent the past several days with the Surfaces 2012 Education Advisory Council discussing flooring education ideas.

I hope you enjoy the links below.

Retail Experience and Customer Service

Classic marketing 2 women: Mintel learns that women investors R more likely to rely on personal interactions http://ow.ly/4tbjV #retailexp
Overhauling A&P, major #retailexp turnaround advice "focus on customer" fr Forbes http://ow.ly/4qFV
Putting consumers in the spotlight resonates with women consumers http://ow.ly/4tbBW #retailexp
From the wise @JasonFalls: relevance, prominence, distance help make U digitally visible to customers http://ow.ly/4tbFe #retailexp

The Economy/Consumers

Definite food for thought in US Census data highlights: hispanic, local http://ow.ly/4tbgk How will this affect your #retailexp?
Why women rule the internet...and the social web http://ow.ly/4tYFB [Note ref to Dunbar's number] Are you ready? #retailexp

Retail Experience Ideas

Love this: using real people e.g., employees to model products. Talk about authentic! http://ow.ly/4qGD9 #retailexp
What's your experience with cause marketing? This study says cause mktng lowers donations http://ow.ly/4tbzh #retailexp
Fascinating perspective on buying: 10 cognitive biases affecting decisions http://ow.ly/4tV6P #retailexp How do these affect yr customers?

Integrating Online with Offline

Shopkick says location based apps R catching on with consumers http://ow.ly/4qFsK #retailexp
How social media adds dimension to the museum experience http://ow.ly/4tYQs #retailexp #practicalmktr
Love this! Nurturing community at the grocery store. Krogers: http://ow.ly/4tYxI #retailexp

Monday, April 04, 2011

Women Call Retail Shots; Is Your Store Woman Friendly?

This article titled "Women call the retail shots... Is your store woman friendly?" appeared in the June 7/14, 2010 issue of Floor Covering Weekly. I share it with you here.

Women call the retail shots. Is your store woman friendly?

By Christine B. Whittemore

Is your store woman friendly? It’s not difficult to be woman friendly, although it takes some getting used to. Critical is that you look at your store and retail experience from your customer’s perspective. Think ‘walking in her shoes.’

Why bother, you ask?

Women are becoming wealthier; 60 percent of women work, increasingly in managerial and professional positions. They own businesses, making them not only chief purchasing officers at home, but also at work. They represent the second largest group to purchase homes – ahead of single men. Powerful stuff; profitable stuff, too, if you understand the changes in the marketplace and accept that women call the retail shots.

Look, then, at your store and retail experience from your customer’s perspective.

Strip from your mind everything you know about flooring and carpet. Forget the lingo and the abbreviations. Rid your mind of the insider perspective. Instead, think in the same way that your consumer thinks. Refer to flooring in the same way she does. Consider flooring options – hard or soft – as a means to a very specific end for her. Is she looking for a textural look and feel [that has nothing to do with how we think of textures] or rather an elegant patterned look? What is it about the specific spaces she is seeking flooring for that really matter? Ask her questions to get to the root of what she has in mind for her home.

Women seek knowledge and want a sense of control, particularly for projects involving their homes, with relatively high price points – like flooring – that they have to live with for seven to ten years. Do you remember the Home Depot “Do It Herself” workshops which empowered women with knowledge and engaged them in their projects? The end result: terrific pride, enthusiasm and a great deal of word-of-mouth buzz – not to mention purchases that otherwise wouldn’t have taken place.

If you were to think of your retail experience as the equivalent of a project workshop, how differently might you think about it and prepare for it? I’m sure that the Home Depot workshops included a list of materials, instructions and additional reading – reference information, guidelines, recommendations - all materials that a participant would hold onto for future reference and certainly refer to as the project takes shape.

Extend that same thought-process to your retail experience. What might you offer your women customers [or even your male customers; they appreciate thoughtfulness and practicality, too]? Perhaps a project folder to keep track of all of the elements relating to this flooring project, including a check-off list for each stage of the purchase decision, explaining what to expect?

What about explaining how pad and carpet work together to form a flooring system and demonstrating how the pad investment affects the performance of the carpet and enhances the quality of the experience, too?

What about detailing what a consumer should anticipate in terms of caring for the various flooring options available? What is the ideal short-term maintenance plan and what will need to be done longer-term?

What if there are problems? Can you offer your customer a roadmap that outlines options, critical phone numbers, and what she can expect in terms of warranty support?

Be honest in describing the options. Think about which best capture the needs of your consumer. Don’t think only in terms of what is best for you. Rather, think of the world from your customer’s perspective… She will appreciate it and remember you for it.

Break each aspect of your customer’s purchase decision into its parts. If work takes place in the kitchen, for example, will your consumer need to have gas service turned off? Can you handle that for her? If not, what options does she have? Don’t abdicate responsibility for these kinds of decisions. They affect her overall shopping experience, and the better you anticipate, detail and describe so there are no surprises or negative aftereffects, the more satisfied she will be.

The more you anticipate her needs, the more woman friendly you will be, and the more a woman will call the shots in your favor.

What are you waiting for?

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Friday, April 01, 2011

Retail Experience in the News - 4/1/11

Here is the 4/1//11 issue of Retail Experience in the News... recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week.

Retail Experience and Customer Service

Marvelous story fr @dmscott re: how @Nordstrom does Twitter right http://bit.ly/gATLpx Excellent work @NordstromDave #retailexp
I love notion of empathy as starting point 4 innovation: Zipcar, Burton, Apple. Solve user's problems, right? http://ow.ly/4lYWb #retailexp
Marketers & retailers beware of false green claims. Consumers HATE them! http://ow.ly/4pZob #retailexp
Time 2 reallocate advertising $ 2 improve customer experience & prevent defection http://ow.ly/4mGH7
Is this awesome or what? Apple store becomes refuge for Tokyo employees, families http://ow.ly/4qF5m This gives new meaning to #retailexp

Retail Experience Ideas

Time for a paint job http://bit.ly/i4ZRlu #branding #retailexp
Extreme makeover case study: Duane Reed http://ow.ly/4n6io #retailexp
I love this content marketing purchase process fr @heidicohen. So relevant for #retailexp http://ow.ly/4lYIR

Integrating Online with Offline

Retail lessons from the digital world. Consider notion of 'screening' http://ow.ly/4n6qk #retailexp
Retailers, here's how to deal with disruptive technologies for the #retailexp http://ow.ly/4n6mC
The future of the retail + mobile #retailexp? Digiday explains 'geofencing': http://ow.ly/4qh27
Retailers: comparing web analytics data to store equivalent http://ow.ly/4qDyc fr #CMI @ahaval #retailexp
Imagine adding 3D technology to your #retailexp! http://ow.ly/4qEEo via @retexperience
Are you ready for "tablet retailing"? Gilt Groupe's experience with iPads http://ow.ly/4qEPb #retailexp
Venture capitalist view on future of #retailexp http://ow.ly/4n6kE