Archive for April, 2012

Social Media’s Dark Dirty Secret

Posted: January 29, 2011 in Branding, Marketing, Retail, Social Media
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Social media has been sold to the masses as a revolutionary tool for the owners of small and medium-sized businesses. After all, it allows business owners and marketing departments to reach the masses with a few simple key strokes-and at virtually no cost. Most social media sites are easy to use and don’t require much, if any, knowledge of code to get started like complicated websites. Customers can be update instantly and owners aren’t at the mercy of the media to publish “their story.” They can publish their own stories, directly to their customers when they like and message it exactly the way they see it.  What a breakthrough!

At CES, I had the opportunity to speak with representatives of companies like NASA and Play Station. Alone, NASA hosts more than 200 twitter accounts and Play Station is huge into gaming. During a panel discussion, speakers echoed a sentiment I too often counsel clients: Content is King. Provide good content to stimulate engage among audience members.

A portion of the discussion can be viewed here:

But after the discussion, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a few of the panelists. The question on my mind? Content is great to KEEP people on your social media sites, but how do you drive people to your site if you’re not NASA or Play Station? I was met time and time again with dead silence. No surprise.

The panelists weren’t ignorant. The difference is they work with iconic brands. When consumers see a NASA logo, or hear someone mention the organization, they immediately make associations. They have familiarity. If a Facebook user sees that his friend is connected to NASA, or a friend suggestion appears, they may decide to become associated with the page without ever looking at it. “Oh. I know NASA. Yup. They’re cool. We should be friends.”

That’s not usually the case with small to medium sized businesses. They have to do a lot of serious leg work in addition to keeping their social media channels filled with great content and engaging their audiences.  They have to actively recruit consumers and lobby to attract fans. Certainly, having a loyal customer base who will help spread the word makes this process a lot easier. I often compare this to the question back in the late 1990s business owners asked: How do I drive traffic to my website?

And while nobody wants to talk about it, as I call it Social Media’s Dark Dirty Secret, techniques for driving traffic to social media channels is done in very much the same way as the same business  owners worked to let consumers know they had a website (Remember, back in the days before it was assumed EVERY business could be found on the web?). And it takes time. Just because there are people on Facebook doesn’t mean they will seek you out and scream about your business from their pulpit.

Retailers can post signage in their shops and print “Find Us on Facebook’ on their store receipts. Professional service companies may opt to list their Twitter icon on their ad in Crain’s Detroit Business and add their handle to their business card. Word-of-Mouth marketing is still one of the most potent tools to let  people know about your company.

I’ve spoken with many business owners who wanted to achieve rock star status on Facebook or Twitter over night. “How do we get to 10,000 followers by tomorrow?”

Just as a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step, so does the building of a social media audience. You can have 10,00 followers by tomorrow, but 99.9 percent of them won’t care about your message and be even remotely likely to act upon it. 10 relevant followers would win every time.  One conversation at a time, one relationship at a time. Business owners have been misled into thinking social media works well for all types of businesses and for all sizes of business. Small/medium companies certainly can achieve success through social media, but it takes time. It grows along with their brand.

Social media can be a viable tool in the marketing tool box of small and medium-sized businesses. It’s just important to understand how the tools function and have expectations realistically inline when forging into the territory.

Small, Independent Retailers Hold the Power to Help Themselves

Posted: January 1, 2011 in Retail
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By most accounts the 2010 holiday retailing season was a success. The National Retail Federation reported sales grew by 5.5 percent, an estimated $451 billion or more – the highest levels in five years and significantly higher than analyst predictions. The Associated Press’ Anne D’Innocenzio, labelled the 2010 selling season the “return of the shopper.”

In an effort to drive holiday sales over previous years, across the country campaigns were launched to entice consumers to support local business, from ‘Small Business Saturday’ to ‘Shop Michigan Now.’

Oddly, the one thing absent from these movements to support local businesses was the business owners themselves. The campaigns seemed to be largely fueled by shoppers and the government.

Excerpt from The Fresno California Bee interview with Stan Grosz, owner of Horn’s Photo in Fresno, California:

“He [Grosz] said Horn Photo’s main camera supplier, Canon, has aggressively lowered its prices, enabling the store to offer lower prices.’They’re doing a little more to help small independent chains compete,’ he said.”
And if the camera manufacturer hadn’t lowered prices, what was Grosz’s course of action? What was he waiting for?

Similarly, a November 30, 2010 article in the Detroit Free Press explored the “Buy Michigan Now” campaign:

“The movement reached a turning point in December 2008 when top executives of General Motors, Chrysler and the UAW went to Capitol Hill to plead for government help, according to Lisa Diggs, founder of the Buy Michigan Now campaign. The criticism caused many Michiganders to realize that the only people who could help their state are themselves, Diggs said.”

It took top automotive executives and UAW members to make the case for small business? Where were the small merchants? If they could go to Washington, were they writing passionate letters to their representatives about their plight?

The entrepreneurs who founded their small companies seem to be completely powerless when it comes to overcoming their economic struggles. They either don’t know how to help themselves, or often don’t want to.

North Carolina merchants were heralded for their ability to stick together when the local PR firm, worried about their clients shutting their doors, strategized a plan to attract customers, while the retailers whose very well-being was at stake, sat paralyzed. Seemingly incapable of developing their own strategy, they were eager to have someone promote them for free. Why did it take an outside entity to step in? Could these merchants not have worked together to help each other out. Again, what were they waiting for?  Here’s the story: South Charlotte Retailers Unite.

It’s challenging to run a small business. It’s even more challenging to run a small business in a poor economy.  Independent/small retailers have too often decided to set their own rules though, and then expect their Downtown Development Authorities (DDA) or Principal Shopping Districts (PSDs) will work to make them a success regardless. If the retailer doesn’t/isn’t succeeding, it’s the fault of the DDA/PSD.

In my years as a retail store manager, working with DDAs and PSDs, as well as providing counsel to retail businesses now, there are a few simple changes shop owners can make that would help them grow in their market sector and welcome more, and new, customers.

1) Be Open During the Times  Customers Shop. Open for business when it is convenient for consumers-not just when it is convenient for you to open your business. Most people, business consumers and prospective consumers, are earning a living between the hours of 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Hence, they can’t patronize your shop if it’s only open during these hours. Some retailers stay open late one evening per week, as a convenience to these customers.  It’s not a convenience. Consumers then have to arrange their entire schedule around the day of the week you decide to stay open,  and remember what day it is that you’re open. If it becomes too much work, they won’t bother shopping with you.

2) Open on Sunday. Businesses should open on Sundays during the holiday shopping season, at the very least. Small retailers often bemoan opening on Sundays-either because it’s their only day off or because they’ll have to pay an employee to work. While it might be painful to hear, if owners can’t afford this cost, they might want to rethink why they’re in business at all.

3) Maintain regular hours. It might be tempting to close early on a slow day, but if customers don’t know if you’ll be open or not, they will likely head to the “big box” who they know will be there for them.

4) Make parking or delivery accommodations for shoppers, if necessary.  One of the top complaints heard at DDA meetings during the holidays is how difficult it is for patron to find parking or park near the business of their choice.  As a retailer, the owner of the business made a decision to be located in a downtown district. Parking challenges come with the “quaint” atmosphere. Offering to run packages to a customers car, or hold them until they are through shopping can make a very happy (and repeat) customer.

5) Market Your Own Business. Remember, if your business has the marketing support of the DDA/PSD, that support goes to promote the region in which your business is conducted, not one specific business. As a business owner, it can be challenging to find time to appropriately and cost-effectively market your business, but it’s part of running a successful business.

With tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and WordPress, it is easier than ever to get word out about your products and services. Word-of-Mouth marketing is till one of the most powerful tools, and doesn’t usually cost more than great customer service.

6) Make time to chat with reporters. While this is technically part of marketing your business, I’ve experienced and heard of too many instances where small retailers ignored phone calls from reporter or told them they were too busy to talk. A solid relationship with a news reporter can help spread word and they may seek you out as an information source repeatedly if you’re accommodating and have something the least bit interesting to say.

Running a small business is not easy, but merchants who remember that their success or failure is their responsibility alone, will have the best chance of prospering. And if you doubt it, just ask those like Karen and Cheryl Daskas of Birmingham, Michigan’s “ Tender,”   Grosse Pointe’s Ellen Durand of “Village Toy” or April McCrumb of “Catching Fireflies” in Berkley and Rochester, Michigan. They each understand that they control the success of their businesses and do what it takes to make it happen.