During the recent economic downturn, retail stores have been following the philosophy that, “Time is Money.” However, avoiding customer calls or directing customers to online resources, rather than providing one on one communication, may not help your bottom line. According to the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, a survey conducted in the U.S. and […]
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Coupon and Rebate Caution
Coupon clipping provides an appreciated source of savings for consumers. As NCH Marketing Services reveals, “Shoppers saved $3.7 billion with coupons in 2010, a $20 million increase from 2009.” Consumers like to receive products for free, and if that isn’t possible, they like to get them for next to nothing. Stephen Denny, author and expert […]
Get the Most Out Of Excess Inventory
“Inventory is money sitting around in a different form,” writes Rhonda Abrams in, “The Rhonda Report,” and unless you can sell it, excess inventory can be a huge drain on profits. This includes the cost of storage, and the decreasing value of merchandise that’s perishable or becoming dated. The following are suggestions on how to […]
10 Tips To Grow Profits
With the new year well under way, retailers need to take a closer look at their operations, to better meet the expectations of their increasingly savvy customers. Even while acknowledging that every retailer is different, there are still opportunities to gain more intelligence about customers, and to streamline internal processes and increase profits. Following are […]
Growing Revenue
“It’s time to return to growth.” With that simple phrase, Chief Marketing Officer and blogger, Lisa Arthur, neatly sums up what businesses need to do to grow and thrive in the year ahead. In her regular feature, “The Marketing Revolution,” on Forbes.com, Arthur looks at the past year in retail and offers some suggestions on […]
Generating More Cash
With 32 years of retail experience under their belts, authors, Bill Scott and James Hawkins have chronicled a seven year project to link retail stores to headquarters, suppliers and trading partners, using “cloud computing” and the Internet. In their new book, “Turning Convenience Stores into Cash Generating Monsters,” the duo tell how large retailers like […]
Tips For Retail Success
What does it take to open a successful storefront? According to recent surveys and expert advice, it takes a business plan and the right attitude, and some help getting started, such as an incubator program. According to a survey reported on the Small Business Trends website, having a business plan makes a startup twice as […]
10 Startup Tips
Here are 10 tips that the editors of Cover have gathered at recent business meetings for starting a new business: Outline your company’s mission statement, goals and define your corporate culture. Outline your business plan. It is critical to have a detailed business plan for the first 60 days, the first six months and the […]