July 29, 2010

It’s Show Time! Are you ready?

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On August 8th, the Canadian gift show season kicks off in Toronto with the CGTA Fall Gift Show and Mode Accessories. After that, suppliers and manufacturers will travel the country, landing in Edmonton for the Alberta Fall Gift Show and By Hand Alberta (Aug. 15-18), then moving on to Quebec for the Montreal Gift Show (Aug.22-25), to Halifax for the Maritime Gift Show (Sept. 11-13), and perhaps to Vancouver for Smart Shows’ new Gift Expo scheduled for September 19-20. It’s show time in Canada. Exhibitors and show organizers are ready. Are you?

To help you plan your buying, www.gifts-and-tablewares.com is featuring online product showcases that are definitely worth checking out before you head out to the shows. They are:

G&T EXTRA: What’s New?! Fall 2010 Part II is a review of some of the great products being offered at the shows, complete with company names, booth numbers, shows and web sites.

G&T FEATURES, located on the top right hand side of the site, includes a Supplier Spotlight slideshow of new products from Ganz; The Chef’s Kitchen slideshow from HWI Anglo Canadian; and for inspiration, a slideshow of products offered at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, North America’s leading contemporary design show.

G&T’s PRODUCT GALLERY features new products from leading suppliers with a convenient “Request More Information” button.

And, in case you’ve misplaced your issue of Gifts and Tablewares, you can thumb through a digital edition of the magazine at www.gifts-and-tablewares.com.

As always, I’ll be reporting daily from the CGTA Gift Show on new product finds and trends, and sending the information out on G&T’s Daily News scroll and via Twitter (@GiftsnTableware). If you have any questions or comments be sure to stop by the G&T booth at the International Centre (booth #2789) or the Toronto Congress Centre (booth #9722) at the CGTA Show as well as at the Alberta Gift Show (Foyer, Edmonton Expo Centre). You can have a chat, pick up a copy of our special show supplement, "Best Buys," and renew your subscription (65% off!).

Have a great time shopping the shows and a successful Fourth Quarter!

July 26, 2010

Iconic Made in Canada Products….Any Suggestions?

Last week a tweet from @TuijaSeipell led me to an article-slideshow on CBS MoneyWatch.com titled “Made in USA: 10 Great Products Still Made Here.” In it, Bob Trebilcock pointed out that the US is “still the world’s largest manufacturing economy, producing $1.6 trillion of goods each year, or 21 percent of global production.” A total that is, he writes, “nearly as much as Japan (13 percent) and China (12 percent) combined.”

This got me wondering about what Canadian-made products might make a similar list. Canada’s manufacturing sales in 2009 were $494,161, 000,000. Less than a third of what the US produces but still enough to provide a substantial number of products to choose from. Or, so I thought.

The first iconic product that came to mind was the Hudson Bay Company’s Point Blanket. However, a visit to that company’s site revealed a disturbing truth: The blanket is made in England. Always has been. I also had to rule out Roots products because I couldn’t determine which items in their broad offering are made in Canada. However, I did come up with these three companies:

1. Kodiak Boots – The preferred footwear of tradespeople, teenage boys and iconic hosers Bob and Doug McKenzie, these boots are still proudly made in Canada.
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2. Laura Secord Chocolates – Having been brought back to Canada by two Quebec businessmen, this chocolate manufacturer has been providing Canadians with taste treats for 97 years.
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3. Dare Cookies - This Canadian manufacturer sells its cookies and other products worldwide. It is also the official cookie supplier of the Girl Guides of Canada. My choice for iconic product: Ultimate Maple Cookies, made with real maple syrup.
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Three products—that’s all I came up with. I know there are more out there. Any suggestions?

July 12, 2010

What's Your Store's Super Customer Saying?

Have you been listening to your business' "super consumers"?

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In a Harvard Business Review blog titled "Tap Into Your Super Consumers," Eddie Yoon, a principal with The Cambridge Group, explained that businesses that act "on the insights from those consumers who spend disproportionate time and energy in the [product] category uncovers insights and innovations that encourage trade-up behaviors across other segments as well."

As an example, Yoon cites the case of a refrigerated meat manufacturer that grew its brand 40 percent in three years when it finally understood who its super consumers were--teenaged boys not backyard grillers as originally thought--and why these consumers loved the company's all-beef hot dogs. This new understanding led the company to focus its portfolio and change the emphasis of its advertising and marketing. These changes impacted across all demographic segments. And not only did the company sell more hot dogs, it got a premium price for its products and saw trade-up behaviour.

The lesson for retailers? Get a handle on the motivations, likes and dislikes of your store's core customers and use them to refocus your marketing and merchandise mixes. Definitely a worthwhile endeavour before you head out to the shows.

June 13, 2010

Are you showing your customers that you care?

Friday’s collection of Harvard Business Review blogs included
a post by John Sviokla titled “Three Tips for Curating Your Audience.”
In it Sviokla explains that “curation is the process of overseeing the preservation and use of something precious.” For a business, this “something precious” is its “audience,” which is comprised of past, present and future customers. Curation, he writes, is about caring. The million dollar question: Are you showing your customers that you care?

Sviokla writes that when he taught marketing, he would say “Your brand is nothing more than the sum total of memory traces which everyone who has touched your company have in their heads—good or bad.” A curator, he explains, “thinks about how precious those memory traces are and how important it is to be prepared to create new positive memories.” To do this, he says, firms “must at least do” these three things: 1. Have full information about all the interactions a customer has had with your firm. 2. Be ready to do business anytime, anywhere and any way. 3. Treat their audience like it is precious.

This brings me to the garage I take my car to for maintenance and repairs. It’s a family-run business recommended to me by a colleague who was the editor of a service station management magazine. The garage had won an award from the magazine for its excellent relationships with customers and suppliers so I decided to give it a try.

That was eight years ago. This garage is not the cheapest place in the area to get my car fixed. In fact, there’s a Canadian Tire just as close. However, I continue to bring my car there because over the years they’ve proven to be honest and caring. They also never miss a customer service—and consequently, marketing—opportunity.

To begin with, they see keeping my car running safely and well as their responsibility. Routine oil change appointments are booked ahead of time and they call two to three days ahead of the arranged date to confirm that it’s still convenient for you and that you’ll be coming. At the end of an appointment, the service manager reviews what you need to have done to your car at the next appointment. They have always had a loyalty program but this year they changed it from earning one free oil change in ten to accumulating a cash credit that can be used on any service or product. They now also offer their customers complimentary roadside assistance (through a supplier). This comes complete with a 1-800 number to call, free towing, etc. In addition, they offer complimentary use of loaner vehicles; rides to and from home if needed; and a clean, pleasant waiting room. They also wash and vacuum the inside of your car before returning it to you.

All these things add up to a memorable, positive customer service experience. But as someone who studies and writes about marketing, I also like the fact that they quietly and efficiently take advantage of any marketing opportunity that presents itself to them. I had my car in for maintenance work and an oil change last Thursday. On Saturday, I opened the trunk to put my groceries in after shopping and found my beaten up, Subaru-branded license plate frame/cover. I looked down and saw that it had been replaced with a shiny, new one with the name of the garage on it. I had to smile—positive memory trace created. The car looked better and it’s good advertising for them.

I have to admit that there are days when I think I should be looking for a less expensive garage. But then I take my car in, they take good care of it and me, and price isn't that important any more. And, that's why caring for your customers is good business.

June 6, 2010

Zappos.com follows the Golden Rule. Do you?

Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh’s first book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, hits bookstores today.

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For those who don’t know, Zappos.com is a mega-successful online shoe retailer. It’s also been named to Forbes list of top companies to work for. If you had the chance to watch CBS’s Sunday Morning yesterday, you would have learned from employees what makes Zappos.com a great place to work. If you read the excerpt from the book that appeared in Hsieh’s Harvard Business Review (HBR) post on Saturday you would have learned how Zappos.com has built extraordinary relationships with its vendors.

In the blog post, Hsieh describes how Zappos.com built these relationships using the Golden Rule - treat others as you would like to be treated. Having decided not to view vendors as adversaries, the company opened up its tracking system so suppliers could monitor what shoes were selling and make suggestions about new products. They are also treated well when they visit Zappos headquarters. The net result is better business and profits—for everyone.

Similarly, the employees interviewed for the Sunday Morning piece were uniformly enthusiastic about the company. One thing became clear as I watched: The Zappos employees felt valued and were engaged in their work and with the company. This engagement leads to great customer service, which in turn leads to happy customers and more sales and profits.

In following the Golden Rule, Hsieh and his team at Zappos.com have created a business model built on respect and engagement rather than top-down compliance. I’m sure Hsieh has more insights into successful retailing so I’ll be stopping at the bookstore on my way home from work. Passion, profits and purpose—who wouldn’t want to read more?

May 25, 2010

Multitasking -- Just Say No!

I've been multitasking all day and haven't gotten a thing done.

For a long time I've suspected that multitasking, while much lauded, isn't good for a person's health or career. But now, thanks to Harvard Business Review blogger Peter Bregman, I have proof.

In his most recent entry, Bregman looks at "How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking." Here are some of the facts he cites:

1. "A study showed that people distracted by incoming email and phone calls saw a 10-point fall in their IQs.

2. When we do several things at once "our productivity goes down by as much as 40 percent."

3. "Research shows that heavy multitaskers are less competent at doing several things at once than light multitaskers."

What will happen if you give up multitasking? Bregman conducted an experiment in which he gave up multitasking for one week. This actions resulted in:

1. Less stress. He found it "delightful."
2. Significant progress on challenging projects.
3. A loss of patience for things that he felt were not a good use of his time.
4. Tremendous patience for things he felt were useful and enjoyable.
5. "There was no downside. I lost nothing by not multitasking. No projects were left unfinished. No one became frustrated with me for not answering a call or failing to return an email the second I received it."

Tomorrow, I'm going to try a day without multitasking. Maybe I'll get something done.

May 10, 2010

Open 365 Days a Year: Progress or Problem?

This month Toronto's city council is set to vote on a proposal that would allow all stores to be open, 365 days a year. I'm not sure whether this is a sign of progress or a problem.

The Toronto Star has taken the progress position on the proposal. In an April 19th, 2010 editorial titled "Holiday shopping ban is outdated," the newspaper offers four arguments:

1. Relgious holidays with Christian roots are not relevant to an increasing number of the city's citizens. "Toronto has evolved… In 1961, just 9 per cent of greater Toronto's population was non-Christian. By 2001, that figure had increased almost fourfold to 34 per cent. The next census, in 2011, will undoubtedly show it is higher still."

2. The rules aren't fair. "The current holiday shopping rules are freighted with exemptions and special designations, allowing many retailers to remain open while others are required to close…Retailers not eligible for such exemptions suffer an inequity." In addition, it says that "the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, representing more than 27,000 business and property owners, is pushing hard for open retailing on holidays."

3. The existing rules aren't enforced. "No charges for a violation of the holiday shopping ban have been laid in Toronto for at least three years."

4. Store owners can choose whether they want to be open. And, employees can choose whether they want to work. "…employees…are protected under the Employment Standards Act, which gives them the right to refuse work, without repercussion, on statutory holidays."

This stand was refuted by The Globe and Mail's Marcus Gee. In a column that appeared in the April 27th, 2010 issue of the paper, Gee asserted that commerce, not secular and multicultural pressures, is the real reason for the proposed changes to the rules. He writes: "Of the nine Ontario public holidays, only Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday have obvious Christian roots. The other five -- New Year's Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Family Day -- are inoffensively secular…. There has been no great pressure from ethnic organizations to change the shopping rules."

Gee acknowledges that "there is a certain logic to ending the uneven, hard-to-enforce holiday retail ban and letting storeowners make the choice on their own whether to open or not." But, he questions whether retailers will really have a choice. If your competitors are open, can you afford to be closed? Similarly, he points out that while "technically" the law gives employees the right to refuse to work on holidays, how many of them will "be able to resist the call of the employer or the lure of the extra cash?" He quotes City Councillor Karen Stintz who "wonders… whether the result of this change might be a two-tier system, in which middle-class office workers get holidays off and working-class retail workers don't."

However, Gee's most compelling argument centers on the loss of the collective "pause" that holidays give the majority of the working population. It is these days that families get to spend time together. He writes: "The provincial government created Family Day precisely to address this family-time famine. Holiday shopping works in the opposite direction. Many families that might have spent the day together will disperse to the malls instead. The shopping compulsion is strong enough as it is. With stores open all the time, the pace of life becomes even more frenetic. Something is lost."

I agree with Gee. I like the collective "pause" that these holidays allow. I'm glad that the majority of stores aren't open at least a few days a year. I'm not a retailer but if I was, I would prefer it if the rules were enforced and the majority of stores were closed for major holidays. Doesn't everyone deserve a few days off without fearing that they're losing market share to their competitors?

Do you want the right to be open 365 days a year? Visit www.gifts-and-tablewares.com and vote on the home page poll. Click and be counted!

May 3, 2010

Five Retail Blogs Worth Reading

Looking for good information on retail on the Internet can be quite the time bandit. To help you out, I'm compiling a list of blogs and sites about retail that I think have worthwhile things to say about the industry (or business in general) and are worth reading regularly. Here are my first five blog recommendations :

1. Retail Prophet Blog - Retail Prophet president Doug Stephens writes a smart blog looking at how retail is evolving and how retailers can evolve with it. Check out his March 11, 2010 entry, "Retailing in the Absence of Recovery."

2. Fast Company's new Adventures in Retail Blog - This just launched blog on the Fast Company site is written by first-time retailer Craig Pelkey-Landes, who has just opened a camping/hiking/lifestyle store in southeastern Pennsylvania. Is it folly or will he find his fortune? He's going to let readers know how it's going each week.

3. Retail Design Diva Blog - This blog is presented by DDI (Design & Display Ideas) and GlobalShop, the largest in-store marketing and store design event in the world. The witty Design Diva is fun and informative, and covers myriad topics related to retailing.

4. Retail's Big Blog - This big blog site is produced by the Washington, DC-based National Retail Federation, which is the world's largest retail trade association. It offers blog entries in 18 categories including marketing, retail trends and sustainability. It's all retail, all the time.

5. Rick Segel's Blog - Rick Segel's been a speaker at the CGTA Gift Show more than once. A retailer for 25 years and the author of 12 books, he's a great source of insight and ideas.

I'll be adding more blogs (sites, videos, etc.) to my list in the coming months. Feel free to let me know about anyone on the web you feel is worth reading.

April 12, 2010

Looking at the Reality of Running a Small Business

A great new blog was introduced on the New York Times web site last week.

You're the Boss: The Art of Running a Small Business is being penned by Paul Downs, the owner Paul Downs Cabinetmakers, which is based in Philadelphia. In his first post, Downs explains that he will be concentrating on "the kind of business that doesn't get much press: the plodder. The survivor. Alive, but not necessarily thriving." He writes that he owns a "plodding" business and that he thinks about it all the time.

What went wrong? How can I make it better? What am I going to do next? I'm going to tell you about the mistakes I've made, and the problems coming at me. (And also the things we do well, because we do excel at some aspects of our business.) I won't be dispensing my wisdom from above--frankly, I'm hoping to learn more than I teach. I'm going to try to be honest about the decisions I've made and how they have turned out.
There are so many kinds of business, so many different plot lines, there's no expert who can know it all. I sincerely hope that my posts prompt all of you to start sharing your own experiences. Thank you for your attention.

Media today (maybe always) concentrate on the stories at the ends of the spectrum: the poor and the privileged; the sad and the successful. Businesses are either bankrupt or booming. The unglamourous middle, where most of us reside and work, is ignored. I'm delighted that Downs and the NYT has opened up a forum for the plodders of the world.

March 29, 2010

Why are we paying more and getting less?

I had an interesting conversation with my brother and his wife, who along with their daughter were down visiting this weekend. My mother's old range had stopped working and she wanted to replace it with the old-fashioned electric coil model. Discussing the matter with my mom, brother and sister-in-law, I wondered if a smooth top range might be a better purchase. My sister-in-law, who has had a smooth top stove for a few years, said she wouldn't buy one again. Her first preference now would be to convert over to a gas range (not an option in my mom's condominium) and failing that to go with the coil elements. The smooth top was hard to keep clean, she said.

This comment led to a conversation about products that we thought hadn't been improved over time. At the top of the list were pillow-top mattresses. I own one. My brother and his wife own one. My mother owns one. All of them are expensive models. None of us would ever buy one again. You can turn them around but you can't flip them, and they get "body dents" that swallow you up. They just don't have the value--though they cost more--that previous, simpler mattresses did. Another product sore spot was toasters. My brother said their expensive new four-slot toaster just didn't do the job--unlike the 20-year-old model my Mom still uses and which is, of course, no longer available.

I feel my age when I write that "they just don't make things like they used to"…but they really don't. In this age of rampant consumerism, we are buying more (and in many cases, paying more) and getting less on a daily basis. Why is that?

On another subject: One of the Smartbrief enewsletters I receive brought this article on time management to my attention. Called
"80 Ways to Steal Valuable Minutes for Your Work Day,"
it contains some good advice, and is worth a look.

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