Editorial Blog

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

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/07/its_show_time_are_you_ready.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/07/its_show_time_are_you_ready.htm Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:18:17 -0500 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.”

To emphasize his point, he listed 10 companies that have always made their “best-in-class products” in the U.S. They are: Weber Grills, Tesla Motor Roadsters, Herman Miller Chairs, L.L. Bean Maine Hunting Shoes, Homer Laughlin China’s Fiestaware, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, Viking Ranges, Allen Edmonds Shoes, Mortara Instrument ECG Machines, and Tibor Fly-Fishing Reels.

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.

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.

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.

Three products—that’s all I came up with. I know there are more out there. Any suggestions?

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/07/made_in_canada_iconic_products.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/07/made_in_canada_iconic_products.htm Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:07:44 -0500 What's Your Store's Super Customer Saying? 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.]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/07/whats_your_stores_super_custom.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/07/whats_your_stores_super_custom.htm Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:09:57 -0500 Are you showing your customers that you care? 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.]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/06/are_you_showing_your_customers.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/06/are_you_showing_your_customers.htm Sun, 13 Jun 2010 22:16:31 -0500 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.

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?

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/06/zapposcom_follows_the_golden_r.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/06/zapposcom_follows_the_golden_r.htm Sun, 06 Jun 2010 13:21:10 -0500 Multitasking -- Just Say No! 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.]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/05/multitasking_just_say_no.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/05/multitasking_just_say_no.htm Tue, 25 May 2010 17:23:08 -0500 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!

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/05/open_365_days_a_year_progress.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/05/open_365_days_a_year_progress.htm Mon, 10 May 2010 15:56:50 -0500 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.

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/05/five_retail_blogs_worth_readin.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/05/five_retail_blogs_worth_readin.htm Mon, 03 May 2010 14:11:57 -0500 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.

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/04/looking_at_the_reality_of_runn.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/04/looking_at_the_reality_of_runn.htm Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:56:04 -0500 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.

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/03/why_are_we_paying_more_and_get.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/03/why_are_we_paying_more_and_get.htm Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:54:56 -0500 The Emergence of Citizen Marketers

I'm fascinated by a story for ABC News that appeared in one of the SmartBrief enewsletters that I received today. The article (and video) is called "Girls Gone Viral: Online Fame From Shopping." In it, writer Eric Noll describes "a new phenomenon called 'haul videos'." These are, he explains, a way for people (usually teen and twentysomething women) "to show off their purchases to the whole world." Currently, he reports there are more than 110,000 haul videos on YouTube and "some videos are racking up tens of millions of views."

The article quotes consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow, who John Evans interviewed for his article on connecting with Gen Y that appeared in G&T's July/August 2010 issue. She says that "haul videos are the perfect marriage of two of Generation Y's favorite things: technology and shopping."

It turns out that haul videos are not only a means of expression and sharing, they are also a way for those young shoppers to earn money. Noll talked to Elle Fowler (21) and Blair Fowler (16), from Tennessee, two sisters whose haul "videos have been viewed 75 million times" and who have turned making the videos into a career of sorts. I was curious and checked out one of Blair's videos on YouTube. In it she describes her "haul" for Lush.

As I watched, I wondered what the video had done for Lush's business. (Noll writes that a watch the sisters bought and talked about in a video, sold out in 24 hours after the video was posted.) I also wondered if the sisters would continue to produce videos as they moved on in life, marrying, buying homes, having babies. It's amazing to think that a company could get that much publicity for free. It's also amazing to think that young people have become such influential marketers--whether they call themselves that or not.

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/03/the_emergence_of_citizen_marke.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/03/the_emergence_of_citizen_marke.htm Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:45:55 -0500 Are you ready for an exercise in idea-swapping?

In a recent Harvard Business Review blog, Bill Taylor, cofounder of Fast Company magazine and coauthor of Mavericks at Work, wrote about a clever exercise in idea-swapping" thought up by the editors of Fortune magazine. According to Taylor, while assembling their annual "Best Companies to Work For" issue, the Fortune editors challenged Kip Tindell, cofounder and CEO of The Container Store and Maxine Clark, founder and CEO of Build-a-Bear Workshop to trade places for a day. What the leaders discovered after working on the front lines of each other's operations, writes Taylor, was "all kinds of ideas and merchandising, employee motivation, and in-store communication that worked in one place, and might just work in the other if those ideas were exported to and adapted for the new environment."

Taylor, whose new book Practically Radical will be published this fall, said he's "seen it time and time again: Leaders who are hungry for new ideas don't just aspire to learn from the 'best in class' in their narrowly defined field. They also aspire to learn from organizations outside their field as a way to shake things up and make real change. Strategies and practices that are routine in one market segment can be revolutionary when they migrate to another, especially when those ideas challenge the prevailing assumptions that have come to define so many market segments."

What do you think? Would trading places with another business owner help you run your store better?

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/03/are_you_ready_for_an_exercise.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/03/are_you_ready_for_an_exercise.htm Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:49:25 -0500 Take a Tip from The Container Store: Treat Every Customer Like a Thirsty Man in a Desert

The Container Store, a U.S. chain specializing in home and office organization, has been in the retail news a lot lately. One of its founders, Kip Tindell, who is currently the company's CEO and chairman, is a keynote speaker at the upcoming International Home + Housewares Show, being held March 14-16 at McCormick Centre in Chicago. Tindell was also recently interviewed for the National Retail Federation Foundation Research & Education blog. At the International Home + Housewares Show he will be speaking about the value of an employee-first culture during tough times. In the NRF Foundation blog, he talked about "employees being a true part of the business" and the company's new "We Love Our Employees Day."

Not surprisingly, the company is one of the few retailers to consistently make Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For list. And with $551 million in sales in 2008, these employees clearly know a thing or two about selling. With all this in mind, I was interested to read an article that appeared in last Wednesday's (February 17) Dallas Morning News, which landed on my desk via a SmartBrief enewsletter. Titled "Container Store co-founder shares secret shopping encounters," the article detailed a "mystery shopper" expedition made by Garrett Boone, who is now the Container Store's chairman emeritus. Boone visited 30 stores in Dallas to prove that "rote, mindless greetings draw rote, mindless and dismissive responses from customers--even when they need guidance." On a day, when he "set the sky as the limit" for spending, encounters with 60 salespeople saw him purchase only "two pairs of jeans, a shirt and a half-dozen pairs of socks." No-one, he reported, treated him like a "Man in the Desert."

At the end of the article (which was originally a post on his Container Store blog), Boone explains "Man in the Desert" selling, which is taught at the Container Store.

"A man lost in the desert for weeks stumbles across an oasis and is offered a glass of water. But if you stop to think, you probably realize he also needs food, a place to sleep, a phone to call his family, a pair of shoes and a hat and umbrella to screen the sun's rays.

"When a customer comes looking for shoe storage, most retailers help her find a shoe rack--that glass of water. We know she needs a complete solution for her entire closet.

"Man in the Desert selling teaches our salespeople to become so immersed in the customer's needs that we complete their solution indistinctively."

Someone once told me that selling starts when the customers says "No." In retail, I think it's accurate to say that selling starts when the customer says "Just looking." Want to increase sales? Maybe your staff should try a little Man in the Desert selling.

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/02/take_a_tip_for_the_container_store_treat_every_customer_like_a_thirsty_man_in_a_desert.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/02/take_a_tip_for_the_container_store_treat_every_customer_like_a_thirsty_man_in_a_desert.htm Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:50:27 -0500 Giving Your Customers a Product Vote

Should you give your customers a vote about the merchandise in your store? Consider this:

A recent article on entrepreneur.com called Vote For Art: Democratizing Collegiate Apparel, tells the story of a young entrepreneur named Jeremy Parker (he's 24-years-old) who has broken into the lucrative collegiate licensing category in the States in a unique way. VoteforArt.com partners with universities and colleges, and through it students at these institutions vote for T-shirt designs created by peers, which will, in turn, by sold in their campus stores. Parker's impetus for creating VoteforArt.com was his own visit to a university campus, where he couldn't find a T-shirt with a design he liked. Why not, he thought, combine crowdsourcing and licensing and let the people who actually purchase the merchandise do the designing and make the selection.

Reading the article, I wondered what other retail applications this "democratizing" might have. Would it be good business for a retailer in a tourist area to hold a T-shirt design contest and let customers determine the winning design? Could a customer vote help you narrow down your choices of product in any given category? Customers have always voted with their dollars but it's an after-the-fact vote. What would happen if they got to vote for something that you didn't yet carry in your store? Just an idea.

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/02/giving_your_customers_a_produc.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/02/giving_your_customers_a_produc.htm Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:51:21 -0500 Negotiating: Think Win-Win, Not Winner Takes All

Yesterday morning, Kevin Graff of Graff Retail, opened the CGTA Spring Gift Show in Toronto with a seminar in which he outlined 13 critical management mistakes that retailers make and gave advice on how to avoid them. One of his suggestions concerned negotiating terms with suppliers. Everything, he said, is open to negotiation.

I had that admonishment on my mind when I went through my email newsletters today and found an article from American Express Open Forum Small Business titled, Take the Long View When Negotiating with Your Vendors. Written by Thursday Bram, this article delivered some common sense advice on the art of negotiation.

Bram suggests thinking outside of the price box in your negotiaions with vendors. They may not have much wiggle room when it comes to price, so think of other terms that you can benefit from. She also says to think long-term.

It's also important to think in terms of working with a vendor for years. If you're willing to take the focus of your negotiations off of price, your vendor may be more interested in working with you in the long run.

Phil Marcus, of NegotiationPro.com, has negotiated deals for clients as an attorney for more than 35 years. He offers a simple piece of advice for negotiating with any vendor:

Don't try to do what in Yiddish is called 'hondling.' That is, try to arrive at a fair price that allows the vendor to pay their bills and make a profit so they stay in business, rather than pressing and pressing for a cheaper price. Don't overpay, of course, based on what prices the commodity sells for elsewhere, but act like you want a long-term relationship and you will build one.

Taking the long view, she concludes, will payoff in new opportunities in the years ahead. Makes sense to me.

]]> http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/02/negotiating_think_winwin_not_w.htm http://bloggt.gifts-and-tablewares.com/2010/02/negotiating_think_winwin_not_w.htm Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:57:59 -0500