No doubt you feel you are ready for the big guy in the red suit to arrive and now it is just a waiting game. Key question, where are all the Christmas shoppers?

It is an interesting journey being on the road visiting retailers. I think by now I can anticipate every single imaginable response a retailer will give when you offer new and exciting products… I am ok with them all, most are not original and many make no commercial sense, some are laughable and some trigger empathy and others generate great conversations. I love YES and I am ok with NO, because I know NO doesn’t mean never, it just means not now….

But this is not about me selling you products. I want to ask you a couple of really important questions:

1. How ready are you for Christmas?
2. What are you doing this year to ensure you show a better result than last year?
3. What coaching and direction have you given your staff to ensure they out perform last years result?  

I have been asking retailers these specific questions for the past month and guess what the response has been…..?

We know that retail is challenging and the landscape is ever changing. We should all know and understand by now there is the ‘omni’ shopper who will buy from bricks and mortar, via social media platforms and selected websites.

Do we care how, where and when they buy – hell yes!

Well, if we really do care then we need to change a few things and change them quickly, otherwise the online experience looks way more inviting…..

I am talking about what happens in your store. What are you doing to make the experience so special that your customers feel like royalty, and your store is a non negotiable destination for their Christmas shopping?

Only you can answer these questions, make sure you do and be honest.

Let me tell you what I see every day, every week, every month….. on second thoughts maybe I won’t!

But what I can tell you is that customer engagement is really important. getting out from behind your counters/barriers and asking questions as to what brought them into your store is equally as important, and finding a way to ‘surprise and delight’ is what makes the experience in your store so special. Receiving a personal invite to come shopping in your store with coffee and cake – wow, now that’s a good idea. Yes just one of them….

Having your team ready to slaughter lasts years results is not just about giving them a bigger budget/target to reach, it is so much more. Make sure they understand exactly what a top notch ‘In Store Experience’ really is. And while you are doing this, make sure your shop looks fab and has the ‘jingle’ good to go, turn on the music and pump out the fragrance and most importantly ooze fun and happiness in your store.

Looking for new ideas, support and some fresh thinking, well I am full of them all, LOL! Reach out, give me a call, send me an email and lets work together to make sure this Christmas season truly is ‘Jolly’!

If you haven’t already read it, and your don’t have a copy, now might be the right time. This might be the best ‘Christmas’ present you give your business.

‘Creating an In Store Experience’, it will transform your thinking and be a game changer.

Get your copy by clicking here

I promise you it will be the best $35 you spend and while doing so you will have just donated $5 to the NZ or AU Heart Foundation ‘ForWomen’.

Happy and successful selling!

Every best wish today and always

Helen xo