Extraordinary Actions for Extraordinary Times

Last week I shared here seven things that retailers could do on a slow day. They were:

1. Create an event. 
2. Call your customers. 
3. Put an employee near the front door and invite people in to enjoy something to drink and eat or to participate in a special event. 
4. Keep music playing throughout the day. 
5. Don't let the staff congregate in the store. 
6. Ask (or politely tell) your customers to tell their friends and family about store specials or events. 
7. And last but not least, maximize the traffic you do have. 

While a number of retailers responded via email to share their experiences on how they've used these ideas and served up some of their own, one of my "regulars" Pam responded much differently.

In not so many words Pam said that my suggestions didn't go far enough. She said "that in drastic times retailers need to take drastic actions." She need rattled off some of her own ideas including:

1. Change your store around.
2. Buy off-price.
3. Rework your inventory budget.
4. Move out merchandise that hasn't moved to increase your cash flow.
5. Buy just in time.
6. Buy off price and mark it down aggressively.
7. Get the store in tip top shape for when traffic picks up in the spring.
8. Call your vendors and see if there are any extra good deals being offered to freshen up your merchandise.

While I think that all of Pam's ideas are quite valid, not everyone who reads The Weekly Retail Experience can or even needs to do these things.  Not every store has seen the huge drop-off in sales and traffic others have experienced but for many stores Pam's ideas are on the money.

Framing Pam's point a bit differently, these are extraordinary times and call for extraordinary actions.  The specific actions necessary will be different for every store. They will be different for every executive, owner, or manager.  What matters is what extraordinary action YOU are taking today.

If you're a store manager, what are you doing that is extraordinary?  What actions are you taking to achieve your sales goal today?  Is it improving your staff to increase your average sale?  Is it motivating your team to drive traffic?  Is it doing more with less, and not just doing the same things you've always done?  Are you feeding information to those who make pricing and buying decisions?  Are YOU taking extraordinary actions?

If you're an owner, are you aggressively managing your inventory?  Are you making the floor moves to improve your store?  Are you buying right and pricing to sell?  Are you looking for the long-term opportunities that are out there for retailers in strong cash positions?  Are you maximizing your staff?  Are YOU taking extraordinary actions?

If you're an executive, are you engaging your stores to make sure your entire company is working together to succeed?  Are you asking and receiving feedback from employees and customers?  Are you streamlining your operations without sacrificing your customer experience and your store support? Are you being the visible leader your stores need? Are YOU taking extraordinary actions?

There is no one-size fit all action in this economy.  We will continue to help you maximize your customer experience through your people.  That's what we do and we do it very well, and as a specialty retailer that's what you need to do in any economy. Wherever you are or whatever you sell, an extraordinary customer experience will always result in higher sales today and more sales tomorrow.

Have an extraordinary week.