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Author: Phil Wrzesinski

Are You Saying Something Remarkable? (Would You Like to?)

What do your ads say?

Wait, let me rephrase that.

What do your ads say that is truly worth remembering?

I know what you say about your advertising.

“We’ve tried that and it didn’t work.”
“We don’t have that in our budget.”
“We only believe in word-of-mouth.”
“We only do ‘event-advertising’.”
“We had to cut advertising because of the economy.”

The reason your ads didn’t work is because they weren’t remarkable. No one heard them, let alone remembered them.

A 1978 Yankelovich study showed that the average American received 2,000 advertising messages a day. In a revised study in 2008 that number is now 5,000. Without a remarkable, memorable message, you’ll never stand out in a crowd of 5,000.

Chances are, you have a remarkable, memorable message. You just haven’t been telling it.

You’ve been saying your name over and over under the false belief that just repeating your name thousands of times will give it top-of-mind salience. But what if people don’t know what your name means? Or worse yet, they have a negative association with that name, or an indifferent one?

There are ways to make your marketing stand out, to make it memorable. And it all starts with the message. Finding your truly remarkable, memorable message is the single most important element of your success in advertising. Yet, it is the most common mistake.

As you worry over demographics, reach, circulation, viewership, listenership; who is hearing or seeing your ad, you neglect to think about what you are telling them. As you worry about cost-per-ad, cost-per-click, cost-per-inch, cost-per-viewer; you neglect the cost of not saying anything worth remembering.

The result? Blah, blah, blah. Don’t you think that with 5,000 ad messages a day we learn to filter out the vast majority of it? If it isn’t interesting, we aren’t paying attention. If it isn’t remarkable, we aren’t remembering.

The message is king. A remarkable, memorable message works well no matter what medium you use to deliver it. A remarkable, memorable message works well no matter how many people hear or see it. A remarkable, memorable message can even buy you that coveted word-of-mouth.

I still have customers talking about our Men’s Bathroom radio ad even though it hasn’t been on the air for over 10 months!

Here’s the hard part. Finding your message means digging deep into the heart of your business, brushing away all the secondary messages until you find the one core thing worth saying. It means uncovering the real you inside your business, the unvarnished and genuine you. And it means having the guts to tell the world about the real you.

Do you have the guts?

Good! Here’s the first step. Go to Freebies on my website and download the ebook Understanding Your Brand. Follow those directions. When you get done, send me your results. I’ll help you find something worth saying.

I know there’s a message in there. Together we can pull it out and make your marketing truly remarkable.

Helping the Independent Retailer Succeed

“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.” – Neils Bohr

Whenever I make a mistake, I am usually the first to admit it. Probably makes me unique. But if you’ve been near me when I goof, you’ve heard me say, “Not the first time I made a mistake, certainly won’t be the last.”

After growing up in a retail family and spending 16 years running a top level independent retailer, I’m now the guy Neils Bohr was talking about. Yes, a bona fide expert in independent retailing. And I’m here to share my experiences with you.

I’m launching a new website just for the independent retailer – http://www.philsforum.com/. There is so much a business owner needs to know to run a successful retail operation.

You have to be great in four categories.

Great Products – having the right products in the right amounts merchandised the right way at the right prices to make your customers happy and make the registers sing
Great Customer Service – providing a top notch experience for your customers through a fabulous, well-trained, friendly and caring staff with customer-friendly services and attitude.
Great Marketing – getting the word out about your business in a consistent and well-planned manner with a powerful message that connects deeply and drives traffic through the doors
Great Financials – knowing where your money is and what it is doing to help you succeed

Rare is the independent retailer who is strong in all four categories.
Few have mastered even three.
Most independent retail owners are strong in only one or two.
All think they know more than they do (except for the smart ones among you)

The truth is we all need to keep learning.

Even a guy like me is still learning. I’m constantly trying to become better in every category above. And, having made and learned from a bunch of my own mistakes (not to mention the mistakes of others), I can say I’m pretty close to becoming one of the Few.

No, I’m not a financials kind of guy. Talk to your accountant on that. But I do know about Marketing, Merchandising and Customer Service. Stuff that has elevated Toy House and Baby Too to be recognized as one of the 25 best independent retailers in America.

Now I’m going to share our secrets.

The website is loaded with freebies – ebooks and articles you can download and start using right away. This blog is there, too. I’ll be writing to give you insights and new perspectives on the world of retail and how to grow your business.

I’m also looking for your feedback. What hot button issues are graying your hairs? In which category do you need the most help? What topics do you want me to cover?

Your success is the goal. I already have a successful business. My purpose is to help you get there, too.

A Coach and a Leader

My son’s little league team lost in the playoffs last night. It was amazing they even made it that far. This was a team of castoffs from the start.

Four weeks after practice began and two games into the season, a few kids had been mistakenly left off teams. Rather than add them to existing teams, the league found a coach and created a new team by drafting kids from other clubs. No one would admit it, but since each existing team had coaches’ sons and hand-picked friends, the kids drafted (including my son) were the 7th best kid or worse from their respective teams.

With little practice time and no printed schedule for the first three weeks, Coach Johnson did the best he could to figure out what he had and build some sort of team. In their first week of games, little Noah, one of the smallest kids in the league was hit by a pitch two or three times. It took every ounce of courage and every word of encouragement from his coach for him to even step back in the batter’s box. In their third game, they lost 14-3 in 4 innings to one of the premier teams in the league – victims of the mercy rule that only allowed 5 runs per inning.

There were issues with the rules. Coach Johnson was given one set of rules. Apparently other coaches had decided to use different rules, and the umps seemed to have a rulebook of their own.

Still, through encouraging words, never allowing his kids to feel like castoffs, Coach Johnson crafted them into a team that could win. Even without a true pitcher, they won enough to make the playoffs and face one of the three teams that had mercied them earlier in the season.

And they won!

But last Thursday they went up against the #1 ranked team that had beaten them 14-3 earlier, a team loaded with all-star 10-yr olds instead of a mix of 8 to 10 yr olds that other teams had.

For two innings neither team could score. In the 3rd my son’s team took a 2 run lead that they held until the bottom of the 5th. The game entered the 6th and final inning all tied at 2. With two outs in the top of the 6th, our last chance was little Noah. The dugout was cheering him on, knowing that a walk was probably the best they could hope. Noah had barely stayed in the batter’s box, let alone actually swung at a pitch. This time, with teeth gritted, Noah did stand in there and swung with all his might. The bat met the ball with a force that shook little Noah to his toes. But he held strong and watched the ball head sharply toward right field.

The players in the dugout jumped to their feet urging Noah to run. The crowd was cheeringly loudly. The noise was deafening, louder than at any other point in the game. Little Noah’s legs churned as fast as they could.

The first baseman, unaffected by the cacophony of crowd noises, calmy scooped up the grounder, took two steps towards first base and made the out, with Noah still 15 feet away.

But there was no groan from the crowd nor the dugout. No moans at the lost chance, no ‘aw shucks’ or ‘too bad’. The cheering continued. And continued. Noah was given a hero’s welcome as he returned. Every player slapped him a congrats on his helmet as they headed out to the field for the fateful bottom of the 6th. Coach Johnson had taught these boys that there were things more important than hits and outs.

Even the cheers from the crowd of parents who had witnessed Noah’s trials from the beginning never abated. His parents were given high fives and pats on the back as he jogged out to right field.

One batter later, however, the game was over. A missed call by the ump, some intimidation by the opposing coach, and a couple of bad throws ended the game 3-2. But there were no losers in this game. Coach Johnson wouldn’t let it happen. After the game and the obligatory handshake, he called his team together.

At the end of the season each player gets a free coupon for a Pizza Hut pizza. But Coach Johnson went one step further. He didn’t call it a gift or freebie, he called it an Award. Before he handed each kid his coupon, he called them up and explained why they were getting this award. He talked about each kid and his contribution to the team. He talked about the energy and can-do attitudes they brought to the season. He talked about their desire to never quit. He talked about determination and always holding your head high. By the time he talked about Noah, there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd, parents and kids alike.

Coach Johnson coaches whatever sport needs to be coached. He already had a travel basketball team when they called him to coach little league. And now he’s running practices for a summer football team. He asked my son, who is big for his age, if he would like to play football this summer. My son, who does not like physical contact at all, actually gave it some consideration. Why? Two words… Coach Johnson.

I had my doubts on this season. My son was on one of the best teams to start the year, great coaches, great players and great parents. I sat through two nights of tears when he found out he was drafted to the new team. I had my reservations watching the first practice and seeing the lack of talent. And when Parker’s old team mercied them early in the season, I sat through another night of tears.

But after last night, I can honestly say I’m glad it worked out the way it did. And my son would agree. He still wants to go the final game to cheer on his old team, but he has no regrets for how his season turned out, except maybe that strikeout in the 5th inning.

There are coaches and there are leaders. This summer, a group of 8 to 10 year old castoffs got both. And I doubt any one of them will forget it. My son and I certainly won’t.

Thanks, Coach Johnson, for making this season special.

Coaches teach the basic skills, leaders teach the important lessons of life.

Question… Are you coaching or are you leading?

Growing the Top Line or the Bottom Line, What’s Your Goal?

I just returned from the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) Marketplace 2009 in St. Paul, MN. Hundreds of toy retailers and manufacturers gathered to highlight the best toys for 2009 and the best practices for toy store owners.

And over the course of 4 days I must have heard the question, “How’s biz?” at least a hundred times.

It’s a fair question. We’re all concerned with how other retailers are doing in other parts of the country. The issue I have is with the answer.

Most every retailer talked only about their top line sales. Sales were ‘flat’ (flat is the new up), ‘down a little’, ‘holding steady’, ‘tough’ and many other euphemisms for “not what we want but who’s complaining?”

But no one mentioned the bottom line – profit. When you get right down to it, retail is not about top line sales but bottom line profits.

If top line sales were all it takes to make you happy, I have a guaranteed 3-step program to raise your sales 100% over the next three months.

  1. Mark everything at half price.
  2. Quadruple your advertising.
  3. File bankruptcy.

Anyone want to try it?

One of the speakers at ASTRA, Bob Negen, pointed out correctly that there are only three ways to increase top line sales:

  1. Get more (new) customers
  2. Increase average sale
  3. Get existing customers to shop more often

Bob went on to give us great tips for doing all three with the idea that if we grew our business 5% each way we would have 15% top line sales growth. Who wouldn’t want 15% sales growth?

Before you answer, let me rephrase the question… Who wants 15% sales growth with 30% growth in costs? Doesn’t sound so good, now, does it?

One of Bob’s ideas to get customers to shop more often is a Frequent Buyer’s Club. You’ve seen these. Shop a certain number of times, spend a certain amount of money, and get a kick back of some sort. In Bob’s way, the customer shops 6 times and then gets a store credit for 10% of her purchases as an incentive to shop more. In essence, it’s a 10% discount for 6 out of 7 trips to the store. And this idea is supposed to grow your sales by 5% by getting customers to shop more often.

I’m not the brightest mathematician around, but spending 10% to get 5% growth doesn’t add to the bottom line. Probably why I’m not a fan of discounts, coupons or Frequent Buyer Clubs.

On the other hand, Bob gave some great ideas for increasing the average sale.

  1. Raise your prices
  2. Add on to every sale until the customer has everything she needs (what I like to call “completing the sale”)

Both of these ideas will not only increase your top line, but also add to the bottom line.

When you are looking at ideas to grow your business, remember that your goal is to grow your profit, not necessarily your sales. Look at each idea carefully and see how it changes your bottom line, not your top line.

Paying attention to the bottom line is what will keep you in business and make you most happy.

-Phil

Courage to Lead

I ran across these two videos on Leadership on a blog by Mike Rogers. Different styles (one is a movie excerpt), but similar messages.

Running a business requires leadership and leadership requires courage – the courage to go on when you’re afraid.

By the way, you might want to get the tissue before you click the links. I watched the first one with my wife. When it started, she asked, “I’m not gonna be upset by this, am I?” She wasn’t upset, just moved to tears (me, too).

http://www.teamworkandleadership.com/2009/05/free-inspirational-leadership-video-story.html

http://www.teamworkandleadership.com/2009/05/get-the-very-best-a-very-inspirational-leadership-video-clip.html

Thanks for the videos, Mike!

-Phil

Tooting Your Own Horn

My son plays trumpet in the 5th grade band. He’s been tooting his horn since October and has improved greatly. The school pointed us in the direction of an online program called Smart Music that has helped his practice time immensely.

In fact, he has even taught himself how to play Happy Birthday and Hail to the Victors. He loves to toot his own horn both literally and figuratively, willing to show off his talent for anyone within earshot.

Sometimes it makes my wife and I uncomfortable the way he brags and boasts about his accomplishments. Which begs the question… When is it okay to toot your own horn? When does it cross the line from importance to arrogance?

There is a new book coming out this Thursday by national retail consultant and best-selling author George Whalin titled, Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America. Toy House and Baby Too is one of the 25 best.

Is it bragging and boasting for me to highlight this accomplishment? Is it arrogance to shout to the world about being in this book? Believe me, we are humbled to be included. But at the same time, I have an opportunity with this book to make some noise.

If my son doesn’t blow his horn, it makes no noise. No one is going to blow it for him. Likewise, as a business owner, when presented with a trumpet like this book, I need to toot loud and clear. My son will play for any audience anywhere. Shouldn’t businesses do the same? Especially when you get a chance to reach a new audience.

No one remembers the seventh trumpet in the back row quietly playing along with the rest of the band. We remember the soloist who stands up and plays loud and proud.

Yet too many of us are afraid of the spotlight, afraid of what some might say about us. Every soloist has his critics. But far many more praise his talents and enjoy his music.

Should you toot your own horn? Of course you should! Play it loud and proud. You’ll gain far more fans than critics.

But don’t forget to practice.

-Phil

Doing it the Right Way

My wife hit her goal today. In the fall of 2007 she set a goal – lose 50 pounds… the right way.

Yep, eat right, exercise more.

No fad diets, no magic fat-burning pills, no surgeries, meal deals or other gimmicks. Just eat right and exercise more.

Yes, she enlisted help. She signed up for Measure-up Monday through Allegiance Health to give her someone to which she would be accountable. She also signed up for exercise classes, figuring that if she paid money she’d be more apt to attend.

And it worked! It took her eighteen months, but she has dropped 50 pounds, 7 dress sizes, and a load of unhealthy self-esteem.

Best of all, because of the changes in lifestyle, she’s going to keep that weight off for good.

So what does this have to do with your business?

Just like losing weight, there is no miracle cure to make your business profitable. You have to change your habits. You have to…

Eat right and exercise more.

Eat right means control your inventory. You need to bring in the right products in the right amounts. You need to calculate and closely follow your Open-to-Buy. You need to manage your cash flow. It might mean making a wholesale change to how you run your business. It did for my wife. She reads labels more carefully, understands nutrition much better, and makes smarter choices based on new information. Oh, she still has dessert every night, just not as much and not as often. She changed her eating habits. Can you change your buying habits? Of course you can.

When your business eats right, you’ll find your business is leaner and more agile, able to make changes to meet the needs of the marketplace faster.

Exercise more means get out and work. Retail is not for the lazy. As Roy H. Williams said, “If making a profit were easy, everyone would be doing it.” It takes work. It takes paying attention to the details of your customer service. It takes following your finances closely and knowing what each number is and what affects them. It takes doing your due diligence in the hiring and training of your staff to make sure they represent you as well as possible. It takes scrutinizing your marketing to make sure it portrays the message you want it to portray.

In short, it takes effort. The good news is that the work becomes habit forming. After a few months of working out at least 5 times per week, my wife now feels horrible if she doesn’t work out. And the same will be true for your business. The more you work at it, the easier the work becomes.

One of the biggest drawbacks to losing weight is simply getting started. The same is true of the pile in your inbox. But if you make small changes daily to pay just a little more attention to the details, to focus just a little more sharply, your inbox will be less daunting and easier to manage.

If you want lasting profitability, you have to make changes to your business lifestyle. There are no shortcuts. You have to eat right and exercise more. And if you do, it will work!

Just ask my wife.

-Phil

What I Learned in Louisville

The All Baby & Child Spring Conference just wrapped up. It is a conference for stores who sell baby products. Over 3 plus days we had speakers, presentations and a mini trade show. I was asked to be a presenter when the conference was scheduled but got bumped for a presentation on the new CPSIA law and how it affects baby products.

Twenty of the four hundred plus attendees dragged themselves into a room set up for 300 to hear the latest interpretations of this expensively pointless law. But since I wasn’t presenting, I chose to carefully observe the other presenters to see what I could learn. Here are the Do’s and Don’ts from Louisville.

Don’t give a presentation where all you do is read the ample text on your wordy slides. Give me the handout and quit wasting my time. I’m not two any more. I can read. Yes, one presenter put up slides full of text and then read them to us, often poorly because he couldn’t decide whether to read his laptop with reading glasses or turn his back and read the screen without. It’s been a long time since I rated a presentation poor. I pray it will be another long time before I do it again.

Don’t plan a 90 minute presentation when you only have 60 minutes scheduled. As much as I like the information, I also want to get to the next presentation on time.

Don’t start your presentation until you know the audio is working. Twenty minutes into a talk is way too late to find out half the room can’t hear you.

Don’t talk too fast. Yeah it may be your style, but I was out of breath just trying to keep up with you. I haven’t learned shorthand and taking notes was useless.

Don’t promote your book until the end. I’m not interested in buying until I know what you’re selling.

Do something surprising to get my interest. Rick Segel giving away a copy of his book to the first person willing to go against the crowd was a brilliant idea (and I’m not just saying that because he gave the book to me). It got everyone to pay attention and realize that dissenting voices exist and are not always wrong.

Do give me action steps. Paint me a picture of what to do next. Mike Rayburn taught me to say, “What if..?” whenever I am presented with a challenge. It was our buzzword fr the rest of the evening. George Whalin gave me a list of traits of a great manager, things I need to develop in myself or hire & train in my employees. I like concrete stuff that helps me plot a course of action.

Do something unique. The most fascinating presentation was by Mike Rayburn. He’s a guitar virtuoso, a comedian, and a motivational speaker. One of my colleagues asked me after the presentation if he was a musician who did comedy or a speaker who did music, or a comedian who did motivation. I asked what was the point. You see, there are plenty of guitar virtuosos, tons of motivational speakers, and a plethora of comedians. But there is only one Mike Rayburn who can combine all three seamlessly. If there had been a box above Excellent, I would have checked it for his presentation.

Do something fun. Rick Segel told great jokes that made us laugh out loud and helped get his points across. George Whalin put up a slide of a crazy guy in a superhero outfit that got a lot of buzz afterwards. Mike used humor and music, two of my favorites.

Do give me something to take home. I have a book, a DVD, two CD’s, and three handouts of notes. Reading material for bedtime, listening material for the drive home, and training material for the next staff meeting. It’s the trifecta of a great conference.

If you are doing a presentation, whether for a handful of co-workers in a staff meeting or a crowd of conference attendees, keep these Do’s and Don’ts in mind. And if you’re not doing any public speaking soon, why don’t you come to my talk on Wednesday, May 20th. It’s at 7:30 am at Jackson Coffee Company. The topic is How Ads Work: Understanding Branding and the APE. Not only will you learn some really cool stuff for your business, you’ll get the chance to critique me on the stuff I’ve just posted and tell me how well I did.

See you there.

-Phil

Deep Versus Wide

In just about everything you do, you have a choice. Go Deep or go Wide.

In business that could mean a number of things…

  • Stock a few things Deeply or stock a Wide assortment.
  • Try to create Deep relationships with a few special customers or shallow relationships with as Wide a group as possible.
  • Advertise Deeply in one media or spread yourself thinly across a Wide variety of venues.

Obviously, the best choice is to do both. But it is rare that any independent business has the resources to go Deep and Wide at the same time.

So with limited resources which is better? Deep or Wide?

This is the question that came up last Monday at the Jackson Retail Success Academy. One of our panelists was asked about advertising and what he felt was most effective. He said mixing up the media, doing a little in a lot of areas worked best for him. At which point every head turned towards me.

Two weeks earlier I instructed the same group of students to go Deep with their advertising, not to mix it up too much. Pick one media, I told them, and do it to the best of your budget and ability.

Every eye was now staring at me to see what I had to say.

And here’s what I said…

Nothing.

First, I did not want to discount what a fellow local business person whom I respect had just said. Second, I already had my say on the matter. Third, it wasn’t the time or place since we were supposed to be talking Inventory Management at the time. And finally, none of the students in that group had the kind of advertising budget this retailer had.

But the question still begged to be answered. Is mixing up the media a viable option or is it better to focus on one media done right?

Okay, I cheated. I phrased the question with a serious slant. I used the words, “done right”.

You see, the key to successful advertising is not how much you do or where you do it so much as how well you do it. Do you have a powerful message? Do you craft that message to speak directly to the heart of your audience? Do you pound that message over and over and over until the customers are thinking of nothing else other than you?

When I talk about Deep in advertising, I’m talking connection. How deeply do you connect with your audience? How well do you move their who-gives-a-crap meter? If you can do that in more than one media, good for you. Some businesses don’t have the money. Most don’t know how to craft the right message.

Your customers are your business relationships. The deeper the relationship, the more business you’ll do. And that starts with a deep and long lasting connection through your ads. If you’re dabbling in a little radio here, a little TV there, with a little newsprint on the side, how can you make any lasting impressions? How can you stay with it long enough to move the meter?

With all due respect to my fellow retailer, mixed media is rarely the answer. While he runs a successful business, Roy Williams, who taught me about going Deep, has turned other businesses in his category into rock stars (for those who know, pun intended).

Would you like to learn to go Deep? Join me for an hour on Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30am. I’ll be holding court at Jackson Coffee Company upstairs in their conference room doing a presentation that will change the way you advertise for good (or better).

-Phil

Watch What You Say

1:06 pm Saturday, April 18th, phone in my right hand listening to the ring tone. Calling a downtown restaurant known for good lunches in the sleepy city of Jackson where on a Saturday half of downtown shutters the doors before the sun hits it’s zenith. They answer…

“Hello, {Restaurant Name}”

“Hi, how late are you open?”

“One o’clock…” (big pause)

“Oh, you just closed?”

(Exasperated) “No, one o’clock AM!”

Geez, sorry for asking…

First impressions go a long way. Unfortunately many first impressions are made by wrong assumptions. The person on the other end of the line assumed that everyone knew they were open at night and therefore assumed that “one o’clock” could only mean “one am”.

Imagine if I had called at 12:30 pm. I might have assumed that “one o’clock” meant “in thirty minutes”. And they would have lost any chance at my business that night.

Simple little misunderstandings caused by assumptions that lead to lousy first impressions. If you want to make an assumption, assume that every caller is a first time caller to your business and knows little to nothing about you. How would you treat that caller differently?

Exactly! You’d give them more precise and useful information and avoid embarrassing and potentially costly misunderstandings.

Put a little time into your next staff training to evaluate faulty assumptions you might make when you answer the phone. Use this story to illustrate the point. It may be the least expensive best training you’ll use this year.

-Phil

PS Full disclosure: It was my mom who made the call. She almost hung up at hearing “one-o’clock”. Although she and her friends are going there tonight, her first impression will be a lasting one, and they’re going to have to work really hard to overcome one seemingly innocuous answer and win her over.