Sometimes retailers ask me: “how do I get good restaurant reviews?” The answer is quite simple. But before giving you the answer, let’s take a look at some (negative and positive) Yelp reviews. Or TripAdvisor, if you prefer. What are the topics that most customers refer to in these reviews? In reality the topics almost […]
Your customers don’t order starters or desserts?
“No thank you.” Unfortunately this is a common answer when restaurant waiters ask clients if they want starters or desserts. One of the biggest difficulties of a restaurant is to have customers order starters or desserts. And yet, this is one of the most powerful, and simple, ways to boost sales. Simple, because customers are […]
How to open a clothing business from home
One of the biggest joys of having a home-based business is waking up, going to the computer and seeing that we made sales during the night. Our bank account grew as we slept, without having to do anything. But this is the end result of hard work. The process to open a clothing business from […]
How to increase sales with the help of your restaurant menu
The vast majority of restaurant menus are poorly designed. From my experience, I would say at least 90% are poorly designed. One of the first jobs I do when I get hired to improve a restaurant is changing the menu. And there are two reasons why I start with the menu. The restaurant menu is […]
Customer retention in retail businesses
Customer retention is the ability of a store to make a customer buy over a period. Or, in a simple way, to make customers come back again and again for a long period. A retailer, client of mine, once asked me for help. “So, what’s the problem?”, I asked. “People seem to love our store. They […]
The annoying “I know everything” customers.
Great customers One of the great advantages of having a store (especially in case of brick and mortar stores) is that you usually deal with great customers. I don’t know about you but, I owned several stores in two different countries and I found that the majority of customers are nice people who just want […]
Pros and Cons of opening a fashion store
I have started several fashion retail businesses, and I remember that many of the expectations I had were not right. Some things went better than I thought, but others went worse. That’s why I think I’m able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of opening a fashion store. This is my personal opinion based on […]
The only two strategies for a successful store
Have you ever heard a retailer saying “I want to be the next Zara” or H&M, or Amazon? I heard it, many times. I like people with big ambitions, but it’s easier to win the lottery than being one of the biggest retailers on earth. In reality, many big retailers don’t have a successful store.
When was the last time you visited your store at night?
I hope you had never been waked up by a policeman telling your store had been robbed. Unfortunately that happened to me (twice) and could happen to anyone. But that’s not what I mean by “visited your store at night”. Stores at night are different. And so are people passing by. How does your store […]
How to decorate your store for Christmas
For a lot of stores, Christmas is still the best season of sales. A decoration, specially made for Christmas, is important for two reasons: It reminds customers to buy their Christmas gifts. Also tells them, your store is a place where many people buy gifts for Christmas. If not, why would you bother to make special […]