A successful retail strategy often involves doing a few simple things really well and attention to detail.
If you get the basic principles right it should follow that everything else falls into place much easier and that should ensure that your retail store is ready to attract as many customers as possible.
There are plenty of options to consider when kitting out your retail store, such as buying used Madix shelves as an affordable solution, and if you follow these following core principles it should set you on the right path to potential sales success.
Always focus on the customer
It might be a well-worn phrase, but it always rings true, as the customer is always king and if you don’t arrange your store and select your products with your target customer in mind it is going to be a challenge to enjoy retail success.
It should always be a priority to get to know and understand your customer so that you can give them what you want.
Attention to detail
Another key phrase to keep at the front of your mind when organizing your store is retail is detail.
It is of paramount importance that your business remains consistently focused on every detail of the store so that you respond proactively to customer trends and give them what they are looking for in a convenient format and layout.
Your store needs to be built on solid foundations
Although the face of retail has evolved almost beyond recognition in recent times and shoppers are much savvier and more promiscuous with their purchasing habits there are still some core principles that you need to get right to win their custom as often as possible.
When it comes to retailing, product, price, place, promotion (the four Ps) still hold a great degree of relevancy.
You need to stock products that your customers want and offer a decent product range.
It is imperative that you achieve price consistency across your store.
It is essential that you offer the right place for your customers to make their purchase, which might involve a combination of in-store and online.
Promotional incentives and actively promoting your business are also key ingredients.
Try to benefit from plenty of footfall
Location is always a primary consideration and it is no coincidence that some stores enjoy more success than others simply because their store is in a better spot.
If you are combining an online store with a physical presence you might be able to get away with a secondary location but, if you can, your aim should be to try and locate your store where plenty of potential customers walk past on a daily basis.
Great customer service
Retail can be a crowded space but the companies that go the extra mile for their customers and give great service do tend to enjoy consistent success.
If you treat every customer as the most important person you have seen that day it should translate into a successful interaction that can quickly lead to a sale.
If you focus on these core principles and get your store design right it will put you in the best position to generate as many sales as possible.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/store-984393_1280-1.jpg8541280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-11-20 16:00:532019-11-20 14:41:085 Core Principles to Have in Mind When Organizing Your Retail Store Products
Departmental cultures are a big thing and always have been. The strange thing is, they don’t often get talked about openly among leaders in public. However, they are talked about and encouraged behind closed doors. It’s kind of like the armed forces. The best generals all throughout history, have fanned the flames of internal rivalries in their units. If you don’t have departments vying to be better than each other, how will their fare when it comes to trying to beat the competition? Hence why good business leaders will always encourage their workforce to have cultures that symbolize their skills, abilities, and way of doing things. Department cultures can be extremely motivating, becomes a brotherhood can develop among peers who are in the same company, the same department, have the same background and are trying to achieve the same goals.
Why they exist
Departmental cultures exist because we all come from different backgrounds. The marketing professionals in your business, don’t think the same as the risk department. Although they’re on the same team, they talk differently, use specific language and if you really get down to the human psyche, they even dress in a similar fashion. The reason why departmental cultures exist is that we all come from different houses or schools. The school of economic thought is very different from the school of design. It’s kind of like a task force mentality. You’re all going to work better when you feel like you belong. And not just having but being a part of their specific culture helps many employees feel like they are in the right place.
Marking their patch
You don’t want your departments to set up boundaries because you’re all on the same team at the end of the day. But you do want to create ‘checkpoints’. These are not physical barriers or borders, but they’re subtle hints that you’ve entered a different part of town. For example, the spaces that you have allocated to your departments in the office, should have their own distinct vibe and look. You can stick custom made morale patches around the room where the different departments begin and end. For example, a custom patch might be of an artist that the design employees look up to. For the risk department, you might have an owl because they watch over everything. You might also want to have a flag of a nation that represents the department such as the sales department for your Asian partners, etc. These small things add up to the culture in a big way.
Showcase cross-departmental skills
Departments can work together to solve problems. In fact, in modern-day business, they have to. But you can encourage this further by playing a solving game. For example, the marketing team has a project for which they don’t know the risk. The risk department can work with them to analyze their specific goals and give them solutions as to what is possible. It can be completely made up scenarios, but when your employees are together in the room, they can see how each other work.
Departmental culture is vital to the life and soul of your business. Every employee should feel as if they belong. Not just in the wider business, but in a department that they can call home.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/analyzing-people-3441040_1280.jpg8531280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-11-20 07:00:382019-11-20 20:59:05Departmental Culture Tribes Can Be Great Motivators
Did you know that a staggering three quarters of internet users don’t click past the first page of search results on Google? This is the reason why search engine optimization, or SEO, has been and still is a dominating force in the world of digital marketing. However, while SEO is arguably the most important factor to consider, it is not the only factor that is going to help you maximize your online sales. SEO can and should be combined with both SEM and PPC for optimal results.
Here is what you need to know about all three.
SEO
SEO refers to the practice of optimizing your company’s website for search engines. In other words, the ultimate goal of a good search engine optimization strategy is to rank higher in search results, something that MackMedia can help you to ascertain. SEO is comprised of both on-page and off-page factors. On page factors refer to those aspects of SEO that you can control on your own website, including metadata, user experience (UX), keywords, alt tags, and internal linking. Off-page SEO refers to the aspects of SEO that happen off of your website, but have a direct effect on your website’s rankings. Off page factors include backlinks, domain authority, and social promotion.
PPC
PPC refers to pay per click advertising via search engines. Essentially, you decide on a budget for your campaign and create ads that display on Google or on various social media platforms (most platforms have their own PPC tools and procedures). You only pay a specified amount if and when someone clicks on your ad. Generally, the ad directs the person to your website and drives a specific CTA, often resulting in a conversion or at least commencing/progressing the buyer’s journey. You have the power to set a specific budget per day and/or per month so that it is impossible to overspend.
Many business owners put more effort into PPC because it promises immediate results and automatically takes their ad to the top of the Google search results. Many also opt to make use of PPC because they believe that it positively affects their organic rankings. However, this is a myth. No matter how much you spend on PPC advertising, it will not alter your organic rankings in any way.
SEM
SEM is short for search engine marketing and it is very similar to PPC. Most experts will tell you that PPC is a large part of SEM, but that SEM extends further than just PPC itself. While PPC is generally more focused on paid advertising via search engines, SEM is focused on paid advertising across the digital board, including on third party websites like online directories, Amazon, and YouTube.
At the end of the day, a great digital marketing strategy will encompass SEO, SEM, and PPC in order to generate maximum results and maximum brand awareness. Not sure how to get started? It is always a good idea to consider hiring a professional digital marketing company for assistance if you do not feel secure enough in your own skills. That way, you can reap all of the rewards without having to put in the extra effort.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/seo-896175_1280.png6731280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-11-19 16:00:552019-11-19 15:26:57What You Need to Know About SEO, SEM, and PPC
Insurance is a complicated, yet important, aspect of any company. It’s what lets companies behave confidently, assured that if they face damages as a result of taking poor risks, they’ll be able to cope. Yet, not all businesses can be covered by traditional insurance companies.
For them, there are captive insurance companies that cover businesses that traditional insurances find too risky. And captive insurance companies manage to do this in a simple, yet effective, way. The business owns the insurance company itself and relies on itself to cover any damage it may endure while operating.
Only large companies can afford to use captive insurance companies, since having one requires having enough money to dole out insurance. For the most part, captive insurance companies are a way to prove that you have the money to make risky plays. And that’s not all they can do for a company.
To learn how captive insurance companies helped large businesses, keep reading below!
Captive Insurance Companies Put You in Charge of Risk
No matter what kind of business you’re in, your company will have to take on a level of risk. Doing business requires that you behave in ways that can cost you more money than you make, and there needs to be some way to recoup your losses. Most of the time, traditional insurance helps you do this.
Yet, there are some kinds of companies that traditional insurance companies don’t cover. These are large companies in risky industries that insurance companies simply can’t afford to cover. Luckily, companies this large usually have enough cash on hand to invest in captive insurance.
When a company invests in a captive insurance company, it is free to behave however it wants. It doesn’t need to follow a policy created by a traditional insurance company. Instead, it creates its own policies and controls how much risk it can take on.
Ensure You’re Allowed to Use Captive Insurance
Not all industries can use captive insurance since they create the possibility to reduce the amount of oversight in companies. Captive insurance companies create the risk that wealthy business owners will create shady tax havens for themselves. They may store money in captive insurance companies to avoid having to pay tax on it.
Using one can land you in severe legal trouble, and you may need to spend more than you save using them. So, talk to a lawyer and make sure your captive insurance company is set up correctly. It helps avoid risk, and that’s what business is all about!
Captive Insurance May Not Be For Everyone
Captive insurance companies are complex businesses that don’t exist outside of larger corporations. When a company gets big enough, it can eventually use a captive insurance company to take on new kinds of risks. Yet, for average business owners, they may not be worth the cost.
Average business owners can keep reading our website instead, to learn how to make the best decisions for their company. We understand the kinds of risks you’re used to taking, and we’ll guide you through it no matter what!
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Manage-Risk-with-Captive-Insurance-Companies.jpg8001200StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-11-19 09:00:502019-11-19 13:16:57How to Manage Risk with Captive Insurance Companies
After your home, your vehicle is one of the biggest purchases you’ll make, whether it’s a car, truck or motorhome. Unless you already have savings, you might be looking to finance a vehicle, and there are many options for doing so, but it can be confusing when working out what’s best for you. Here are some ways you can pay for your next vehicle.
Cash
If you have decent savings and don’t like being in debt, then paying upfront in cash could be your best option. While it means you own the vehicle outright, there are pros and cons to paying in one lump sum, such as:
You may be excluded from certain dealership deals
You no longer have that money in your account if an emergency comes up
If you get a decent interest rate on your savings, as a low-interest loan may mean more money in your pocket overall
If you do decide to pay in cash, make sure you get the best possible deal, check out lots of dealerships and see what special offers or extras you can negotiate.
Vehicle Loans
If you’re planning to borrow to finance your car, then specialist vehicle loans are often the cheapest way. You choose your vehicle, so you can take your time looking at the Bailey Autograph and other new motorhomes, and you fill in an application, either online or through the dealership. Normally, they’ll ask for a down-payment, but there are often deals available for those with little or no deposit. You’ll then have a choice of the length of the loan, and you can find out your repayments.
Some auto loans pay off the entirety of your balance, while others are ‘conditional purchase’ type schemes where you get lower payments, but have to pay a balloon payment at the end of the term if you want to keep the car. If you change cars a lot, you might want to pick the latter, but if you would rather own the car at the end, then you should aim to pay it off.
A Standard Loan
If your credit is good and you’re always getting loan offers, then you may decide to take out a standard bank loan to finance the car. This gives you many of the advantages of being a cash buyer, including flexibility, but again it means you can miss out on special offers such as free extras or services. You should calculate your monthly payments compared to rates offered by auto loan companies, and if possible, try to take out the loan over a shorter term to save on interest. If you aren’t getting good loan rates, take a look at your credit file to see if there’s something holding you back.
When it comes to financing a vehicle, you have plenty of options, many of which will depend on your income, credit rating, and whether you’re buying used or new. It’s important to look through all options and compare rates to ensure you get the best possible deal.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/car-finance-4516072_1280.jpg9611280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-11-19 08:00:182019-11-19 13:15:48How to Finance a New Vehicle
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Business Programs
5 Core Principles to Have in Mind When Organizing Your Retail Store Products
/in Tactical Execution/by StrategyDrivenIf you get the basic principles right it should follow that everything else falls into place much easier and that should ensure that your retail store is ready to attract as many customers as possible.
There are plenty of options to consider when kitting out your retail store, such as buying used Madix shelves as an affordable solution, and if you follow these following core principles it should set you on the right path to potential sales success.
Always focus on the customer
It might be a well-worn phrase, but it always rings true, as the customer is always king and if you don’t arrange your store and select your products with your target customer in mind it is going to be a challenge to enjoy retail success.
It should always be a priority to get to know and understand your customer so that you can give them what you want.
Attention to detail
Another key phrase to keep at the front of your mind when organizing your store is retail is detail.
It is of paramount importance that your business remains consistently focused on every detail of the store so that you respond proactively to customer trends and give them what they are looking for in a convenient format and layout.
Your store needs to be built on solid foundations
Although the face of retail has evolved almost beyond recognition in recent times and shoppers are much savvier and more promiscuous with their purchasing habits there are still some core principles that you need to get right to win their custom as often as possible.
When it comes to retailing, product, price, place, promotion (the four Ps) still hold a great degree of relevancy.
You need to stock products that your customers want and offer a decent product range.
It is imperative that you achieve price consistency across your store.
It is essential that you offer the right place for your customers to make their purchase, which might involve a combination of in-store and online.
Promotional incentives and actively promoting your business are also key ingredients.
Try to benefit from plenty of footfall
Location is always a primary consideration and it is no coincidence that some stores enjoy more success than others simply because their store is in a better spot.
If you are combining an online store with a physical presence you might be able to get away with a secondary location but, if you can, your aim should be to try and locate your store where plenty of potential customers walk past on a daily basis.
Great customer service
Retail can be a crowded space but the companies that go the extra mile for their customers and give great service do tend to enjoy consistent success.
If you treat every customer as the most important person you have seen that day it should translate into a successful interaction that can quickly lead to a sale.
If you focus on these core principles and get your store design right it will put you in the best position to generate as many sales as possible.
Departmental Culture Tribes Can Be Great Motivators
/in Corporate Cultures/by StrategyDrivenWhy they exist
Departmental cultures exist because we all come from different backgrounds. The marketing professionals in your business, don’t think the same as the risk department. Although they’re on the same team, they talk differently, use specific language and if you really get down to the human psyche, they even dress in a similar fashion. The reason why departmental cultures exist is that we all come from different houses or schools. The school of economic thought is very different from the school of design. It’s kind of like a task force mentality. You’re all going to work better when you feel like you belong. And not just having but being a part of their specific culture helps many employees feel like they are in the right place.
Marking their patch
You don’t want your departments to set up boundaries because you’re all on the same team at the end of the day. But you do want to create ‘checkpoints’. These are not physical barriers or borders, but they’re subtle hints that you’ve entered a different part of town. For example, the spaces that you have allocated to your departments in the office, should have their own distinct vibe and look. You can stick custom made morale patches around the room where the different departments begin and end. For example, a custom patch might be of an artist that the design employees look up to. For the risk department, you might have an owl because they watch over everything. You might also want to have a flag of a nation that represents the department such as the sales department for your Asian partners, etc. These small things add up to the culture in a big way.
Showcase cross-departmental skills
Departments can work together to solve problems. In fact, in modern-day business, they have to. But you can encourage this further by playing a solving game. For example, the marketing team has a project for which they don’t know the risk. The risk department can work with them to analyze their specific goals and give them solutions as to what is possible. It can be completely made up scenarios, but when your employees are together in the room, they can see how each other work.
Departmental culture is vital to the life and soul of your business. Every employee should feel as if they belong. Not just in the wider business, but in a department that they can call home.
What You Need to Know About SEO, SEM, and PPC
/in Online Marketing and Website Development/by StrategyDrivenHere is what you need to know about all three.
SEO
SEO refers to the practice of optimizing your company’s website for search engines. In other words, the ultimate goal of a good search engine optimization strategy is to rank higher in search results, something that MackMedia can help you to ascertain. SEO is comprised of both on-page and off-page factors. On page factors refer to those aspects of SEO that you can control on your own website, including metadata, user experience (UX), keywords, alt tags, and internal linking. Off-page SEO refers to the aspects of SEO that happen off of your website, but have a direct effect on your website’s rankings. Off page factors include backlinks, domain authority, and social promotion.
PPC
PPC refers to pay per click advertising via search engines. Essentially, you decide on a budget for your campaign and create ads that display on Google or on various social media platforms (most platforms have their own PPC tools and procedures). You only pay a specified amount if and when someone clicks on your ad. Generally, the ad directs the person to your website and drives a specific CTA, often resulting in a conversion or at least commencing/progressing the buyer’s journey. You have the power to set a specific budget per day and/or per month so that it is impossible to overspend.
Many business owners put more effort into PPC because it promises immediate results and automatically takes their ad to the top of the Google search results. Many also opt to make use of PPC because they believe that it positively affects their organic rankings. However, this is a myth. No matter how much you spend on PPC advertising, it will not alter your organic rankings in any way.
SEM
SEM is short for search engine marketing and it is very similar to PPC. Most experts will tell you that PPC is a large part of SEM, but that SEM extends further than just PPC itself. While PPC is generally more focused on paid advertising via search engines, SEM is focused on paid advertising across the digital board, including on third party websites like online directories, Amazon, and YouTube.
At the end of the day, a great digital marketing strategy will encompass SEO, SEM, and PPC in order to generate maximum results and maximum brand awareness. Not sure how to get started? It is always a good idea to consider hiring a professional digital marketing company for assistance if you do not feel secure enough in your own skills. That way, you can reap all of the rewards without having to put in the extra effort.
How to Manage Risk with Captive Insurance Companies
/in Risk Management/by StrategyDrivenFor them, there are captive insurance companies that cover businesses that traditional insurances find too risky. And captive insurance companies manage to do this in a simple, yet effective, way. The business owns the insurance company itself and relies on itself to cover any damage it may endure while operating.
Only large companies can afford to use captive insurance companies, since having one requires having enough money to dole out insurance. For the most part, captive insurance companies are a way to prove that you have the money to make risky plays. And that’s not all they can do for a company.
To learn how captive insurance companies helped large businesses, keep reading below!
Captive Insurance Companies Put You in Charge of Risk
No matter what kind of business you’re in, your company will have to take on a level of risk. Doing business requires that you behave in ways that can cost you more money than you make, and there needs to be some way to recoup your losses. Most of the time, traditional insurance helps you do this.
Yet, there are some kinds of companies that traditional insurance companies don’t cover. These are large companies in risky industries that insurance companies simply can’t afford to cover. Luckily, companies this large usually have enough cash on hand to invest in captive insurance.
When a company invests in a captive insurance company, it is free to behave however it wants. It doesn’t need to follow a policy created by a traditional insurance company. Instead, it creates its own policies and controls how much risk it can take on.
Ensure You’re Allowed to Use Captive Insurance
Not all industries can use captive insurance since they create the possibility to reduce the amount of oversight in companies. Captive insurance companies create the risk that wealthy business owners will create shady tax havens for themselves. They may store money in captive insurance companies to avoid having to pay tax on it.
Using one can land you in severe legal trouble, and you may need to spend more than you save using them. So, talk to a lawyer and make sure your captive insurance company is set up correctly. It helps avoid risk, and that’s what business is all about!
Captive Insurance May Not Be For Everyone
Captive insurance companies are complex businesses that don’t exist outside of larger corporations. When a company gets big enough, it can eventually use a captive insurance company to take on new kinds of risks. Yet, for average business owners, they may not be worth the cost.
Average business owners can keep reading our website instead, to learn how to make the best decisions for their company. We understand the kinds of risks you’re used to taking, and we’ll guide you through it no matter what!
How to Finance a New Vehicle
/in Managing Your Finances/by StrategyDrivenCash
If you have decent savings and don’t like being in debt, then paying upfront in cash could be your best option. While it means you own the vehicle outright, there are pros and cons to paying in one lump sum, such as:
You may be excluded from certain dealership deals
You no longer have that money in your account if an emergency comes up
If you get a decent interest rate on your savings, as a low-interest loan may mean more money in your pocket overall
If you do decide to pay in cash, make sure you get the best possible deal, check out lots of dealerships and see what special offers or extras you can negotiate.
Vehicle Loans
If you’re planning to borrow to finance your car, then specialist vehicle loans are often the cheapest way. You choose your vehicle, so you can take your time looking at the Bailey Autograph and other new motorhomes, and you fill in an application, either online or through the dealership. Normally, they’ll ask for a down-payment, but there are often deals available for those with little or no deposit. You’ll then have a choice of the length of the loan, and you can find out your repayments.
Some auto loans pay off the entirety of your balance, while others are ‘conditional purchase’ type schemes where you get lower payments, but have to pay a balloon payment at the end of the term if you want to keep the car. If you change cars a lot, you might want to pick the latter, but if you would rather own the car at the end, then you should aim to pay it off.
A Standard Loan
If your credit is good and you’re always getting loan offers, then you may decide to take out a standard bank loan to finance the car. This gives you many of the advantages of being a cash buyer, including flexibility, but again it means you can miss out on special offers such as free extras or services. You should calculate your monthly payments compared to rates offered by auto loan companies, and if possible, try to take out the loan over a shorter term to save on interest. If you aren’t getting good loan rates, take a look at your credit file to see if there’s something holding you back.
When it comes to financing a vehicle, you have plenty of options, many of which will depend on your income, credit rating, and whether you’re buying used or new. It’s important to look through all options and compare rates to ensure you get the best possible deal.