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241: Third Place Retailing - The New Battlefield
What is a 'third' place? Consumers spend time at home, their first place; at work, their second place and then often have a favourite third place....

242: Awesome Customer Service Requires a Three Pronged Attack
The perception in the marketplace, according to research, is that customer service is declining. Whether consumer expectations have increased or services have declined over the last few years is debatable. The fact is, perception is truth, in the consumers' eyes....

243: Planograms - It's Not Just for the Big Guys
A planogram is a visual representation of what a category should look like to maximise sales. It should include all the products and shelving and provide the optimum layout of the category to maximise sales....

244: Provide a Customer Experience, but What Do They Really Want?
As retailers, we often talk about providing our customers with a memorable retail experience, yet we often forget to ask the consumer what they want....

245: How to Get the Most Out of Best Sellers
Each product category in your store has a best seller. This product will not necessarily be the cheapest or lowest gross profit item, but it will be the favourite product purchased by your customers in that category. You can use this to your advantage if you introduce some simple management strategies......

246: How To Walk The Floor And Talk To Customers
Your role is take that of a maitre d'hotel. You should meet your guests (customers), welcome them and ensure they leave with a positive feeling about your business. You should set aside at least one hour a day to walk the store and talk to customers....

247: Hunters and Gatherers - Are You Serving Both Their Needs?
Research shows that consumers shop establishments based on one of the two personal profiles. The Hunter - know what they want, they are focused on the task in front of them and they do not want anyone or anything to stand in their way. The Gatherer - enjoy the experience of shopping and like to enjoy browsing around and discovering new items....

248: Easy Fundraising Ideas
Stay at home moms, school children or just about anyone who wants to raise some funds for either a good cause or for some personal reasons need not worry about which fundraising idea they would use and considering that there are actually a of fundraising ideas out there......

249: Is Your Athenticity Creating Growth Or Stagnation?
Authenticity, being yourself, is the foundation of your health, and the health of your business. But, it can also be a source of stagnation, and, eventually, your death. It has to do primarily with how many of us learn....

250: The Power of the Fax
In July 2005, another curious law went into effect. This one, called the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (JFPA) has several surprises for business owners in terms of sending routine faxes to their customers. This new law just doesn't impact the sending of what we would think of as "junk" faxes. It addresses several other areas that will impact how you do business via fax....