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Posts Tagged ‘customers’

When in doubt, sing the alphabet song

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , , , , on September 16, 2013| 17 Comments »

People and Quality first, then Resale Stuff Thereacfter, a mantra from Too Good to be ThrewWHAT’s productive when?

That’s a tricky question in our industry. After all, we have a minute-to-minute balancing act between incoming goods and shoppers… so which is more productive to ongoing success and profit

right this very minute?

Working with consignment, resale, and thrift shopkeepers  I remind them that their merchandise is worth zero until someone buys it… so there is a priority which is always true.

I like to teach the mantra PQRST to help them decide focus on what to do moment to moment:

PQRST

= People and Quality (of interaction) first… Resale Stuff Thereafter!

 

What do you think? Would this be a valid part of not just your staff training, but your shop’s “corporate culture”? Agree or disagree? Let’s hear it, in the comments…

Illustration based on an original here.

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Cheapest advertising ever.

Posted in Really good ideas, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , , on September 1, 2013| 3 Comments »

I’m like any other customers of yours. I often can’t remember the name of a shop that I want to recommend to a friend. Which means all the good will built up during my visit gets lost before it becomes profit-building word of mouth.

Make sure that never happens in your consignment or resale shop. Ideally, you’ll have chatted with everyone who comes in and be able to comfortably offer your card, “here, take our card to remember us by. See you again soon!”

Yes, business cards work well. But what else can you add?

If you sell (more…)

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Inspiration in desk piles.

Posted in Really good ideas, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , , , , on September 1, 2013|

I’ve been spending the holiday weekend going through and actually DOING SOMETHING ABOUT all the notes and catalog pages and so on on my desk. (Yeh, I know, I’m a bundle of laughs and a real party animal, aren’t I?)

In amongst the October 2012 notes and the Christmas craft ideas yanked from a 1996 magazine (none of which I have felt moved in the past 17 years to do) were a couple of gems. Here’s one.

A customer of a consignment or resale or thrift shop wrote (somewhere, who knows? I take lousy notes)

How many times have we come out of [Shop Name] doing the happy dance!?!

Doin' the Happy Dance in front of my Favorite Consignment Shop!Would this not be a terrific photo op for YOUR shop? Seize the opportunity, when you have an excited and happy customer in front of you, to get her to pose, in front of your shop, with her purchase on/ in a bag/ on a hanger/ on the mover’s dolly, while dancing/ jumping/ cartwheeling in joy?

Hopefully, your shop name’s in the picture too, but if not, just add it with Picmonkey or Ribbet or whatever.

Think how many ways you can use this:

  • As a Facebook entry
  • In a Facebook Album: Our happy customers!
  • Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, all those sites
  • As a photo in your entry or on your shop’s community bulletin board
  • On your blog (as a category!)
  • On your web site
  • In a slide show for your web site, a commercial* for your shop
  • As a print ad
  • As an uploaded photo on your Yelp etc reviews

Heck, you could even invite the year’s Happy Shoppers to a brunch event in your shop one Sunday to thank them! Talk about word of mouth!

 
* Ask a photographer friend about model releases.

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3 Ways your Customers Rule your Business… or should.

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , on August 15, 2013|

Customers are the queen of your resale empire says TGtbT.comVeteran consignment, resale and thrift shopkeepers smile behind their hands when a customer says “Oh I have always wanted to be my own boss so I’ll open a resale shop.”

We know that resale retail is a business with (if you’re lucky) 10,000 bosses.

All of whom are calling you in for a performance review on an hourly basis.

And isn’t that wonderful?

Yes, it is. Because each and every one (well, except for the wackydoodles) (more…)

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Want control over your shop’s web site?

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , on August 14, 2013| 2 Comments »

Consignment, resale and thrift shops extend their market on the internet

Would a simple blog work for your web site? Read the article below first, then click this pic for Kate’s thoughts

So you want a good-looking site for your consignment, resale, or thrift shop, but more than that, you want it to be easy to change. You have minimal to no interest in learning how to code, you just want to be able to make changes yourself, at 11 at night, right now, in your jammies, when you are doing your internet marketing.

As well you might!

How many shop web sites have you seen that say “Now accepting Spring” on August 1st, or which still (more…)

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