David vs Goliath: How to Compete, And Beat, The On-Line Giant. 100 Proven Promotions For Brick & Mortar Retailers (1)

In this age of Amazon, Google, and online ordering, sometimes it’s hard to remember the days of brick and mortar stores when you could walk into a physical store, and touch, see and smell the food, clothes, and books. Brick and mortar (or B&M, as we will refer to it in this book), are those retail businesses that are located in an actual building (as opposed to an online retailer, or e-tailer, which rarely has a physical location for shoppers to visit).In a relatively short period, total retail e-commerce sales across the world have reached $3 trillion. Were all those sales taken away from the B&M retailer? Is the rise of e-commerce threatening the existence of traditional retail stores? I don’t think so, but B&M retailers need to be aware of their market and adapt as necessary. Maybe that means changing the way they run their shops, making a shift in their product mix, or simply operating differently than they had in the past. The one thing that won’t work is playing the pricing game that online discounters are engaging in right now because that could lead to the B&M’s demise. If you, as a B&M shop owner, try to compete with the lowest price and biggest selection the e-tailer offers, you will lose. No longer can the B& M claim “we have the biggest and best selection at the best prices” because they don’t, it’s just that simple. The best selection is online, with every item and every color in stock right now. Almost every time, someone is selling the same product as you for less money. A B&M just can’t compete with the e-tailers” buying power, giant warehouses of inventory, and the fierce competition of the online marketplace (sometimes against the very manufacturer of the product). Sometimes the manufacturer is selling directly to the end-user, who used to be your customer. Is all hope lost? Not at all. It just requires a rethinking of strategy and working smarter, not harder. B&M retailers need to play to their strengths, which are different than those of online retailers. The B&M retailer needs to be great at what the online shop can’t ever be good at, and deliver what the consumers can’t get on their computers or cell phones. The B&M retail experience must be better than sitting at home and clicking a button. It must motivate the customer to get off their couch and go to your establishment. To help make this happen there must be a form of “retailtainment” which is a cross between retailing and entertainment. That’s what this book helps you deliver a reinvention of a staid, predictable B&M environment with fun, interactive attention-getters. In a word’¦Promotions! Some of the promotional events detailed in this book are new, some are decades old, and some are even centuries old. Some promotions have been tweaked with new twists and turns, but all are proven winners that I have personally tested, experienced, or developed over my forty years in retail sales. Some can be used as they are and some may need to be adapted to work in your shop but they are all worth a try. Not only will these tools because that’s what marketing and promotions are, tools of the trade get your customers engaged, but they will also give your staff an additional means of socializing with your customer, thereby building a friendly and fun environment. Be open to trying new techniques, because your goal is the same as mine to help you make a successful financial change in your business, one that lasts for years to come. This book is compiled with plenty of real-life case studies, along with some words of wisdom and experience to help you make the most of all the ideas in these pages. We’ve made it easy by including a prep list, an overview, and some hints and tips for making the promotions on these pages work for you. In addition, you’ll find retail wisdom sprinkled between the page insights into the retail world that I have learned over my years in business and share to help you utilize those strategies for success too!