I am sure your consulting rates are very reasonable. However I posted on here thinking this was a small business forum where small businesses could openly discuss the trial and errors in their businesses and maybe help eachother out. In my world I don't get to corrosponde much with other business owners in retail. I am always open to listen to new ideas that might not have crossed my mind yet. There is a party store in Dothan that does the inflatable rentals for Parties. I am not on the rental side of the business. I want to bring excitement into the store. My mind is full of Ideas I end up pushing away after I think about all the cost just to experiment.
Branding has always been an issue on my type store with people in marketing. Because my store is actually a Specialty dept store. I'm not a store at the mall that is just known specificly for 1 type item.
My variety of merchandise has been what has set me apart from the chain stores and providing the variety you can't just walk into a discount dept. store and buy is my niche.
The main problem is now people aren't shopping on my end on town. They hit all the new stores and realize they've spent all their money. I'm not saying I'm collapsing as a business or that I don't have customers. I just don't have as many as I use to and I felt a spark of something new and exciting would turn them back to my direction. Sometimes just writing it out and thinking out loud help to spark an idea.
Where I respect your line of work and your business as a consultant. I find it hard to believe that book experience can out weigh hands on experience in the retail world. I have read several marketing books out there and found they all go with the same thoughts in mind.
I for one have always written my own commercials even after the first commercial someone wrote for me. I realized no matter what I knew my store better than they did and put my heart into that 30 sec ad.
I'm just looking for spark...just a little something that will make my store exciting again to people that like to spend money basicly all year long. Especially boost my Summer months when most people head to the beach.
Yes...my website could use more pictures of the store I was talking with the TV station about doing some Youtubes of different sections of the store and putting them on the website. One link on the site is online only. The other link is what ships from the store. But I don't have a huge warehouse so it's impossible to put everything I carry online and have it be in stock for internet sales and store sales. My ebay store link is also internet only but locals can purchase it if they ask. It's the only way to be able to keep good customer service in the store and on the internet. Nothing worse than ordering something online and it be out of stock. I mean I personally hate that. So I try to run the store looking from the outside in as a customer would. What would make me happy as a customer. Now the question still remains What would spark me as a customer to shop at my store and make it a favorite place to shop?