We're here to give you the most help, and a chance to be helpful, too.

what to ask and what to share

your staff has ears

refining product choices to meet consumer wants

the importance of transparency

why to jump on the social media bandwagon

it's wonderful to have so many customers in your location that they may have to wait. do you and your staff do "the right things" to keep them happy while they wait? this 4-page action guide contains over 25 tried-and-true "right things" to keep your customers waiting contentedly.

it is easier to keep your customers than trying to get new ones. so, stop losing customers! this 7-page guide will help you learn ...and most importantly how to win them back.

this 5 page action guide provides proven techniques to successfully increase customer loyalty

6 page action guide with step-by-step step suggestions to beat your newest competitor

frustrated by coupon-cutters who always purchase with coupons? this 5 page action guide will teach you how to increase your profit margin by getting your customers to "kick the coupon habit." learn the secrets of a reliable three-stage program to help "rehabilitate" your customers to curb their coupon addiction.

how "small" can beat the big boys

mri study identifies five buying style segments: * buyers of the best * swayable shopaholics * habitualized havers * conscientious consumers * penny-pinchers

a difference-maker in true customer service

so, how do you, the small retailer, make sure your customers continue shopping at your store during tough economic times? here are 12 ideas to consider:

allbusiness.com published this helpful article

as far as comments on products or service we need to get better about getting out from behind the counter and interacting with our customers and creating a dialog. one of the things that helps is doing role plays with the staff on a regular basis and coaching them on how to converse with customers. most of the information we get from this is anecdotal, we don't capture it, but it can help to identify trends.” jackson t, miami, fl café owner

“kim has been blogging lately about the "six i's" to effectively plan and execute better word of mouth by retail store owners. she just blogged about the importance of "inviting" your customer to participate in wom. it begins with a conversation with customer.but how do you start the conversation? you certainly don't just ask them to go out and talk up your store.what are some key conversation starters to make it easier to engage your customer?i find it helpful to ask questions that let the person talk about their favorite subject---themselves.better to ask them questions they can answer easily and are open-ended encouraging a longer answer. for example,"i recognize you from shopping here before. i'm interested to know, what items do you hope to find here, and are disappointed that you didn't find? is there a favorite product or a brand that i don’t carry that you wish we did?is there one employee here who has been helpful to you? how did they help? is there any experience you had here that was disappointing? how should we have handled that? i'm looking for ways to improve how we serve you. what is one thing i should tell my staff that could make us a better place to shop?while these questions can run from positive or negative points of view, i think it best to ask open-ended questions that encourage more conversation. asking questions that require a single-word answer are conversation barricades, not conversation starters. i don’t learn a thing when i ask, "did you find everything?" "how are you, today?" .and just for one day, please don't tell you customers to "have a nice day."try, "thank you. i'm glad you came by today. it's nice to see you again."mary pat, racine, wi

“we use newsletters to get information from our customers. have a poll or a survey. it can be short, and even fun: where are you going on vacation? what tv show are you enjoying this summer? then post results in a future newsletter. people love taking polls.of course, always best to use a poll topic that is of interest to your audience.our customers are into new bands, especially hip-hop. we like to poll about "who's hot" in order to let them chime in about their favorites, and it also let's us get a sense of trends.”anson l , natchez, miss clothing store

“newsletters can provide good information about the store: for example, give subscribers first notice of any in-store events, and they will have ‘first dibs’ on signing up to attend events. also you communicate changes to your store hours or policies, to make their shopping easier and more convenient.”larry n, dearborn, mi ice rink owner

“i get a lot of newsletters from craft shops with information about new products and services. the newsletter provides an opportunity to give the dates the products will arrive and some information about price, color, etc that will be of interest to consumers. the manufacturers often will provide you this information to put into your newsletter.also, i like it when email newsletters have special offers and discounts that are available for a limited time only, and only for customers who receive email. you don’t need to have an offer in every email, once every two months could work to keep people interested.mary jane, salt lake city, ut homemaker