tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15069344464580253572024-03-14T05:36:09.529+05:30Retail Gurukul.ComBrand Strategy to Execution mentoring, by a seasoned 30 years Retailing Veteran .Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-15403249350583219612013-07-20T09:24:00.000+05:302013-07-20T09:24:23.730+05:30The story of the Valet – a true story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ms. Kalpana is a busy Senior Manager in a large Bangalore
based company. One Saturday evening, she drove her Swift car along with her
mother, to a store in Jayanagar , Bangalore to buy some jewellery for herself
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She gave the car to the Valet for parking and went up to do
her shopping. After a few hours of
jewellery shopping, ( who ever finishes jewellery shopping in a few minutes ?) she
came back to collect the car at about 8.40 Pm in the night ! only to find that
her car had a punctured tyre ! She was at her wits end, as to what to do ? At this time, all puncture shops would be
closed and she will have to take a taxi back home and come back the next day to
get it fixed !</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSi_EBNpOoN7yqqG6EmG-U8eyki72mwd5Ybh6zdwjQ0tmwCGm_FtRZRyKBvWu0-DyGfxK72oJVNo8yLrq29YScubAMXti7_CQmSIv_jbRmkWi0TgoVMcaCO-l52ehxgSEVhNflNsSAQxY/s1600/punctured+tyre+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSi_EBNpOoN7yqqG6EmG-U8eyki72mwd5Ybh6zdwjQ0tmwCGm_FtRZRyKBvWu0-DyGfxK72oJVNo8yLrq29YScubAMXti7_CQmSIv_jbRmkWi0TgoVMcaCO-l52ehxgSEVhNflNsSAQxY/s1600/punctured+tyre+image.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a>It was then, she was surprised to hear the Valet, that if
she doesn’t mind, he would change the punctured tyre with the stepney in the
boot ! </div>
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She was extremely relieved and thanked the valet !</div>
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Moral :- It was the customer orientation of the team at the
brand, which the valet too had heard about and made the effort to help out a
customer in need of help !</div>
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Result :- She had become a loyal fan of the brand and the
store, she has gone around the whole of her friend and colleagues circle
sharing this incident and wows to go back to the store for all her future
purchases !</div>
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Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-49770641463237862772013-07-18T20:36:00.000+05:302013-07-18T20:39:29.672+05:30White Classroom Boards are now in showrooms ! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOs_Ai8vAO-JeLbis-LERTUDof9SuWj37y5QhJQim-3ZB72_6Md-lHlFuI6_upZcLrGzIggajHcShN4-CTjxbM7Ob48HTDpFhFsX4XUMLQpL786Z2CkokR-WbgX07Ogks77aAxVRqXLI/s1600/indian+classroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOs_Ai8vAO-JeLbis-LERTUDof9SuWj37y5QhJQim-3ZB72_6Md-lHlFuI6_upZcLrGzIggajHcShN4-CTjxbM7Ob48HTDpFhFsX4XUMLQpL786Z2CkokR-WbgX07Ogks77aAxVRqXLI/s1600/indian+classroom.jpg" height="161" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A College Class Room!</td></tr>
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For many of us, the last time we saw a black board was
probably in our highschool or college !
Maths was probably one of the most difficult subjects and we often tried
to learn maths by reading and hoping to remember how to solve problems ? Do you
remember ?</div>
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Now, let us discuss how targets, incentives, schemes are
being explained to us by our store managers, company managers ! We all seem to
listen to them, think we understand, but when we are asked to explain what we
have understood, we find it very difficult. Why is it so ? Then, at the end of the month, we dont understand why the incentives were not as per our own calculations ! Then we feel upset !</div>
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Hearing about maths and seeing and doing it are very different things.When we see the calculations on targets, incentives,
discount calculations etc on a board, we understand the details better ! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwk3Xd4p5XfES6lYpOW6J8KSz9elFQXe_XWYqOUBsgO0i5ueJ9FxsWzm9dmwWbG8ocAB5TOyk3tYvC4sMvtmWYR9osweoRfhgjm6v6U8_5hKgWSvcwB5B6s_fvrqrZqD77Y5E_ByEkF8s/s1600/White+board+in+store.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwk3Xd4p5XfES6lYpOW6J8KSz9elFQXe_XWYqOUBsgO0i5ueJ9FxsWzm9dmwWbG8ocAB5TOyk3tYvC4sMvtmWYR9osweoRfhgjm6v6U8_5hKgWSvcwB5B6s_fvrqrZqD77Y5E_ByEkF8s/s1600/White+board+in+store.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning Class at a Store</td></tr>
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Hence, some smart retailers, have introduced
the “White Board” in a store for the
meetings ! The notice board, typically
shows the target for the store for the month, the names of the Salesmen, thei r
individual targets ex. Kumar 5 lakhs, Krishna 4 lakhs etc their achievements so
far (MTD ) and balance target to be achieved. This then makes each and every
person in the store responsible for not only achieving his own target but also
ensuring that the store achieves the full target as well. </div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>PS:</b></span> Some smart store managers, have made a modification to
this model . Instead of showing the store target, the individual target etc,
the language that is easily understood is the incentive. They have now
displayed the amount of incentive a Salesman can achieve in that month vs the
Amount Of Incentive AOI that has already been earned ! This motivates the
staff, when they begin to compare their own incentives ! This will give an opportunity to the staff, to write down and understand the structure in our own way !</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Call for action:-</b></span> Try out this “white board” in your store
and share us your experiences with us !</div>
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Remember to remove the board and keep it away from the public area after the meeting !</div>
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Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com1BTM Layout 1, Bangalore, Karnataka, India12.917565010567305 77.60087064115850812.916597510567305 77.599610141158507 12.918532510567305 77.602131141158509tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-62476936110851709782013-07-14T09:02:00.000+05:302013-07-14T09:02:14.554+05:30Can you get Great Customer Service even at Rs. 7 ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Just yesterday, I and a couple of entrepreneurs from (<a href="http://www.startupleadershipprogram.com/">http://www.startupleadershipprogram.com</a>) wanted to have Coffee. The nearest one was
a “Road side Chai Shop”, that typically sells Coffee and Chai from a Thermos
Flask. We ordered two Teas and a Coffee . When the coffee was poured into a
plastic cup, I saw some black “floating objects” and said, what is this ? The shop keeper immediately took it back and
poured another one and then told me it is undissolved instant coffee powder. I
was quite impressed with his attitude to exchange what was after all coffee .
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His Customer Centricity
did not end there and when we asked how much, he said 7 each , but I took out a
Rs. 20 note and was searching for a Rupee coin when he said, if we didn’t have
change, it is ok . That is even better customer service ! Making you feel loyal for his shop !</div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->What can be the reason for good service ? Education, Experience, or just a good human being ?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijT13M9oY9GfLBdsjRA8D1VQWwX36TBw00qRvdT3oRavOrEn7CMsdl3puC76Kb5lCG8G933he83dZPLc8CnYpMIJ9j_JqPeh-OCWRFp4fK6c7XoS43-RX5z1KLnA8io-XmGEEWJSnK5ZQ/s1600/akosha.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijT13M9oY9GfLBdsjRA8D1VQWwX36TBw00qRvdT3oRavOrEn7CMsdl3puC76Kb5lCG8G933he83dZPLc8CnYpMIJ9j_JqPeh-OCWRFp4fK6c7XoS43-RX5z1KLnA8io-XmGEEWJSnK5ZQ/s1600/akosha.png" height="179" width="320" /></a>Compare this with many other retailing stories that we have
either experienced or heard about. Just check out <a href="http://www.mouthshut.com/">http://www.mouthshut.com</a> or <a href="http://www.akosha.com/">http://www.akosha.com</a> where customers have complaints on National and International Brands who have spent
Crores of Rupees in marketing their wares to customers. Yet, when they have had
problems, they end up not getting satisfied and go to “Consumer forums” to get
what they believe is their due ! You are often left wondering why the companies
don’t seem to have trained their staff in handling the customers with more care
! Infact, it costs the companies, any where between Rs. 300 to Rs. 1000 in India, to just get
a customer to walkin to the store . No, we are not talking about the profit
after a customer makes a purchase ! Just walkin to the store to check out the
merchandise !</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What can
you do next time ? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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So, next time you see good service, take a few minutes to
inform the staff what was your experience ! He would be very happy that his
work got recognized ! Often it is said, Indians don’t really appreciate enough .</div>
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But if you had a bad experience, then “share a few good
instances with them with your Gandhigiri”. May be they will learn ! </div>
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Remember to share it either way with us too :- Retailgurukul@gmail.com</div>
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Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-59746902461988735202013-07-13T08:37:00.000+05:302013-07-13T08:48:45.720+05:30A Street side Hawker's innovation <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd2vEdGQ28BljbSUgxj3C7JJozMB6ZVbqIiaIPl0KWEU3dp-7fq3UWOUZCeK3vnBSBetfjUA0ZC4PJ3B9Xn0575XZ5lwwl_OjJYaMvuz7qniC2jR4yWS0tXgEngI-UHV47Pl7LuK_Vzg/s1600/Indian+Hawker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd2vEdGQ28BljbSUgxj3C7JJozMB6ZVbqIiaIPl0KWEU3dp-7fq3UWOUZCeK3vnBSBetfjUA0ZC4PJ3B9Xn0575XZ5lwwl_OjJYaMvuz7qniC2jR4yWS0tXgEngI-UHV47Pl7LuK_Vzg/s1600/Indian+Hawker.jpg" /></a>Streets in India, we get see and hear, hawkers, with all kinds of things for sale. They typically,
keep “shouting “ about their wares and before long, some home maker or another
will come out and buy one of those things, typically vegetables, fruits etc.
Most of the hawkers even have a regular route and so are their customers as
well. A bit of bargaining goes on, and every one is game for it. Some hawkers dont go out into the streets, but stay in a "market place" like a mandi !</div>
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But, recently, I was out on the streets on my morning jog, when I was surprised to hear a hawker’s voice louder and clearer than what I
normally hear and turned around to see where was it coming from? There was only one hawker way down the road,
and it was too far for the voice to be so loud and clear ! </div>
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Curiosity got the better of me and I moved to wards the
sound, and surprisingly the hawkers voice became louder and clearer and it was
obvious that he was not even “shouting”. Imagine, what he had very smartly done
! Look at the picture ! He was selling raw mangoes..</div>
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Instead of having to shout all day long, he had invested in
one of those Chinese loud speakers, that runs on batteries and recorded his
whole “sales pitch “. Now all he had to do, was to put it “on”, and let it do
the shouting, while he concentrated to pushing his cart around and selling.</div>
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I asked him how to got the idea and he said, he saw this in
a “city market” and thought of it, that he would be able to reach out to more
people this way, as he could not
constantly keep “shouting” his wares for every one in the hear !</div>
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So, quite a jugaad (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad</a> ) of an idea. What do you think? Do you know of any such retailing
solutions.? In a country like ours, there are a number of ways to reach out and impact your customers. </div>
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Join us to become an author of a to be released book, For Retailers, By Retailers, Of Retailers - Top 100 Ideas. or forward to any one you know..</div>
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Reach us at <a href="mailto:RetailGurukul@gmail.com">RetailGurukul@gmail.com</a><br />
<a href="mailto:RetailGurukul@gmail.com"><br /></a>
<a href="mailto:RetailGurukul@gmail.com">Another popular book on Jugaad..</a><a href="http://jugaadinnovation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Jugaad-Innovation-excerpt-final.pdf">http://jugaadinnovation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Jugaad-Innovation-excerpt-final.pdf</a></div>
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Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-60561964505466889852013-05-13T22:35:00.000+05:302013-05-13T22:35:53.872+05:30The most important visitor on our store premises is....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFYz3kL5lG6aQKpi1Du-SVnDInviMxJxBbe1S78moOoXbkiH2KHY5ZZVqk5XZVT7mNNJ6t1y4VDSTkdTSOiF4vIpaTS3OoAj64Mx93iAOQanoHFqF1w0PVEn_UZvzSoLscCxfsMGWAXM/s1600/Gandhijis+Namaste.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFYz3kL5lG6aQKpi1Du-SVnDInviMxJxBbe1S78moOoXbkiH2KHY5ZZVqk5XZVT7mNNJ6t1y4VDSTkdTSOiF4vIpaTS3OoAj64Mx93iAOQanoHFqF1w0PVEn_UZvzSoLscCxfsMGWAXM/s200/Gandhijis+Namaste.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">A customer is the
most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are
dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of
it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing
him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity
to do so.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
― </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5810891.Mahatma_Gandhi">Mahatma
Gandhi</a></span><br />
<br />
These days, a customer can walkin to a large departmental store and be stopped only at the security gate and there after go in and browse through the entire store for hours on end and no one else will even ask you how they can possibly help you !<br />
<br />
The designation of the staff is typically " CCA" Customer Care Associate, but they hardly seem to care for the Customer ! It is not that they are purposefully avoiding you and doing something else instead.<br />
<br />
A typical transaction and conversation goes like this...<br />
<br />
A customer walks in to a branded area with rows of pants of a famous brand, and keeps looking, checking , feeling...<br />
<br />
The CCA asks him " How may I help you ? "<br />
Customer : I am just looking..<br />
CCA .. Typically leaves the customer and goes back to what ever he is doing..<br />
<br />
Customer keeps looking around, does not find what he wants, then he looks for the CCA who is now not available, then the customer walks off<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Reason :-</b></span><br />
<br />
It is not that the CCA does not want to sell. If any thing, he is dependent on the salary and a large percentage of the income is incentives driven and he wants to make the sale..<br />
<br />
But the kind of training that has been provided is never adequate. Either the CCA has been around for hardly a few months, does not know English or is very shy of using the few words that he knows and has hardly been trained either by the Multi Brand store or the Brand itself, while the customer is speaking in English ( works in a software or BPO) . He feels in adequate if the customer asks any questions and cannot answer them back ! Better to " hide" behind some work of stacking and re stacking the racks .<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Solution :-</span></b><br />
<br />
Considering that the Brand spends so much on marketing to get the customers, if they spent some of the effort on training the CCA, then she would have asked a few more questions to the customer and answered his queries and made the sale !<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Hello ..Brand and Sales Managers ! Are you listening to your customers ?</b></span><br />
<br />
Why cannot you train your CCAs to give us, the Customers, a better service ?<br />
<br />
Tell us ...</div>
Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com091, 3rd Main, KEB - BTM Layout 1st Stage, Bangalore, Karnataka, India12.917452059505136 77.60077195067424312.915517559505135 77.598250450674243 12.919386559505137 77.603293450674244tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-76329207765187929452013-03-24T22:35:00.001+05:302013-03-24T22:36:08.416+05:30Why are National Brands lagging in the online world ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZcWwe-tvx0mcrxOK3WbQtYkO7FJx2egLET8hI7NksoqxDbAMseSwztONMLdaYBaYvulDscxIdBkpM-FBQQZb8Ik6b1Fmfs-U8TPlTxvA4AZO5YrDilMHS7IqnvpT2kaGI4iujgGqEKs/s1600/zomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZcWwe-tvx0mcrxOK3WbQtYkO7FJx2egLET8hI7NksoqxDbAMseSwztONMLdaYBaYvulDscxIdBkpM-FBQQZb8Ik6b1Fmfs-U8TPlTxvA4AZO5YrDilMHS7IqnvpT2kaGI4iujgGqEKs/s1600/zomato.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px;">Positive. ....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px;">The customers are changing, and many customers do a lot of "window shopping, web browsing" even for going out for a casual dinner in their T shirts and half pants and chappals ! They read reviews, visit websites, get feedback from their friends both online and off line.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Positive..</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">At the other end, are Brands working to meet the customer in the physical world with newer and bigger stores in new markets, new towns and in new malls! But that has not been enough. They are investing more and more in inventory, bigger and bigger marketing budgets and staff who hardly understand this new age educated customer...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Negative.....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Just check how many brands have their own "websites, mobile websites, official twitter and face book accounts" ? to reach the customers at the time of "Evaluation" .</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">A cursory corporate website is about all that they seem to have , and that was last updated when it was launched !</span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;">Why are they lagging behind ?....</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Are brands getting stuck in the old physical world at the cost of missing out on the new age customers? Sure, the business might not be as big yet, in the online world and hence does not attract the management attention. The truth is very few "National Brands" especially Indian ,have understood the new world of mobile and web apps, social media and the world of consumer activism on the net ! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The senior management is still cut off. Just ask how many have seen the Gangnam Video with a 1.45 billion views and you will know . Do they tweet, to they have a personal face book account, does the Brand have a popular one ?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The youngsters in the company who understand the new media, have little say in such matters to get the "VC type risk funding " that is required for large scale operations to take the risk...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIWP5FobQL63zhzwhWAS5s3V_n9WVsgqybaRuVt2pBOD5BV1HxqjiMhggLcfvfJvR8L4gmB-JfaKjQGUTupeRsH_PAKB3i8AkzWszX6q4A83h8A9WQzMDQHeCzNO1TcGu6-lbve2bV_yc/s1600/flipkart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIWP5FobQL63zhzwhWAS5s3V_n9WVsgqybaRuVt2pBOD5BV1HxqjiMhggLcfvfJvR8L4gmB-JfaKjQGUTupeRsH_PAKB3i8AkzWszX6q4A83h8A9WQzMDQHeCzNO1TcGu6-lbve2bV_yc/s1600/flipkart.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHdVXMVJkB8Vnpzf01FwGe299rh7MVDFPDb_oT6CoUyjQS7iKhvNCWUAM1CTR0A5peDvnfUwxf2DG67yUt3WxoUD-Z17Th8qhgCv4MgFwveDbc8XizwmI7fromGxY1Il1bcKeLJUoJEc/s1600/ankle+cuffs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Reality check...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Make a list of the top E Commerce sites and all of them are start ups by youngsters with out any link to the "established" brands. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Wake up call ....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">If Brands have to be connected with "connected" customer, then they have to be not only on the Linking Road or South Extensions of the Country but also on Web, Mobile and through FB, Twitter, Pinterest as well.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Brands, are you listening ? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Share your views </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
</div>
Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-73523355419540557472013-03-22T00:21:00.000+05:302013-03-22T00:21:01.675+05:30Mobile Apps for Training <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgja2K51SXTk52m56j4-rbbTb-NaUx92ILdG7KGfXIfOHNHLKHoHHK02-TeEBkvL8lipNccXTqVrk5A8UjdkG0sLaWXo85mSrpRCuEw1e6TB2aL0uXN1PAa6-JwZkNGuOf8T0YGECigH7k/s1600/eric+schmidt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Schmidt on Mobile apps" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgja2K51SXTk52m56j4-rbbTb-NaUx92ILdG7KGfXIfOHNHLKHoHHK02-TeEBkvL8lipNccXTqVrk5A8UjdkG0sLaWXo85mSrpRCuEw1e6TB2aL0uXN1PAa6-JwZkNGuOf8T0YGECigH7k/s1600/eric+schmidt.jpg" title="Eric Schmidt of Google" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri Light';"><span style="font-size: large;">If any business is not building a mobile application,
they are not doing the right thing. People are addicted to their mobile phones.
Mobile apps are going to be a big thing
and no company can ignore that. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri Light';"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri Light';">Eric Schmidt, Chairman, Google, recently in India</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">Companies, big and small are forever promoting their business through newspapers, TV ads and everything else in between. With competition doing more or less the same, the companies are adding more money to their marketing budgets, more money to their inventories .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">Yet, Let us come straight to the point. Customer Service is uniformly a big challenge to deliver across the country, whether it is a big hotel or a small Coffee Shop. Like a Optical Store owner told me today, the customer knows more about the product today than I can know. He not only browses the net frequently, he also compares brands, services before making a decision...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Old School of Business </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">Why is customer service, such a challenge ? This is primarily because, the fundamental belief of management, is why train a person, if he is going to leave for a salary hike. At least the inventory is mine, and hopefully all the money that is spent on marketing will result in business some day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">But ask any retailer, the walk in to conversion ratios are any where between 20 to 50 % . What does it mean.. ?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">A typical Consumer Durable retailer would have spent about Rs. 300 to get a customer into the store. A e-commerce retailer today spends about Rs. 800 to get a customer to click on their website. Yet, only 30 people who come to the store make a purchase at all..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">If only, companies made the customer service better, chances are the customer will purchase the product for which he came, or at least a nearest alternative. Gone are the days, when customers just went window shopping for the sake of spending and seeing things. Today they have the money to buy !</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">Understanding the Salesman Psyche !</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">Today, a mobile phone is an addiction and a entertainment center combined for him. Often, an entire month's salary of Rs. 15,000 is spent on the latest mobile phone... Yet, this is a underutilised device in the hands of both the salesman and the company in improving his retailing skills and improving his lifestyle. Don't believe us, just Google retail training under Google play or the internet and you will be surprised to find hardly any content that is suitable for the Indian market.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Calibri Light'; font-size: x-large;">Opportunity for you !</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Calibri Light';"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">To preciously address this vast and under served market, we are building India's first mobile application based retail staff training module for various industries, on a pay per use model. Some thing like a prepaid currency. If the retailer finds the content useful, he will continue to buy new currency, if not, he will just stop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">We are looking for content developers, mobile app feature plug ins etc to build this nascent industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">If there are veteran retailers who would like to share their immense knowledge developed over a life time of hard work, this is the place to share them and earn while doing it all from the comfort of your homes! or offices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri Light; font-size: large;">We are also looking for translators of content into multiple languages, both text and in future in audio as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Looking forward to hearing from you all about your views on customer service, and your own interest in contributing to this evolution in the mobile app ..</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Shivaram</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Founder </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Retailgurukul.com</span></div>
Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-42989507070311889392012-11-18T22:27:00.002+05:302012-11-18T22:27:41.770+05:30Converting a walk-in to a sale through a proper welcome and query
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Scenario:- A large department store of with rows and rows of
ready to wear women apparel of jeans, kurtis etc..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Priya, a smartly dressed young women is walking into the
area…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lakshmi, a CCA at the department is folding and stocking the
stocks, when she notices the customer walking in..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As per the training, she walks towards the customer and asks
“Madam, how may I help you..”? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9atUOInjR7gpwBB2qwunvXs8GkdkQ1_UrOCO8wALeNyI2aMmYsrLMDJJPQyBqPonGLdkEdBq4yKeyFer72Qa2BZbMjyFBKUIObQ2iO1v1BlPdajjTymCTIiykevs4Ew-1yhNpEbJddQ/s1600/customer+service+5+points.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9atUOInjR7gpwBB2qwunvXs8GkdkQ1_UrOCO8wALeNyI2aMmYsrLMDJJPQyBqPonGLdkEdBq4yKeyFer72Qa2BZbMjyFBKUIObQ2iO1v1BlPdajjTymCTIiykevs4Ew-1yhNpEbJddQ/s1600/customer+service+5+points.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Priya has just walked in and she is still getting a feel of
the place and says, “just looking”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then, Priya is left to shop for herself and Lakshmi will
wait for to ask for any help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Priya,
then walks through and not having seen any thing in particular, go out of the
department.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If only the training had been changed to the following :-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lakshmi waits for Priya to start looking and then offers
help, then she might have asked<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a few
questions and responded to them. The chances of a conversion would have been
better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What are your experiences in handling customers like Priya ?
Share it with us at RetailGurukul@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-72071889408584439752012-11-16T23:38:00.000+05:302012-11-16T23:38:04.418+05:30Reliable Rapid Replenishment<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnl93m4gGOfDWSVyxunR0jiKscWHmtDka92_Rz1dEhopcml6HLKs4tLX53926jwApMxFesS6Hg0132YByabMHZVPv-XzEvSLwV6Yz5P4W2pWFu_2K_SRMjUxyvVWlgOmTOVPpz80LVdDM/s1600/goldratt+india.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnl93m4gGOfDWSVyxunR0jiKscWHmtDka92_Rz1dEhopcml6HLKs4tLX53926jwApMxFesS6Hg0132YByabMHZVPv-XzEvSLwV6Yz5P4W2pWFu_2K_SRMjUxyvVWlgOmTOVPpz80LVdDM/s1600/goldratt+india.jpg" /></a>Dear All, <br /><br />I would like to bring to your attention an upcoming workshop that Goldratt India is organizing in partnership with Time n Cash, on the following topic: <br /><br />Increasing Availability without increasing inventory: TOC Way<br /><br />Date: November 28, 2012<br /><br />Venue: Hotel ITC Windsor Manor, Bangalore<br /><br />Who should attend: Supply Chain Heads, Materials Heads, Production Planning / Production Heads, MDs, CEOs, Decision-makers of organizations <br /><br />Workshop Details: <br /><br />One-day workshop on eliminating stock-outs without increasing inventories through the application of Theory of Constraints (TOC)<br /><br />The workshop would address the following issues: <br />¦Perennial stock outs of fast moving SKUs<br />¦Inability to meet sales targets <br />¦High obsolescence or discount sales<br />¦High inventory <br />¦Low inventory turns<br />¦Crisis mode of operation on regular basis<br />¦Inadequate or no profits <br />¦Squeeze on cash<br /><br /> This workshop presents the fundamentals of Reliable Rapid Replenishment – the TOC solution for eliminating all the above pains without increasing inventories. <br /><br />Please send nominations to ira@timencash.com or call on +91 96320 18261 in case of any clarifications.<br />
or me shivaram 9036036524Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-42336572574966753542012-11-15T23:24:00.000+05:302012-11-15T23:24:44.722+05:30Up selling skillsAs a sales person, the first responsibility is to make the first sale. Then, to make the second sale and so on.<br />
<br />
The best example that I have come across on Upselling goes like this...( it is an extract from the book Entrepedia by Prof. Nandini Vaidyanathan, a Mentor and Coach to over 500 mentees, including this author).<br />
<br />
Quote...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U00qjahNGFMHZxvefj6QDs8eQcFgRB650u2K99TlykbBg7-R1rQTmkKZieoNPaIz3sz_BKWP0KuXwWdJ9ZIpuo8IaX0_pXlEC8xyg3qZu0pTHkL4APLYLh3BLkDlVTIHyX3Mq59zP4A/s1600/walmart.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U00qjahNGFMHZxvefj6QDs8eQcFgRB650u2K99TlykbBg7-R1rQTmkKZieoNPaIz3sz_BKWP0KuXwWdJ9ZIpuo8IaX0_pXlEC8xyg3qZu0pTHkL4APLYLh3BLkDlVTIHyX3Mq59zP4A/s1600/walmart.png" height="248" width="320" /></a>A week before Christmas, the Wal Mart store in Denver, USA was gearing up for the big Christmas sale. It had hired close to a hundred people in Sales and the HR Manager was exhausted. Just then a young sardar boy walked in saying he was looking for a job. The HR Manager said that he had just finished hiring and there was no vacancy.<br />
<br />
But the boy was persistent and would not take no for an answer. That's when Sam Walton walked in and the boy went up to him and said,"Sir, I have just come from India and I need a job. I will come at whatever time you ask me to come tomorrow and I will work till I'm required to. At the end of the day, if you are not happy with my performance, you don't have to pay me a cent. But please give me the one chance.".<br />
<br />
Walton perhaps saw some spark in the boy, so he asked him to report at 8.15 the next morning and work till 8.15 at night.<br />
<br />
The next night Walton went in search of the boy and found him wrapping the shift up. So he asked him: "Young man, how was your day ? How many sales did you make ? "The boy diffidently replied:" It was ok , I made one sale."<br />
<br />
Walton said:" On an average, each of our sales people makes 30-45 sales per shift. Just before Christmas, it is as high as 65-70. If you have managed to make only one sale pre-Christmas, you are obviously not good enough. I'm sorry but I don't think we can hire you."<br />
<br />
Walton was about to walk away when something made him pause and ask: "What was the value of the sale?".<br />
<br />
The boy replied :" One hundred thousand dollars."<br />
<br />
Now it was Walton's turn to do a double-take. He asked the boy: "One hundred thousand dollars ? What did you sell? ".<br />
<br />
The boy said,"Oh ! A customer came in wanting to buy a small fishing hook, I sold him a set of large ones and some bait. Then I told him, 'Since you bought so much of fishing equipment, why don't you go upstream and catch some really big ones?'<br />
<br />
The customer said that it was a very good idea but he didn't have a boat. So I told him, 'That is not a problem, we have a lovely boat,and we can sell it to you.Then I told him, Now that you have the boat, why don't you go to the woods that the river leads to and camp the night? We will even throw in some Budweiser Beer for you '.<br />
<br />
The customer said, he loved the idea, except that he did not have any camping equipment. So I told him not to worry, that we have some wonderful ones that we could sell him. He looked at all that he had shopped and said," I have done so much shopping, how will I carry all of this with me?' and I told him ' Don't you worry, we have an awesome 4X4 truck and we would be more than happy to sell it to you ".<br />
<br />
Walton then asked him :" Are you seriously trying to tell me that a man came to buy fishing hook and you sold him a boat, camping equipment and a truck?"<br />
<br />
The boy replied: No sirjee, the customer came in saying he had a headache and wanted a pill for it. I told him fishing was a good way to get rid of the headache.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EYMUn4fWYNNiYrOUpvlc-g96CKz_lXZmohEjQfiiu0GNacQ6spvPMarbsEZ2sxi9SAO61C2cklI-GRm1Y02pZ1ljOvXSOjoDKmOMTNBP1sZ-KnvBzsQjGT1P5mwMsbmCxs5FE0H_lWw/s1600/sikh+in+walmart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EYMUn4fWYNNiYrOUpvlc-g96CKz_lXZmohEjQfiiu0GNacQ6spvPMarbsEZ2sxi9SAO61C2cklI-GRm1Y02pZ1ljOvXSOjoDKmOMTNBP1sZ-KnvBzsQjGT1P5mwMsbmCxs5FE0H_lWw/s1600/sikh+in+walmart.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a><br />
What was it this boy saw that the other hundred people in the store did not ?<br />
<br />
The boy saw opportunity.<br />
<br />
Did he only see the opportunity ? No, he also cashed on it.<br />
<br />
Did he only cash on it ? No, he even created it ! <br />
<br />
Unquote...<br />
<br />
Do you have any such incident to share with us ? Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-12674616192857143632012-11-14T22:58:00.002+05:302012-11-14T22:58:38.104+05:30Why is after sales service so bad in India ?<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">3 problems in 3 weeks</span> ! Our washing machine, the fridge and even the water filter and have had problems . In fact two of them are even under an annual maintenance plan costing us 1000's of rupees each year. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAuVTto63Gbsb9QndWTsgyje0ktLCd4h6Lc7EBwnVzCZ9E949eL436RZnp4rllsvFu3iXa1X58V5CRlM16LCoSEHaG2wVVjtPsrQ6LOEr8W0bsEx7ar5XlhxFu47VwCIUkxpHY5FKpaU/s1600/bad+service.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAuVTto63Gbsb9QndWTsgyje0ktLCd4h6Lc7EBwnVzCZ9E949eL436RZnp4rllsvFu3iXa1X58V5CRlM16LCoSEHaG2wVVjtPsrQ6LOEr8W0bsEx7ar5XlhxFu47VwCIUkxpHY5FKpaU/s1600/bad+service.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yet, the service we have got from each of the companies, the first is a famous MNC, the second an equally famous Indian company, the third is known for its door to door sales people who pioneered water filters. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, there are some TV manufacturers like Samsung who are offering 10 years warranty for the first time !<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the other side of the sales cycle, I saw full page advertisements today with gifts and prizes worth Rs. 6 to 10 crores from retailers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as part of the Diwali Scheme.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
Does it make sense for an unhappy consumer point of view, to ask me to buy their products when they cannot even service existing products ? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
Every one is in a hurry to sell more and more to achieve their targets. Yet, the after sales service is so bad. The entire arrangement is outsourced, the mechanics are hardly trained on courtesy, on the products or even on time management. After repeated appointments, they come shabbily dressed, cant trouble shoot nor have adequate spares to support .<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
With each of these products are first time savers, the companies have done nothing to offer temporary replacements even at a cost. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
Will the companies first look within existing customers , solve their pain points <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and service those who are already customers rather than just chase new customers with bigger and bigger prizes ?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
Shivaram<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0cm;">
Friend, Philosopher and Guide to Retailers.</div>
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</div>
Whirlpool, Godrej and Acqaguard. pl contact us !Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-72050371355512270782012-11-13T23:07:00.000+05:302012-11-13T23:07:38.662+05:30Whose Diwali Greeting is this anyway ? No name, no identity
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Divine light of Diwali spread happiness n prosperity 2 U
& ur family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VP_eU2JspFdywKiHa8_GN8DnoDUxLm6eSa8tF8-yLBotjVLA5Xz_gnsnoqB1a-uqtkzSq9QsYifd-WkPoaie4iGXlTpIQhRRF_CXrGXPdbodld7Bxio1s1kO2h1hAzdYPAu8TRbiO-I/s1600/sms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VP_eU2JspFdywKiHa8_GN8DnoDUxLm6eSa8tF8-yLBotjVLA5Xz_gnsnoqB1a-uqtkzSq9QsYifd-WkPoaie4iGXlTpIQhRRF_CXrGXPdbodld7Bxio1s1kO2h1hAzdYPAu8TRbiO-I/s1600/sms.JPG" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Did you recognise who sent this greeting ? Neither did I. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He would have thought it was a good thing to have wished me,
but since I did not recognise his number, and it is not polite to ask him who
is the sender, I just deleted the message ! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">About 10 % of the Diwali Greetings that I received this
season had no name at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
increasing use of mobile numbers by every one, it is virtually impossible nor
is it needed to store the mobile number of every person you meet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And considering that I did not store his number in this case,
and he paid about Rs. 1.50 on an average during this season to send out, I
presume he must have lost about Rs. 45 if even 30 such messages were lost on
its recipient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Similarly, there is a saying in marketing, 50 % of all
advertising is a waste of money, except that we don’t know which 50 %. But
when you send an SMS, it is like direct marketing, and it is entirely possible to reach the
target audience with the correct message and identity of the sender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Those of us who will send out the next bulk SMS ( possibly
during Christmas and New Year, might do well to remember to add the complete
identity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Having said that, belated Happy Diwali.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shivaram/ Founder/ RetailGurukul.com<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-81534493342672823782012-07-08T20:11:00.001+05:302012-07-08T20:11:07.464+05:30Startup Leadership Program in Bangalore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Apart from writing about Retailing, I would like to add information about opportunities for startups, ( I am one of them ) <br />
<br />
Here is an opportunity for applying to a program, that is to quote the site " We do everything possible to support our Fellows, as long as they are supporting the community. We take two things very seriously, attendance and contribution to the SLP community".<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedJb2CNXMp1iaEGxcGZ_XbgFLFqCm7xmAl6ZarUh-MxoiPoULqwebnWlA4fur0Wy47hG8BEDyan1B7s_nRrJc_QbkQ6KsAoS0xphqIcxRmG3MDSFpUByDt9QWWRNqXsI2rdoS0MkCmmc/s1600/logo+SLP.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedJb2CNXMp1iaEGxcGZ_XbgFLFqCm7xmAl6ZarUh-MxoiPoULqwebnWlA4fur0Wy47hG8BEDyan1B7s_nRrJc_QbkQ6KsAoS0xphqIcxRmG3MDSFpUByDt9QWWRNqXsI2rdoS0MkCmmc/s1600/logo+SLP.png" /></a>The Startup Leadership Program (SLP) is a highly selective, world-class training program for outstanding founders, leaders and innovators who are or want to be startup CEOs, and be connected to a global network. SLP Fellows have founded over 300 breakthrough startups including Duron Energy, Gharpay, ixigo, Innoz, Momelan, Runkeeper, SideTour, Shareaholic, Solar Junction, Ubersense, Savored, Voicetap, and have won many awards. Startup Leadership’s programs are complementary to the many leading incubators you may belong to or consider joining - our Fellows have been accepted into Techstars, DreamIT and Excelerate amongst others. If you want to become part of a an incredibly accomplished, lifelong global network of peers and mentors who will answer your questions, provide you with access to investors, and help you along the way in every way possible, apply this summer to the class of 2013. The sixty hours you invest here will be transformational. Session begins on September 1 and lasts for six months.<br />
<a href="http://www.startupleadership.com/main_nav/admissions/application-2013/apply-english/">http://www.startupleadership.com/main_nav/admissions/application-2013/apply-english/</a><br />
<br />
I was attending a 4 Startups program at the NSRCEL @ IIMB this saturday and a speaker said this..<br />
<br />
I believe in Karma, if you send out positive karma, you will get positive karma in return. <br />
<br />
I hope some of you who see this blog, and apply do get in...<br />
<br />
The last date is this month end.. If you need any clarifications, please let me know or directly contact the coordinators.<br />
<br />
Check out my website at <a href="http://www.retailgurukul.com/">http://www.RetailGurukul.com</a> and please send atleast one brickbat or bouquet !. Thanks in advance..</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-16738745653111571762012-06-04T23:10:00.003+05:302012-06-04T23:10:37.948+05:30Control what you can - Inventory is a prime candidate ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><u><span lang="EN" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 22pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">How to increase sales during tough times…<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">When the going gets tough, you begin to wonder,
what is it that you can do, apart from hoping to get new customers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Actually, there are quite a few things..<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">1. <span style="color: blue;">Inventory..</span></span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="color: blue;">
Reduce Fresh supply…</span> Evaluate each and every purchase with an eagle eye. I am
often surprised, to find owner/retailer hand over this critical responsibility
to a few old and trusted employees. They are no doubt doing what they have been
doing for many years now.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">New
Action:- Just ask a few questions when the next order is about to be released
and you will surely find orders, which you could avoid placing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">2. <span style="color: blue;">Check Inventory..</span> Check out the age ( less than
30 days, 90 days etc) of the different SKUs that you have, not just on display
but even those in your warehouses.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2OwLlKcnfpVbmkonVoUtfvtqShqKSEALUtR04am6gzXnorQtrdg0PVtQd7Az6YfrqoGZawcBfboDqS9cydcv4d5oCxQgDCGuYdrWB7OyJEt6z-tCPT8QE5HI4LJdphBRSAwkdbTTbfc/s1600/inventory+jokes+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2OwLlKcnfpVbmkonVoUtfvtqShqKSEALUtR04am6gzXnorQtrdg0PVtQd7Az6YfrqoGZawcBfboDqS9cydcv4d5oCxQgDCGuYdrWB7OyJEt6z-tCPT8QE5HI4LJdphBRSAwkdbTTbfc/s320/inventory+jokes+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">New Action :- Take a stock statement from your
computer and go out and physically check, if what the computerised statement which
is showing the stock, is actually available and is shown to you . You will be
surprised with the answers. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">3. <span style="color: blue;">Identify..Best sellers …</span>If you can do an
analysis of the best sellers in your store, then take out the top 20 % of the
best selling SKUs or say the top100 SKUs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">New Action :- Find out if those SKUs are in your
store..If you don’t have the knowledge to do that, ask us, we have a
specialised service for such analysis and reporting..<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Both of us will be surprised, to find , how many of
such products which are your best sellers are in your store? Want to take a bet
? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">4. <span style="color: blue;">Identify the non movers !</span> If the stock is in
your system as part of the highest age stock, ensure that those products cannot
be ordered at all ! ( See point 1 above).<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">New Action :- Brain storm, what all can be done to
recover what ever value is left in that “dead stock”.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">5. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is
your <span style="color: blue;">average inventory value</span> for the past few months. ? What was it last year ?
Do you think, you can maintain or improve the performance this year ?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">New Action :- Take a training session for your
employees on the concept of inventory, inventory holding cost, stock turn and
ask for actions/ suggestions<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Reward the best ideas and bigger rewards for
implementing them. Most Retailers give rewards for sales performance, but
rarely do employees get rewarded for inventory control. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Finally :- Try it out ! Inventory management is
still in your hands, Purchase is as always, mostly in your customer’s hands ! Selling skills count a lot, but that is for another learning blog in the future...</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAdWBdHu24jNHfQqpMVUWAbjgLyW0G3_bHUkZlCcYPvu5Yjnj2-5EQxEzsm71_5o34Pw9ZCEpirDu0PEfgI_4gmL9eclNz_A3Sm9A_bonIajgpluwcprWFqKbiHmCpZTXpMExQCSfcHs/s1600/inventory+jokes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAdWBdHu24jNHfQqpMVUWAbjgLyW0G3_bHUkZlCcYPvu5Yjnj2-5EQxEzsm71_5o34Pw9ZCEpirDu0PEfgI_4gmL9eclNz_A3Sm9A_bonIajgpluwcprWFqKbiHmCpZTXpMExQCSfcHs/s400/inventory+jokes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Oh, lest we forget, as this joke said, how about making a real effort in selling the inventory to the customers ? Really "Selling" the old fashion way face to face ? not displaying, not advertising, </span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Share your learnings on Inventory with us and win rewards ..</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="color: #555555; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Call us and share your challenges in retail on - 0 90 360 365 24. We are eager to help !</span></b></div>
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</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-24298563579237405902012-06-03T23:34:00.002+05:302012-06-03T23:34:57.778+05:30G.U.E.S.T - How to treat a Customer !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There are many descriptions for the various "steps" that are mentioned in the process of making a sale.<br />
<br />
GUEST <br />
<br />
<strong>G - Greet</strong> the customer, it can be just a nodding your head with pleasant smile, <br />
<strong>U</strong> - <strong>Unfold</strong> the customers needs with a smooth conversation,<br />
<strong>E </strong>- <strong>Explain</strong> the customer regarding the product with their unique qualities,<br />
<strong>S </strong>- <strong>Selling</strong> the product to the customer, make sure selling the product should not be the end of the relationship with the customer, it is infact should be the begining of the relationship with the customer, <strong> </strong><br />
<strong>T </strong>-<strong>Thanking</strong> the customer after selling, never forget to thank the customer after the transaction is completed). <br />
<br />
In an article by Vinod Kumar M, Branch Manager /Regional Manage of Kiah Life Style Pvt Ltd.<br />
<br />
<br />
G.U.E.S.T - Isn't it what we want each of the walkins to our store, to feel ... Guest who felt "Wanted" <br />
<br />
This is a good example, to remember how to treat a customer and complete the selling process. Whether the sale was completed or it may not , this time...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmZwlmKPa3_7KytIWlRx_bkGddTq19CxBg-T-_uYob4TyJLdWRNMeU6SKAok_2CXQ7sQ9mA40o8FtIDT6eLNVn86yEvYK2dk6K-Rxb1x3TlOZeV0ExUKTZZD4jrki6jRpV2sDOzpow7M/s1600/helped+customer+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmZwlmKPa3_7KytIWlRx_bkGddTq19CxBg-T-_uYob4TyJLdWRNMeU6SKAok_2CXQ7sQ9mA40o8FtIDT6eLNVn86yEvYK2dk6K-Rxb1x3TlOZeV0ExUKTZZD4jrki6jRpV2sDOzpow7M/s1600/helped+customer+image.jpg" /></a><br />
Why not try out this process at the next available opportunity, and see if you have been able to improve the sales performance, in terms of closure ?<br />
<br />
Share with your sales / retail team about this word GUEST .<br />
<br />
Best of luck and happy selling,<br />
<br />
Shivaram<br />
<a href="http://www.retailgurukul.com/">www.RetailGurukul.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.retailgurukul.blogspot.com/">www.RetailGurukul.blogspot.com</a><br />
Join us on Twitter, Linkedin,FB @ RetailGurukul<br />
Call us at 0 90360 365 24. </div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-75233567830220119242012-06-02T23:03:00.000+05:302012-06-03T00:20:02.855+05:30How a new joinee can add value & seriously learn at the same time ..<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<strong>A typical company / store/ office ...</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>A typical new joinee's day....</strong><br />
<br />
If you have seen how a new joinee is "inducted" into a organisation, it is typically, with introductions to the "internal team", meeting with a set of "busy senior people" who hopefully, will find the time to talk to the new joinee .<br />
<em>We are</em> passionate about making<br />
<em>the web</em> a better place.<br />
No where do we find a "customer Contact "program for a new joinee. If anything, the new joinee is shielded from customers, lest he makes a mistake .<br />
<br />
<strong>I came across this wonderfull way to inducting a new joinee by the company automattic/ Wordpress. </strong><br />
<strong><em>We are</em> passionate about making <em>the web</em> a better place.</strong><br />
<strong>Coming on board ·</strong> When you make it past the interview stage we’ll do a project together on contract, typically lasting between 3-8 weeks, to see how we work together. When you join full-time, regardless of your position, you’ll do customer support for WordPress.com for your first three weeks. We believe this early connection with the people who use our products is irreplaceable.<br />
<a href="http://automattic.com/work-with-us/">http://automattic.com/work-with-us/</a><br />
<br />
Fantastic..<br />
<br />
Typically, in those three weeks, any one would have gone through the full range of typical customer requirements, happy customers, unhappy customers, customers screaming at you or the company.<br />
<br />
Even if one does not understand all the problems in detail, he might not have all the solutions on hand, it is still a great way to " swim in the waters" and understand the overall problems facing the customers. <br />
<br />
Very rarely will customers just call back and say thank you ! Yes, there are a few, but they are really few and far between ( Bless them , they make many a day ) with their thankyous !<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><strong>Learnings :-</strong></span><br />
<br />
What are the suggestions, that we can implement in a Retail Store ? for a new joinee ?<br />
<br />
1. For the first few weeks, the Joinee notes down each and every customer feedback or complaint or compliment !<br />
2 . Finds the answers with in the same time from the seniors, Sales person, even the owners <br />
3. Works out a set of best answers, may be the old answers or new ones or improved ones for the old answers..<br />
4. The team then sits down and finalises the best set of answers to take forward for the future.<br />
<br />
<br />
Is all this very difficult to implement ? Surely, this is not rocket science . !<br />
<br />
Best of luck and share your answers here ! <br />
<br />
Forward to friends and foes. Your friend will thank you for this and your foe may become your friend again !<br />
<br />
Best of luck.<br />
<br />
Shivaram<br />
<a href="http://www.retailgurukul.com/">http://www.RetailGurukul.com</a><br />
Join us on FB, Twitter,Linkedin@ RetailGurukul<br />
<br />
PS : Did you contest the WagonRSmartIdeas.com Contest. Do it now Rs. 10 lakhs could be yours...<br />
http://w<a href="http://ww.retailgurukul.com/">ww.RetailGurukul.com</a><br />
<br />
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<br /></div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-53985971405075408342012-05-29T22:38:00.000+05:302012-05-29T22:38:08.635+05:30Shopping is Fun, Paying is not...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For each of us, <span style="font-size: large;">Shopping is fun,</span> we spend hours and hours going from one shop to another, and in a mall, from one side of the huge floor to another, un and down the esclators, even spending hours at the food court or the new restaurants that are starting up all the time .. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZMEqjUgV1JzC2j4NFnKOcOphgdpdcAk2kt3O09-mpogyVv8aAtLqU-egavubPTSHrIEVzQ0kw5QYuinDuk4Myqjmms_00i4XAjH9rDoe1w1JoMJJ4_jb13UatosE5g4GolauqWxz1TE/s1600/shopping+mall+customers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZMEqjUgV1JzC2j4NFnKOcOphgdpdcAk2kt3O09-mpogyVv8aAtLqU-egavubPTSHrIEVzQ0kw5QYuinDuk4Myqjmms_00i4XAjH9rDoe1w1JoMJJ4_jb13UatosE5g4GolauqWxz1TE/s200/shopping+mall+customers.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Yet, after all the hours of shopping, trying on, deciding etc etc, we then head to the check out counter and guess what we see ! A long line of shoppers just like you and with loads and loads of shopping !<br />
<br />
This is when, you have to decide whether you will wait in the queue for the next 5 or 10 minutes and just leave all the shopping in the bag and just make a quick exit ....<br />
<br />
Most prefer to wait ( after all you have taken so much time deciding ) and watch what all the others have shopped ! <br />
<br />
Increasingly, some shoppers seem to decide that the wait is not worth it and abandon the shopping trolley and go out..<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">What are the learnings for retailers?</span></strong><br />
If the queues are moving, then the shopper is more likely to stay and get the billing done...<br />
<br />
But<br />
<br />
If the transactions are not crisp, if they cannot see an organized checkout, they are very likely to not end up buying. Some people just turn around and leave as soon as they see a busy checkout.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbAZwVNvrIjObY-H0jaDHYrjGz9lGKlIq6afWZeFiNv9fs-3LoUx_YDuuMJr5aFIUfg2nVr1qKmH4tF-RxOpog1b_32vi_cbY28FMT4DOesivh-ynrS6pAP4-BvGyr4OrRZpCHBzUIvE/s1600/super+market+queue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbAZwVNvrIjObY-H0jaDHYrjGz9lGKlIq6afWZeFiNv9fs-3LoUx_YDuuMJr5aFIUfg2nVr1qKmH4tF-RxOpog1b_32vi_cbY28FMT4DOesivh-ynrS6pAP4-BvGyr4OrRZpCHBzUIvE/s200/super+market+queue.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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It is the responsibility of the store staff, to check if the queue is getting to be too long and arrange to get new billing counters opened .. A sign that we are opening new counters or moving customers to counters in another area / floor where the queues are less can help break the queues..<br />
<br />
Have you seen any such pro active stores ? Share them with us ...<br />
<br />
Write to us at <a href="mailto:RetailGurukul@gmail.com">RetailGurukul@gmail.com</a><br />
join us on FB, Twitter or Linked in...<br />
Vote for us at WagonRsmartideas.com </div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-60783685491664494242012-05-28T22:08:00.000+05:302012-05-28T22:09:28.374+05:30What should we learn from SRK's and his KKR team?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
After his team won the IPL -5 version in Chennai , SRK praised each and every player. "I am proud of Gautam and the boys. <strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">We made a video of families of all our players and saw Manvinder Bisla's parents speaking about their son. They must be very proud and so am I.</span></strong> I want to tell the people of the Bengal, that now this team belongs to you."<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>He added, “This is something the youngsters should believe in – resilience, patience, perseverance – if you believe, you can win.”</strong></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8k6qyWqT_tCacAlB28W75RHadNZdqkPNKDtt3diQcDmi8oFvAba5j6W2tYHRgeZrg-KBEyhqOXiZjLiHAkGHkXTyIbAaPor4DWzAuR48Qb6JbFY3Kw8ZBscxll8V9HnvvlXrNkrDY9A/s1600/28ipl-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8k6qyWqT_tCacAlB28W75RHadNZdqkPNKDtt3diQcDmi8oFvAba5j6W2tYHRgeZrg-KBEyhqOXiZjLiHAkGHkXTyIbAaPor4DWzAuR48Qb6JbFY3Kw8ZBscxll8V9HnvvlXrNkrDY9A/s320/28ipl-final.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
What are the lessons for us from this :-<br />
<br />
1.A simple effort... Like he said, "we made a video of all our families and we saw.......<br />
<br />
Can you do that for your team ? With mobile phones having cameras, it is so easy to record and play with the rest of the team !! Try it, it will help in motivating your team..<br />
<br />
2. Some thing the youngsters should believe , or every one should believe in... Resilience, Patience, Perserverance ... if you believe,, you can win... <br />
<br />
<br />
Share some of your own experiences, when because you came back from the lows, you were patient or you persevered, you were able to succeed finally.<br />
<br />
Your story might inspire countless others just like SRK must have inspired his team for over 5 years, to win the tournament this time...<br />
<br />
Shivaram<br />
<a href="http://www.retailgurukul.com/">www.RetailGurukul.com</a><br />
Join us on FB, Twitter, Linked in..<br />
<br />
PS: SRK, the way you were standing on the first floor is a safety hazard. Something you and we can do without !Imagine, what would have happened, if you had fallen and your team had lost the match ! Pl forward this to SRK, if you know his email id .....:) </div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-74989753814003390922012-05-27T19:37:00.001+05:302012-05-27T20:38:57.074+05:30Why can't Cricket Commentators be Salesmen too ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="body">
<b>Commentators cannot stop being salesmen</b></div>
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As the ball soars high into the night sky, they cry out: “That one's out of here.” Oddly, seconds later the ball is caught or only just clears the boundary, tickling a fielder's fingers on the way. Of course we all get carried away, we're not all perfect at judging trajectory (heck even fielders aren't), but these occurrences aren't rare. Overstatement, especially when twigged to be deliberate, grates. Hyperbole and exaggeration have for long been on page one of the IPL commentator's manual; with a couple of honourable exceptions, it seems that hasn't gone away. Nor has the unabashed plugging of products when play is in progress. <span style="font-size: large;">“Beautiful car,” they remark as the camera zooms in on the vehicle, mounted for display just beyond the boundary. “Wish it was mine.”</span> What we would all wish is for commentators to simply call the game; the hawking can be left to the commercial breaks.</div>
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<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article3459006.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article3459006.ece</a></div>
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Technically, Sidhu is not a commentator, but he probably is the most "colorfull" of the lot, both in his appearance and his choice of words. Probably, the best Salesman, the Commentators fraternity ever had. I sometimes enjoy his words more than even the cricket. His analysis of the situation is very good too... Like the colourfull dresses the teams wear, his colorfull personality works too... <br />
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So, why is the author of this article so peeved about ? What is wrong with the commentators being Salesmen as well, for the products that they either officially or unofficially sell.<br />
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Each of us are Salesmen through out the day, whether we are getting our kids to eat their breakfast before they go to school, or at the office or shop or back at home, after a hard day's work...<br />
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Selling is part of the way of life, and the better we are able to learn the different ways of selling, so much the better our own lives will be.<br />
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So, if some one is practising his selling skills, let us evaluate it whether we need that "product" or not.. . If we dont like it, we dont buy it ! that all...<br />
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Let us remember, that IPL-5 is as much sports as much as entertainment and a major Sales Program for the sponsorers. <br />
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Incidentally, the industry has even special words for it... Above the line or Below the line.....<br />
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What do you think ?<br />
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Reach out with your opinions to us <br />
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<a href="http://www.retailgurukul.com/">http://www.retailgurukul.com</a><br />
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</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-68478081584002110262012-05-25T22:36:00.002+05:302012-05-25T22:36:41.182+05:30Business is down across India.Retailers - What can you do ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>What did you say today ?</u></span></div>
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Across the Indian Retail Market, Industries, Brands, Un Brands, have all started feeling the pinch of the drop in walkins to the stores, in a significant manner. Whether they are consumer durable brands, investment categories like the gold jewellers or the stock markets, every thing is down and going down signficantly. </div>
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Retailers had seen the bad patch in March, did some recovery in April due to festivals like Akshaya Tritiya. The market seems to be so down, that even my neighbour who is a Doctor is coming home early ! as he sees less patients these days ! And more and more hoardings are blank. </div>
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That for me a good thumb rule of businesses being down these days...</div>
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We have been discussing many things retailers can do( for the past 50 blogs) , on how Retailers can improve their business at this blog <a href="http://www.retailgurukul.blogspot.com/">http://www.RetailGurukul.blogspot.com</a>.</div>
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Generating walkin through new advertising, new discount schemes dont seem to be working as well as before. </div>
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Therefore, we need to " maximise" every walkin to the store. The very definition of walkin to a store is many a times difficult to be agreed upon in national chain stores today, but that is a topic for another day !</div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>Current Situation :-</strong></span></div>
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The Standard method of Greeting is a "smile" and may be a mumbled "How may I help you ", if at all. But in these days of multiple floors of stores , multiple types of "staff" - company, brand, contract, security etc , it is increasing difficult to "standardise" even the greeting at the stores, even in shopping malls like LifeStyle or Central or Shoppers etc leave alone speciality stores of apparel, consumer electronics etc. In fact, until one goes to a particular "shop in shop", the rest of the staff can just walk by, without even bothering to look at you ! You could possibly enter and leave a store, without any one making a direct contact with you !</div>
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In such a situation, an article by Jeff Mowatt “The Art of Client Service: Influence with Ease”, Jeffmowatt.com caught my attention. One of the 5 tips he says is a new method of greeting . And I quote him for his simple easy to understand explanation... </div>
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<!-- AddThis Button END --><!--summary--><!--<b><span id="ctl00_lblSummary">Summary</span></b> --><i> Greeting Walk-In Customers: Can I help you? That's the typical greeting offered to customers. And the typical response is No thanks, just looking. These tips can ensure that your greeting makes customers want to buy and keep coming back. </i><br />
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Quick, what’s the typical greeting used most often by 60% of retail stores? You’re right if you guessed, “Can I help you?” The visitor’s usual response, “No thanks, just looking.” The problem is the walk-in customer is never “just looking.” They came into the premises because at some level they perceived a need. This greeting only reminds visitors that they’re not here to buy. Lousy selling strategy.</div>
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The way you and your front line employees greet walk-in customers has a huge impact on your bottom line. Here are some tips to ensure that you and your employees greet customers in a way that makes them want to buy and keep coming back. </div>
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1. For another day !</div>
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2 <strong>. Ask if they’ve been in before</strong>One of the best money making greetings is, “Hi, have you been here before?” Michael Gerber, author of the best seller, The E-myth, says that his clients who have switch from, “Can I help you?” to this greeting have seen sales increase by 16%. While Gerber claims to have no idea why this works so well, I think it’s because this greeting reminds the customer that they’ve been at your business before, so it’s a familiar place. Familiar means safe. Safe means trust. And trust means buy. </div>
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“If saying, ‘Hi, have you been here before?’ can increase sales by 16%, then it’s certainly worth a test.” </div>
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With this greeting the employee can also add, “Welcome back, we appreciate your coming to see us again.” That provides that all-important recognition. They can ask the customer about what they bought on their last visit and how they like it. That provides the opportunity to provide positive reinforcement and/or clear up any concerns.</div>
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If this is the visitor’s first visit, then the employee has a great excuse to show them around, identify needs and point out specials. At any rate, if saying, “Hi, have you been here before?” can increase sales by 16%, then it’s certainly worth a test. </div>
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Unquote...</div>
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I thought this is a very simple idea, that can be implemented inmediately, without having to change any thing significant. He quotes another author, of a 16 % increase in conversions..</div>
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While we can argue that, the data is for America and we are in India, this is probably one of the ideas, that actually require "zero money" to try out. And the results are visible at the end of every transaction itself.</div>
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<strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Retailers and Sales staff - Change you "Welcome" today..</span></strong> </div>
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Are you ready to try it out with the next customer and let me know what was the result ?</div>
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Best of luck...</div>
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Shivaram </div>
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<a href="http://www.retailgurukul.blogspot.com/">http://www.RetailGurukul.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Join us on Twitter,FB, Linkedin @ RetailGurukul</div>
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Vote for us at http://www.WagonRSmartideas.com under Retail/Bangalore/Shivaram</div>
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</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-92107261581964477212012-05-25T00:05:00.000+05:302012-05-25T00:05:26.087+05:30Customer or Company Policy .Who is right ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What do you think ? Who is right and who was wrong. What would you have done as a customer or as a Brand manager in such a situation. ?<br />
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Is the brand image spoilt because of a 23,000 Rs. one jean with all these articles ?<br />
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Or Is the brand correct in not refunding ? just because the customer came back after 30 days instead of 10 days as per company policy ?<br />
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I had a colleaque, Snigdha, who would always ask, when ever a decision was being made in the Corporate office, Was it policy or Purpose behind the decision that we were taking. We always thought the decision , we made "the purpose" more important, though, she would not always agree !!!!<br />
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Wrong size jeans: Armani to pay Rs 23K<br />
by Dev Borah<br />
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New Delhi:The Indian arm of leading global fashion house, Giorgio Armani, has been asked by a consumer forum here to refund the cost of a pair of jeans to a customer and pay Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment for selling him the wrong size and then refusing to exchange the garment.<br />
Giorgio Armani India Pvt Ltd, the joint venture of Italy based fashion label Giorgio Armani and DLF Retail Brands, was held guilty of unfair trade practice by the South West Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum for not showing the correct size of the jeans on its label.<br />
"It stands proved that the tag attached to the jeans mentioned the size at the waist as 33 inches and as deposed by the complainant actually it was 37 inches and hence it could not fit his size. Counsel for the OP (Giorgio Armani) failed to satisfy us that the measurements as shown on the label tally with the size of the jeans.<br />
"Thus it is proved that the measurements mentioned on the label of the jeans are falsely stated which is tantamount to unfair trade practice," it said.<br />
The bench presided by Narendra Kumar directed the fashion house to also pay Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment and Rs 3,000 as cost of litigation.<br />
The order of the forum came on the plea of East Azad Nagar resident Manjeet Singh who had alleged that he had bought a pair of jeans from a showroom of Giorgio Armani here, which turned out to be of a bigger size than what was mentioned on<br />
the label, but the fashion house had refused to exchange it.<br />
Giorgio Armani in its defence had contended that the jeans was brought for exchange more than a month after its purchase and they only replace garments within 10 days of sale.<br />
It had also said Singh had stretched the jeans after wearing it for more than a month.<br />
The forum rejected the contentions saying the fashion house cannot escape from its liability for "not representing their goods truly".<br />
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Dev Borah | May 23, 2012 at 4:59 pm | Tags: Business News, Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, consumer forum, DLF Retail Brands, Giorgio Armani India Pvt Ltd, Indian Retail, Indian Retail News, Retail News & Analysis | Categories: Retail News & Analysis | URL: <a href="http://wp.me/p2hw2z-sz">http://wp.me/p2hw2z-sz</a></div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-47328282440855772622012-05-23T22:47:00.001+05:302012-05-23T22:47:16.817+05:30Customer or Khast se mar ! ? What is your experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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While there are many definitions of Consumer/ Customer , I will share what I found, easy to under stand and remember.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>Consumer:-</strong></span> A person who "buys / consumes " something . Ex. I could be a consumer of a " dinner" at a particular point of time, say 9 pm, and I might even go to a restaurant along the way, just because it was in the vicinity.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>Customer :-</strong></span> A custom is something, that we do again and again. Like praying everyday. Similarly, a customer is one, who comes back to the store, after her first visit. While every one who makes even the first purchase can be called a customer, I prefer those who have decided to come back, because of some "custom" that they found likeable or useful. Ex. They might have liked our service and decided to make their second purchase again at our store.</div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>Now for the "unhappy" Customer or Khast Se Mar !</strong></span></div>
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How many of us have had bad experiences when something we bought did not work out and we went back to the store, only to find indifferent service or people or careless staff/ owner etc, who seem to have an attitude which says, "good once purchased cannot be returned or exchanged "philosophy. While the number of such retailers who even used to display a placard has really come down, we still do experience such "careless attitude" in the stores even today.</div>
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Even after complaining, there is no action forthcoming. In fact, <a href="http://www.mouthshut.com/">http://www.mouthshut.com</a> is a site dedicated for such complaints, and it is good to know, some of the companies are taking care to respond to such complaints.</div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>Learnings :- </strong></span></div>
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It often takes quite a bit of money to get a consumer into the store. (A Rs. 1000 per every walkin is not a unusual figure for big Brands ), the responsibility of the staff, to engage the consumer in such a way, that she becomes a "Customer" and not a "khast se mar "after her shopping, is the responsibility of every staff in the store....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Np232w3i6wzCMvOU6ufWL2gJXwNgXkWuOr6jL61crnwwp6XDJwF_FPuzBPrxHx0OFB36TiK6uw0xiDpR3uMp_6dB1_iIIXJhSqNVe8FthGMfrKPIblxlXC0flxmx-eWRu9gaOYov6Tw/s1600/happy+customer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Np232w3i6wzCMvOU6ufWL2gJXwNgXkWuOr6jL61crnwwp6XDJwF_FPuzBPrxHx0OFB36TiK6uw0xiDpR3uMp_6dB1_iIIXJhSqNVe8FthGMfrKPIblxlXC0flxmx-eWRu9gaOYov6Tw/s400/happy+customer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Have you had experiences when a store treated you like a valued "customer" or examples of when you were treated with the "khast se mar" attitude. Share it with us.....</div>
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</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-39512015009581055192012-05-22T22:55:00.000+05:302012-05-22T22:55:20.598+05:30Do you have the time to sharpen your saw ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><strong>Who has the time ? – Every body’s confession ?</strong></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The popular story, as given in the picture is very descriptive
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of many owner - retailers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We believe that we have so many things to do at the store,
that we have no time, to go out and learn new things. Additionally, most of
these seminars are full day or even 2 or 3 day events in Mumbai or Bangalore,
it takes away another full day for travelling to and fro.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Besides, what is it there to learn, when we have been doing
this business for 10,, 20 or even 30 years?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong><span style="color: red;"><u>Learnings :-<o:p></o:p></u></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recently, I did attended a seminar . It really opened my
eyes to the many things are being introduced in the industry for problems that
are plaguing us for many years now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u><strong>Problem </strong></u>: One of the biggest problems that retailers are
facing is the understanding of what sells and what does not sell and why ? Answer
:- There are Business Analytics solutions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Problem </u></strong>:- What is the future likely to hold ? Solution :- No
need to do detailed regressive analysis of BIG DATA. Predictive analysis takes
small amounts of data and converts into potential trends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Problem </u></strong>:- .Customer’s today know more about the product ,
than the Retail Staff, simply because , for the Retail Staff it is a job, while
the customer is spending his hard earned money. Solution:- New solutions to
keep the RSA updated on the “fly” with new content being downloaded from the
net and a hand held to show to the customer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Problem</u></strong> :- . Don’t know how to sell things on the net, except
that you have products ? There is a company, which will do all the “dirty work’
about photography, content writing, putting up the product on websites and all
you do is down load orders and replenish the stocks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>But the biggest revelation, ( even though we might know
earlier) is the customer is checking out on physical stores and actually
shopping <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on the net . And how physical
retailers have begun to fight back at this “showrooming” phenomenon.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Check out more on such ideas on New Age Retailing at this
daily blog :-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.retailgurukul.com/">www.RetailGurukul.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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Join us on Twitter, FB, Linkedin @RetailGurukul<o:p></o:p></div>
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Vote for us on <a href="http://www.wagonrsmartideas.com/">http://www.WagonRSmartIdeas.com</a>
contest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Call us on 0 90360 36524 and win prizes for accepted
solutions!<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-71496532853706054382012-05-22T00:30:00.000+05:302012-05-22T20:57:16.920+05:30Pay more – expect more – get more.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
An increasing number of customers are searching for a Rs. 200- Rs.500 difference on a Rs. 20,000 mobile phone and for that they are willing to move from one shop to another, one internet site to another for that " BARGAIN DEAL".<br />
<br />
Same is the case with many electronics products, where the retailers seems to offer little or no differentiation and price seems to win at the cheapest internet site .<br />
<br />
Let us look at this from anothe angle. Some one willing to spend Rs. 20,000 on a phone, would be reasonable to be earning about Rs. 50,000 a month ? . ( Yes, there are exceptions of workers earning 20,000 a month and buying a phone for that price )<br />
<br />
At 20 Days a month, it averages to Rs. 2,500 per day of say 10 hours . A hourly wage of Rs. 250 per hour. Now, if you have spent an average of 4 hours from the time you went searching for that phone, to actually buying it ( touch time as it is called in manufacturing ) , excluding the cost of petrol, additional expenses on "eating out" etc, then you have actually spent Rs. 1000 of your own money . Money that probably had better uses. <br />
<br />
Now that great "saving" that you seem to be making of Rs. 500 is actually a loss of Rs. 500 .<br />
<br />
Next time, you are tempted to go in search of the bargain deal, look for something where even if you paid a Rs. 500 "more " ie say the MRP of the product, you will also get some service( should there be a problem ), ask him to explain the features of the product ( instead of wasting your Rs. 250 / hour) on that . Begin to think of it , as your own "outsourcing" and work on making better returns of your own time. Can you make Rs. 500 per hour using your "core competency" of say developing software or even an app for the same phone you bought ? May be you can be an app millionaire ? Who knows.<br />
<br />
Learnings :-<br />
<br />
Pay more, expect more and get more , rather than penny pinch ....<br />
<br />
The problem really comes out, when you want the product serviced or you have something else you are a customer or a retailer, there seems to be too much emphasis on the price at the cost of every thing else. <br />
<br />
</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1506934446458025357.post-7396505822466570232012-05-20T00:00:00.000+05:302012-05-20T23:38:10.511+05:30Restaurants - Wake up to a new opportunity for week end profits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today happened to be my daughter's 18th birthday and we all had decided to go out dinner. Since, it was her responsibility to fix the restaurant, she had not "thought through " , (her first responsibility of becoming an adult) , and when we landed up at the restaurant, it was full, and we ended up waiting for more than one hour waiting for the table. <br />
<br />
Once seated, we saw week end specials were being advertised, we ended up ordering a number of those items. As can only be expected, the delivery was slow( obviously, the restaurant is not geared for such rush week end business) and we ended up spending more time waiting for food to arrive than in eating it, all the while other customers were waiting to be seated. Even the waiters were not trianed to make an estimate of the total food required for a table of 8 and we also contributed to the problem by ordering piece meal.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: red;">Learnings :-</span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><u>For us :-</u></span><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Don't go out on Sundays without a reservation</li>
<li>Keep plenty of time on your side, including time to park and walk. From the entry into the mall gates till the time we got out of the car, took more than 20 minutes.</li>
</ol>
<span style="color: blue;"><u>Profitable learnings for the restaurant :-</u></span><br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Focus on "items that can be made fast", not on "weekend specials", which by nature will take more time to make..</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Train your steward, to estimate the total food required, with a caveat that one dish may become extra, but ordering later on will take a lot of time, due to the busy time. Most diners will go with the suggestion.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Evaluate, if you can have two menus , one for week days, when people are conscious of money spent while at work, and another a smaller/ different menu but priced slightly higher . After all many hotels have started having two prices for their buffets. One cheaper with lesser number of itemes for the week days and another one only for week ends, with larger number of items for a higher price. Finally, what people will eat in terms of quantity will any way be the same. But , they sure make a little more money this way.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Finally, learn to make a proper estimate of the waiting time. Nothing is more frustrating for diners to be told the waiting time is 15 minutes, but made to wait for more than 30 minutes.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
If you have to turn away customers, remember to give them your visiting card with phone no, facebook and twitter names, etc asking them to save your number on their cell phones, and call up next time before they come in. This way, you will get free recall with your regular set of customers. </div>
</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahyphenhyphenDm8oESrs6P80qzQavLU1wvMCHWrYWL_GlxJ6lQUDe1Dv5Vs7jTTrNABnispluVG6_0_R-IsZcWy0FOIRFT9fEgcyuRfXR3DSm4gQs49JfZhC1pFAK0Jq7gkvghvWMLxoR0ZDlFXyE/s1600/082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahyphenhyphenDm8oESrs6P80qzQavLU1wvMCHWrYWL_GlxJ6lQUDe1Dv5Vs7jTTrNABnispluVG6_0_R-IsZcWy0FOIRFT9fEgcyuRfXR3DSm4gQs49JfZhC1pFAK0Jq7gkvghvWMLxoR0ZDlFXyE/s200/082.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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Check us out for more such Retailing and Consumer Insights every day ! </div>
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Wishing you a great week ahead !</div>
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</div>Shivaramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01192260280164894915noreply@blogger.com0