Podcast Summary
Expanding a Business: Online and Offline Presence: Consider strategic decisions based on goals, leverage unconventional uses of space, and maintain a strong online and offline presence for business growth.
When it comes to growing a business, it's essential to consider every aspect of your brand, both online and offline. Amanda Martin from Lindsey Sweet Deals Furniture shares her experience of working with VaynerMedia and the valuable insights she gained about expanding her business. She discusses the potential benefits of having a strong online presence and a physical storefront with a distinct brand. Gary Vaynerchuk suggests considering unconventional uses for available space, such as a co-working space or a cafe, to attract new customers and create a unique business identity. Ultimately, the key is to determine your goals and make strategic decisions based on your specific situation, such as lease agreements and capital expenditures.
Investing in both physical and online presence: Businesses should invest in both their physical and online presence, and be competitive on pricing online to attract customers.
In today's business landscape, having both a physical location and a strong online presence are equally important. The speaker emphasized the need for a business to determine what unique offerings can be provided in their physical space that complements or is different from their online offerings. He shared his personal experience of investing heavily in both areas while running a large business, and the importance of being competitive on pricing online to attract customers. The speaker also shared a story about his father's business in the liquor industry, where they unintentionally became the best-priced store in the state by ringing up regular items at a discount, demonstrating the importance of price competitiveness online. In summary, businesses need to invest in both their physical and online presence, and be competitive on pricing online to attract customers.
Understanding competition and market: Stay informed about market, understand customer behavior, and offer unique value to stand out from competitors.
Understanding your competition and the market is crucial for business success. The speaker shares an experience of dealing with customers potentially purchasing furniture from competitors, leading him to question the percentage of customers who actually make a purchase in his store. He estimates it to be around 3 out of 10, but notes that they might be comparing prices online or finding specific items in competitors' showrooms. The speaker also mentions the importance of creating a unique brand identity and offering better value to customers to increase sales and profit. Additionally, the speaker shares a personal story of starting with a plan for 10 wine libraries but pivoting to focus on the potential of an online business instead. This pivot led to significant expansion of the one library they had kept. Overall, the key takeaway is the importance of staying informed about the market, understanding customer behavior, and offering unique value to stand out from competitors.
Providing Value Through Services in Retail Furniture: To stay competitive and thrive in retail furniture, focus on providing additional value through services like private label, real estate investment, technology-driven room design consultations, and alternative revenue streams.
In order to succeed in retail business, especially in the furniture industry, it's essential to go beyond just selling products and focus on providing additional value through services. The speaker emphasized the importance of creating a private label, investing in real estate, and leveraging technology to offer unique services like room design consultations. He also suggested exploring alternative revenue streams like co-working spaces or cafes to make the most of unused space. The speaker's personal experience showed that offering personalized services can significantly increase customer value and differentiate the business from competitors. Additionally, he advised that investing in a private label business can be a valuable asset in the long term. Overall, the key takeaway is that retail businesses need to adapt and offer more than just products to stay competitive and thrive.
A successful business needs a physical and online presence: A physical store attracts customers and generates sales, while an online presence allows for continuous marketing and reaching a wider audience. Unique services or attractions can increase foot traffic to the physical store.
A successful business requires both a physical presence and an online presence. The physical store acts as the heart of the business, attracting customers and generating sales. The online presence, such as a website or social media platforms, functions as the brain, allowing for continuous marketing efforts and reaching a wider audience. Adding unique services or attractions to the physical store can help make it a destination and increase foot traffic. For instance, offering classes, a fitness area, or a child's play area can attract various demographics and keep customers engaged. By understanding your target audience and catering to their needs, you can effectively utilize both aspects of your business to maximize growth and success.
Exploring growth opportunities for a partially-owned shopping center: Upgrade POS system, implement membership card & email newsletter, host food truck events, offer less expensive signature products, engage student population, and transition to ecomm business model for growth
This shopping center, despite being owned partially, presents numerous opportunities for growth. The center, which includes a significant parking lot, could host food truck events on weekends to attract more customers and engage with local businesses. Additionally, implementing a membership card and email newsletter system would allow for better data collection and customer engagement. The old POS system should be upgraded to capture every customer's information for more effective marketing strategies. With an average sale of $1,500 and approximately 2,000 purchases a year, there's potential to offer less expensive signature products or services. Moreover, the presence of universities and new developments in the area could bring in a large student population during back-to-school drives. Transitioning the business model to an ecomm company with a retail location could attract younger, tech-savvy employees to run the digital side of the business. Overall, these improvements would require investment and expertise but could lead to increased revenue and customer engagement.
Investing in exceptional customer care and staff: To build a strong brand, invest in hiring and training top-notch staff to provide exceptional customer care, leading to increased sales and satisfaction
Building a strong brand revolves around exceptional customer care and value for money. The founder expressed a desire to provide a great shopping experience for customers, ensuring they feel appreciated and valued. He currently has a good customer experience in place, but acknowledges the need for improvement, particularly in hiring and training staff. To enhance the customer experience, he suggests looking beyond the local talent pool and recruiting from further afield, even if it means paying more. This investment in staff could lead to increased sales and customer satisfaction.
Identifying underserved markets and offering unique assets: Adapt to new methods like digital marketing while leveraging traditional strategies. Explore new opportunities within your business for continuous growth and improvement.
Success in retail comes from identifying underserved markets and offering unique assets, such as a large physical location or targeted advertising, to attract customers. The speaker emphasizes the importance of adapting to new methods, like digital marketing, while also leveraging traditional strategies. He encourages entrepreneurs to think beyond their current offerings and explore new opportunities within their business. Additionally, the speaker emphasizes the importance of continuous growth and improvement, even when facing challenges or declining sales. He encourages entrepreneurs to think creatively and adapt to changing markets in order to thrive.
Competing against larger businesses: Effective marketing and visibility are essential for small businesses to succeed, requiring investment in various channels and data collection to understand impact.
Effective marketing and visibility are crucial for business success, especially when competing against larger or more established competitors. The speaker's experience with his father's liquor store and his own library illustrates this point. In the past, his freestanding store was at a disadvantage due to its location, and he had to work hard to earn every customer. Similarly, with his library, he faced competition from larger stores and had to invest in various marketing channels, including billboards, jingles, and social media, to stand out. The speaker also mentions the importance of collecting data to understand the effectiveness of marketing efforts, but acknowledges the challenges in doing so when dealing with external platforms like Facebook. Ultimately, the success of a business depends on its ability to reach and attract customers, even in the face of competition and marketing challenges.
Understanding geographical limitations, competition, and ambition for business growth: To maximize business growth, consider geographical limitations, competition, and ambition. Make informed decisions, invest wisely, and map out financial goals for the next 20 years.
Successful business growth requires careful consideration of geographical limitations, competition, and ambition. The speakers in this discussion emphasized the importance of understanding these factors to make informed decisions for the future of their business. They also discussed the importance of investing all available resources wisely to maximize growth. Additionally, they suggested mapping out financial goals for the next 20 years to ensure proper investment and growth. The speakers shared their experiences and insights from their own businesses, emphasizing the importance of being willing to take risks and make significant investments to achieve long-term success.
Analyzing advertising spend for better ROI: Regularly review advertising spend, identify ineffective channels, and focus on more effective methods to reduce costs and increase revenue.
Effectively analyzing and optimizing advertising spending can significantly reduce costs and increase revenue for a business. The speaker in this discussion identified that his team's advertising budget was a significant expense, but he wasn't sure if all the spending was effective. By closely examining the breakdown of their advertising spend (approximately $35,000 per month, with 25% going to digital, 25% to TV, and 16% to out-of-home advertising), the speaker realized that some channels, like Pandora radio, were not providing a good return on investment. He suggested that by cutting unnecessary expenses and focusing on more effective channels, the company could potentially reduce their advertising budget by half while still achieving the same results. Additionally, the speaker emphasized the importance of testing different advertising methods and being willing to make adjustments as needed. Overall, the speaker's advice is that businesses should regularly review their advertising spend to ensure they are getting the best possible return on investment.
Effective inventory management and strategic purchasing impact business success: Older inventory can become a liability, effective buying strategies like closeouts and annual sales can turn assets into revenue, and serendipitous discoveries can lead to business growth.
Effective inventory management and strategic purchasing can significantly impact a business's success. Older inventory, while considered an asset, can become a liability if not sold, leading to potential losses. The speaker shared a personal experience of taking over a furniture business from an older owner, who had amassed a large amount of unsold inventory. The owner's approach was to buy closeouts and sell them at a lower price when others couldn't, which kept his business afloat. The speaker adopted a similar strategy and changed their annual sale to include good quality items, resulting in positive customer feedback and successful sales. Additionally, the importance of serendipity in business was mentioned, as finding a repair company that shared the same address as a well-known business (M and A, Vayner X) led to a significant discovery.
Effective Promotions Boost Sales: Clearly communicated promotions like giveaways, sales, and unique pricing strategies can significantly increase sales and help retail businesses break through plateaus.
Having a clear and compelling promotion or "ammunition" (as described in the discussion) can significantly boost sales and help retail businesses break through plateaus. This can be achieved through effective advertising, such as a radio campaign announcing a giveaway or a buy one, get one free sale. The power of free offers and unique pricing strategies should not be underestimated, as they can induce customers to purchase more. The discussion also mentioned VaynerMedia's new consulting offering, Vayner Mentors, which aims to help businesses with annual revenues between 1 to 5 million grow to 10 to 20 million.
