Right Management conducted a poll that showed 84% of US. employees plan to look for a new job in 2011. Who would you hate to lose?

Merchants are exploring ways to use Facebook features such as the "Like" button to make it easy to find gifts for friends. Contagious idea!

Stores go all out to attract last-minute shoppers
What will you do throughout 2011 to continue to attract customers in a unique way?

White House/Black Market a increased focus on higher-margin jewelry, designers created form-fitting fashions, moves paid off in big sales

Macy's customers are budget-conscious and seeking fashion, newness, quality and value in their holiday purchases this year. This is new?

Zappos Core Values are CONTAGIOUS!

I haven't read the book yet, it is on my Christmas list. However, I just read an article by Fast Company's expert blogger, Steve Rosenbaum and he was kind enough to add Zappos's Core Values to his article.

You may wish to ask yourself how many of them are part of your company's core value system. Do you have it printed somewhere and can each and everyone of your employees recite it as well as live it everyday?

1. Deliver WOW through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and a little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationshops with Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More with Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined.
10. Be Humble.

What company wouldn't grow with these core values spreading contagiously through their system?

Transparency and clear communication of strategy are vital to getting employees on board, says Best Buy's HR chief Gil Dennis. Contagious idea!

DSW's connection with customers is contagious!

I just read a great article in the Columbus Dispatch on Sunday about Mike MacDonald, the President of DSW.

First, I would like to say that I would love to have a cup of coffee with him and listen to his passion about his job and his leadership strategies that have made him so successful.

My take-a-ways from this article would be a great place to start for any business looking to become "contagious".

* Do your homework about your business and create a vision that has more depth than just one sentence.
* Sometimes you need to go with your gut and swim upstream.
* Know what you do well and make that the spine of your business.
* Define what it is that makes your employees enthusiastic about their jobs.
* What is the "emotional connection" that your customers have with your product?
* Align your business with someone or something bigger than yourself.
* Don't get ahead of yourself.

His final quote should be on every business owners' wall...if they truly believe it;

" Work with people who care, who are engaged in what they do, who share a set of values you relate to...collaboration, accountability and humility. In the meantime...have fun!

I'll buy the coffee Mike, I live in Columbus!

No matter what type of business you have, you are a retailer. Focus on what the successful ones do to attract and keep YOUR business!

AT &T is contagiously losing business

It is amazing how fast unhappy customers can go "viral"! I was just on AT&T's Facebook page to voice my unhappiness when my favorite TV channels were taken off my cable listing. After calling customer service, I find that it is a contract negotiation problem with Scripts and AT&T. That's not my problem and I think it is poor management to not warn customers and then take away a service that I pay for. It's the blame game and customers are tired of that "game plan".
Customers vote with their feet and fingers these days and I believe we don't give businesses three strikes and you are out. I believe you get one chance to make it right.
I rarely complain, but this time I went with my fingers first; Facebook, Twitter and now my blog.
The next is to go to the competitors websites and see who has been successful building a business relationship with Scripts and the umpire's call will be, AT & T you're OUT!

Sharen Turney, CEO of Victoria Secret, a 5.5 Billion company, described as having tenacity, curiosity and fear of failure. Great traits!

Big retailers place big bets on new stores, it’s usually based market research that indicates the economy is turning around. Believe?

last year online spending on Cyber Monday equaled $887 million. Do you have a strategic plan to get some of that?

Courting very young customers, are you doing this in your own way? http://tinyurl.com/2fjttyz

Join me today when I interview David Rusling, President of Ryerse Gardens, Ontario. 2 pm. ET. His insights are priceless! Not a member? Go to, http://ping.fm/rd8Jf

Halloween is reported to generate 5.8 billion this year. What are you doing to "scare" your customers to do business with you?

Holiday sales are predicted to rise about 2% this season. Are you ready? 12 weeks till Christmas! Yikes....

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39078899 One third of retailers see 6-15% inc for holiday, shy in hiring right now.

http://ping.fm/ebGEI Now there are no excuses if you are a business owner

http://ping.fm/w1bhv
Maybe we should pay attention to this group

Loblaw says it will begin "bringing the farmers market to Canadian [neighborhood] grocery stores".

Retail sales for July 2010 increased 3.1% over July 2009. Are we heading in the right direction?

Silly Bandz have been "contagious"! A $5 item that has parents in search of them. What is your business's "Silly Bandz"?

McDonald's is getting into the smoothie business. Do you think this is a "smooth move" and can they market it "contagiously"?

Are you one of the customers who will stop doing business after 2 bad experiences?
http://tinyurl.com/2clsawp

Macy's just junked its standard cash registers for 50,000 high tech ones that check on line if your item is out of stock and order for you!

Read how the President of the Limited works hard to make sure that her employees would rather work for the Limited and her versus anyone else. It's a contagious idea.

http://nyti.ms/bKmvhP

No one knows more about being "contagious" than Disney. Read this article and see if there is something creative you can do with technology in your store!

“Disney is setting a new standard for the specialty retail category by integrating robust technology and creative store planning to make each visit customizable and that much more memorable," Jim Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide, said in a statement.http://ping.fm/xEdmV

If you are involved in any of these businesses, this fun list just might give you some marketing tips to keep your business contagious. http://ping.fm/rchNM

Wow, what you can put on a UPC code now. Are you taking advantage?http://ping.fm/Ub7R9

Wal-Mart shoppers in Canada bought more peanut butter despite the retailer reducing the number of brands. A growing number of grocery retailers are adopting the less-is-more philosophy, winnowing brands and simplifying the selection. "Folks can get overwhelmed with too much variety," said a Wal-Mart executive. "With too many choices, they actually don't buy." Retailers Take Note!

Independent shops in big cities are creating hybrid stores to differentiate themselves in shoppers' minds and add fun features that bring shoppers in more often. At the Dressing Room in New York, co-owner Alexandra Adame sells cocktails and offers movies and other entertainment. These days, her clothing boutique books about 40% of its revenue from drink sales. The point: Get noticed, be remembered!

http://ping.fm/OLCd4
Big Boxes are still a barometer when it comes to home expenditures!

http://ping.fm/mTjj1 Yes, helping the "small business" owner

Some retailers soon will be sending special offers to customers who are standing in bricks-and-mortar stores and comparison-shopping on their mobile phones. Chains including Macy's and Best Buy have signed on with a startup that will help them to identify when consumers are in or near the store, then send coupons and promotions. Other companies are working on similar efforts, including an app that also works as a loyalty card.

Yikes, I better stop using some of these!
http://ping.fm/tWIr2

CEO Mike Kunce, Pike Nursery, GA shares secrets, Wed, April 7, 2 pm EDT. Register http://ping.fm/dTK1g

http://ping.fm/Zay2k
They are always one step ahead..don't stop learning!

Grow your garden center business strategies with Frank Benzing of SummerWinds today http://ping.fm/LsUor

‘Live’ Interviews: Frank Benzing, President & CEO, SummerWinds Nurseries of Idaho, California, Arizona and Missouri

Thursday, March 18
11 am PST-- 1 pm CST – 2 pm EST
http://bitly/dqKUjY

Want to increase your garden center biz, hurryhttp://bit.ly/dqKUjY

Hear garden center strategies with Frank Benzing, President and CEO of SummerWinds Nurseries http://bit.ly/ch1Hl4

NRFF Retail Horizons survey says that "Talent Management" will be a key initiative for retailers for 2010.

Einstein Bros.Bagels love Facebook

If you want to sell more bagels then start giving them away. Sound weird. Not with the power of social media it doesn't. Einstein Bros. started a campaign where they provided a free offer through instant digital coupons.
What amazed me even more was that in 3 days they went from having 4,700 fans to a whopping 336,000 fans and the campaign is only 3 days old.
I am not saying you have to "give away" something to increase your fan base, but it is wild how quickly those numbers increased.


As I speak around the country on becoming "contagious", I always spend some time focusing on why the social market is not "going away" and why every savvy business owner needs to jump in immediately and start to create a following.

Last year, Dell reportedly generated 3 million in sales from a link in one tweet to their site. Don't tell me social media is not contagious.

Now it is up to all of us to find that "free bagel" in our business and strategically get that message out to our own markets who find a "free bagel" so captivating they will follow us anywhere.

Now.....how do I package cream cheese!

10 Tips for Using Cupid’s Arrows to Target Customers with Email
By Wendy Lowe

Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching and whether you personally view it as the most romantic day of the year or an annual, tacky ordeal there’s no question it can have a positive effect on many small retail businesses.

One of the best ways to take advantage of this potential bump in profitability is through email marketing. Email is a very effective way to bring highly-tailored messages to specific audiences. And since many people are prone to read into the gifts they receive from a significant other, it gives you an opportunity to use Cupid’s arrows to target your customers and prospects.

Following are 10 things you should do, beginning today, to make sure your Valentine’s Day doesn’t pass with a lot of empty promises and wilted dreams.

1. Start now! It’s less than a month out from the big day so best to start compiling your copy, imagery, offers, etc. now. You don’t want to inundate your recipients by email, but a rough schedule could entail:

a. Email 1: Wednesday, Jan 20th: Initial offer

b. Email 2: Wednesday, Feb 3rd: Offer Reminder

c. Email 3: Thursday, February 11th: Reminder 2 - “Three days left `till Valentine’s Day!”

d. Email 4: Wednesday, Feb 17th: Thank you follow-up email to all customers who took advantage of the offer. Say thank you and extend another offer to these loyal customers.

2. Use a Valentine’s Day template with a nice balance of valentine-specific copy and imagery to get people in the mood and thinking about the event.

3. Segment your list. Split out your list by gender. Send female oriented offers to the guys and male oriented offers to the ladies.

4. Make sure your offer is compelling. Most people are still paying off their bills from the Christmas holiday season, so make sure the offer is affordable and is compelling enough to encourage them to act.

5. Partner with companies who offer complementary services or products for an offer that can’t be ignored. Example: Spa services and floral shop (walk away from your spa treatment with a dozen red roses), Restaurant and flower shop (have a bouquet of flowers ready at the table when you arrive), etc. Get creative as the possibilities are endless!

6. Target a special email to people who bought from you last year around Valentine’s Day with an even better offer for this loyal audience.

7. Make it easy for people to take advantage of your offer. If fulfillment is to come to the store, give clear directions or a store finder link, if by phone, make phone numbers prominent, or if online, make the button or text link stand out in the email. Printable coupons or promo codes always work well.

8. Help spread your message to more people by using forward-to-a-friend functionality.

9. Use email to promote a special Valentine’s Day draw to win a prize - to collect emails and grow your email subscriber list.

10. Send a Happy Valentine’s Day email postcard to show customer appreciation - thank loyal customers by providing complimentary redeemable points (if you have a points program) or a free gift for Valentine’s Day.

The Valentine’s Day colors may officially be red and pink. But follow the tips above and you’re sure to be seeing green by the end of the day.

Wendy Lowe is director of product marketing for Campaigner (www.campaigner.com), the email marketing solution that enables organizations to have highly personalized one-to-one email dialogues with their customers, measure how they respond, and analyze those responses to interact in a more intelligent, automated way - resulting in more profitable relationships. Campaigner is provided by Protus, provider of the highest quality Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) communication tools for small-to-medium businesses (SMB) and enterprise organizations, including my1voice, the cost-effective, feature-rich virtual phone service, and award-winning MyFax, the fastest growing Internet fax service.

Wendy can be reached at wlowe@protus.com.

10 Tips for Using Cupid’s Arrows to Target Customers with Email

I am thrilled to share this article from Wendy Lowe and how email can be an effective tool for you anytime, not just at Valentines Day.

Read on....



By Wendy Lowe

Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching and whether you personally view it as the most romantic day of the year or an annual, tacky ordeal there’s no question it can have a positive effect on many small retail businesses.

One of the best ways to take advantage of this potential bump in profitability is through email marketing. Email is a very effective way to bring highly-tailored messages to specific audiences. And since many people are prone to read into the gifts they receive from a significant other, it gives you an opportunity to use Cupid’s arrows to target your customers and prospects.

Following are 10 things you should do, beginning today, to make sure your Valentine’s Day doesn’t pass with a lot of empty promises and wilted dreams.

1. Start now! It’s less than a month out from the big day so best to start compiling your copy, imagery, offers, etc. now. You don’t want to inundate your recipients by email, but a rough schedule could entail:
a. Email 1: Wednesday, Jan 20th: Initial offer
b. Email 2: Wednesday, Feb 3rd: Offer Reminder
c. Email 3: Thursday, February 11th: Reminder 2 - “Three days left `till Valentine’s Day!”
d. Email 4: Wednesday, Feb 17th: Thank you follow-up email to all customers who took advantage of the offer. Say thank you and extend another offer to these loyal customers.
2. Use a Valentine’s Day template with a nice balance of valentine-specific copy and imagery to get people in the mood and thinking about the event.
3. Segment your list. Split out your list by gender. Send female oriented offers to the guys and male oriented offers to the ladies.
4. Make sure your offer is compelling. Most people are still paying off their bills from the Christmas holiday season, so make sure the offer is affordable and is compelling enough to encourage them to act.
5. Partner with companies who offer complementary services or products for an offer that can’t be ignored. Example: Spa services and floral shop (walk away from your spa treatment with a dozen red roses), Restaurant and flower shop (have a bouquet of flowers ready at the table when you arrive), etc. Get creative as the possibilities are endless!
6. Target a special email to people who bought from you last year around Valentine’s Day with an even better offer for this loyal audience.
7. Make it easy for people to take advantage of your offer. If fulfillment is to come to the store, give clear directions or a store finder link, if by phone, make phone numbers prominent, or if online, make the button or text link stand out in the email. Printable coupons or promo codes always work well.
8. Help spread your message to more people by using forward-to-a-friend functionality.
9. Use email to promote a special Valentine’s Day draw to win a prize - to collect emails and grow your email subscriber list.
10. Send a Happy Valentine’s Day email postcard to show customer appreciation - thank loyal customers by providing complimentary redeemable points (if you have a points program) or a free gift for Valentine’s Day.

The Valentine’s Day colors may officially be red and pink. But follow the tips above and you’re sure to be seeing green by the end of the day.

Wendy Lowe is director of product marketing for Campaigner (www.campaigner.com), the email marketing solution that enables organizations to have highly personalized one-to-one email dialogues with their customers, measure how they respond, and analyze those responses to interact in a more intelligent, automated way - resulting in more profitable relationships. Campaigner is provided by Protus, provider of the highest quality Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) communication tools for small-to-medium businesses (SMB) and enterprise organizations, including my1voice, the cost-effective, feature-rich virtual phone service, and award-winning MyFax, the fastest growing Internet fax service. Wendy can be reached at wlowe@protus.com.

Toys R Us could be contagious in a bad way!

We have just come through another crazy holiday season. Stores are busy re-stocking shelves with Valentines Day merchandise and parents are finally organizing the toys and presents and breathing a sigh of relief as the kids head back to school.

This is the perfect time to grab the duplicate toys and head back to Toys R Us to exchange or replace. That is if you have a receipt for Toys R Us. On their website and I quote: "We will not accept any returns or exchanges without a receipt".

Now, I have a friend who's grandchild received 2 identical gifts and neither had receipts AND the box had a label that said "Exclusively made for Toys R Us" and the employees stood their ground and said, "We know this is a stupid rule but we can't take it back or exchange it".

I wonder how many other grandmothers, friends, people buying toys for birthdays or showers really keep track of all those receipts. It sounds like if you don't, some child will have the thrill of having two of the same toy....or maybe you could "re-gift" to some other un-suspecting parent.

As a retail consultant, I always challenge my clients to be careful of the "hoops" you make your customers jump through. I know that this type of "policy law" may be helpful for re-stocking or inventory control, but I know that I will choose to shop at other stores who's return policy favors the customer and not retailer.

As Toys R Us continues it's globabl expansion it will remain to be seen how "contagious" they are in a good way and if and when they will need to be more customer friendly when it comes to their return policy.

I know there is one grandmother out there who will never set foot in another Toys R Us. Some times being contagious can actually make you sick.