How One Sign Can Increase Sales

Imagine you want to increase your sales by $100 per day.

How could you sell $100 more every day?
You could try to get one new customer a day into your store to spend $100.
You could get 10 new customers a day to spend $10.
Or you could get 10 of the customers that are in your store already to spend $10 more.

Which one would be the easiest?

You might think they're all hard. It's harder, and more expensive to acquire new customers.

Instead, you can do things the easy way. The easy way is to get a customer that is buying already, to spend a little more. And one way to do that is with a sign.

How can one sign make a difference?
It has to be the right kind of sign. A sign that encourages shoppers to buy multiple items.
You've seen these signs all over. In grocery stores. Clothing stores.
Maybe they say "Limes: 3 for $1.00" or "T-shirts: 2 for $15 or $9 each"
And they work. People buy.

Sure, some customers will still only buy one. But when you use a sign to promote multiple sales, you increase the number of customers who will buy more than one.

Will the sign work to promote any product?
Promoting multiple sales works best when you have a large quantity of one type of product to offer.

It is also most effective with products that shoppers want in multiples.
Victoria's Secret sells underwear this way. We all need more than one pair.

Items with lower price points are easier to sell in multiples. More people will buy more than one item if only costs a few extra dollars. However, multiple item pricing could be used with high end items as well. With more expensive products, a lower percentage of customers will buy more than one.

Does a sign really work? Try it for yourself. What have you got to lose? If it doesn't work, customers will ignore the sign and still buy only one item. Or maybe two. If it does work, they'll buy more.

Even if only one customer takes you up on the offer, you're ahead. (As long as you didn't spend too much money on the sign.)

Make the sign work even better with these tips:

1) Feature the sign and product prominently in the store. Place it near the entrance or the cash desk.

2) Mention the promotion to all your customers. Either when the shoppers are greeted, or when they browse the promoted merchandise. Write down all the objections customers have. The objections are valuable. Use the objections to adjust the promotion, or make your next promotion even more appealing to customers.

3) Get creative with your copy. Suggest reasons why your shopper might want multiple items.

Get one for a friend too, and you pay less. Buy 2 for $67 (1 for $37)
Get one for everyone on your list. Buy 5 for $25. (1 for $7.49)

Try it out today. Put up a sign. Keep it there for the rest of the holiday season. Keep track of how many people buy multiple items. Keep track of how your sales go up.

Next step: Learn more about how to increase sales without slashing prices with the Pinwheel Principle report. Go here to find out more: http://inspire.ca/products.htm

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Why Choice Prevents Shoppers From Buying Green

You've got a great eco-friendly product to sell.
It's healthy for consumers. It's good for the planet.
And no one buys it.

Why not?
Why wouldn't a consumer switch from their old product, to a new & better green alternative?
Because the choice is too confusing and difficult.

The customer is attached to the old product. They like it. It's familiar. Buying the usual brand doesn't require a decision. It's a habit. It's easy.

The shopper might be interested in a greener product, but they don't know what to choose.
It's a risky decision.
The product might not be as good as the old one.
It might be more expensive.

What if the shopper makes the wrong choice?
She's wasted money. She's wasted valuable time. She's stuck with a product she doesn't like. And she has to face two more choices: go back to the old brand, or tackle the daunting task of choosing another green alternative.

What are these daunting choices?
Let's look at an example of choosing a new shampoo.

Shampoo choices used be mainly about performance and price. It was all about making your hair look and feel great.

Do I want a shampoo for hair that is: oily, dry, normal, curly, straight, frizzy, or coloured? Or do I need shampoo to control dandruff, add body or repair damaged hair? Do I want to pay drugstore prices, or salon prices?

Even with the range of performance and prices, we pretty much had these choices figured out.

With green products, the choice really goes crazy.
The decision becomes overwhelming.
There are so many factors. There are:

Health choices.
Environmental choices.
Trust choices.
Performance choices.
Price choice.

Here are just some of the questions the customer asks about these choices:

Health choices:
Does this product have potentially cancer causing ingredients?
Does it contain parabens?
Does it contain sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate?
Does it have fragrances or other ingredients that will irritate allergies or skin sensitivities?

Environmental choices:
Does this product have reduced or recyclable packaging? Which is better?
Is this product shipped long distances?
Does this product contain palm oil?

Trust choices:
Does this product have recognized eco-certifications?
Is this product really better for the environment, or is it just a label claiming to be green?

Performance choices:
Will this product be as good as the one I already use?
Now I only have three choices – normal, oily or dry. What if I have curly, coloured hair with dandruff?
Does this product have the correct pH?

Price choice:
If this product meets all the other criteria, how much more am I willing to pay?

Even with all these choices, the customer is not likely to find one that fits all her criteria.
She has to choose between a bunch of products that each have a few of the qualities she wants.

She has to choose a new product that is likely to not perform as well, only has some of the qualities desired, and costs more

OR

stick with the old, reliable brand that gave her great hair, at a reasonable price.

Can you see why shoppers don't choose green?

Fortunately, there's something you can do. You can help them decide.
Become your customers' trusted source of information.
Learn exactly what your customer wants.
Research the products. Answer the questions.
Back up your claims.
Only offer the best options. The options that deliver performance & value.

Make it easy for shoppers to be green.

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Why Shopping Is Harder Than You Think (And How to Make It Easy)

Shopping is hard work.
Harder than it used to be. And getting harder.

The culprit is choice.
We are surrounded by choice. The opportunities to choose are growing every day. We can choose to shop where we live or work. We can choose to travel to a store that has exactly what we want. Or we can choose to buy online. We can choose from hundreds, or thousands of stores. And millions of products.

You might think that more choice makes it easier to shop.
But it doesn't.
Instead, shoppers become paralyzed with indecision.
When too much choice is presented to customers, their eyes glaze over.
They move on to the next store, or the next website.

Don't customers want options?
They do. But they want their options to be simplified. They buy when the choices are easy.

Look at Amazon for example. Amazon offers tons of choice. And the number of choices are constantly expanding. But Amazon helps you choose. Amazon makes it easy to find exactly what you want. Their search feature, customer reviews, recommendations and personalized emails guide you to buy. They make it easy.

So what makes it easy for customers to shop?
Three things: consistency, organization and information.

1. Consistency
Consistency helps your customer know what to expect. Consistency means you have a strong identity that is carried through your entire company.

Imagine a store sends out an email featuring new designer fashions. It includes an elegant black & white logo. Classic typeface. Lots of white space.

What do we expect this store to look like?
Naturally, a store that has the same identity. A comfortable, elegant shopping environment. A lot of space between racks. Quality merchandise. Helpful service.

We're surprised & confused if we find a discount store instead. Or the featured merchandise is unavailable. Or the sales staff are apathetic.

Maintain consistency in all points of contact with your customers. They just want to know what to expect from you. Customers find it easier to choose when they know what to expect.

2. Organization
Shoppers don't like to feel confused.
At the slightest hint of confusion, shoppers will turn around and walk away.

At the very least, a store needs to be clean & neat. Boxes of stock and returned merchandise don't belong on the selling floor.

Beyond this, merchandise needs to be organized in clearly defined categories. To determine categories, watch how your customers shop. What products do they buy together? Group these complementary products together.

For example, imagine a store that sells computers, digital cameras and accessories. Instead of grouping equipment bags together, place camera bags with cameras. Laptop bags next to laptops.

Customers that find everything they need in one place, choose to buy more.

3. Information
Information helps shoppers makes decisions.
But only if it's the right information.
In the right place. At the right time.

Signs can help you put the right information where it needs to be. Use them to answer frequently asked questions. Do shoppers have questions about how pants should fit? Or how to choose the right printer? Or what the price is?

But how do you know where to put the sign? Sometimes the answer is not obvious. To discover the right place, watch how customers shop. What are they doing right before they ask a question? Test sign placement to see if customers read it. Test, and test again until you get it right.

To help shoppers choose, provide the information they need. When & where they need it.

Use consistency, organization and information to make your customers' choices easy.


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How Training Like A Gymnast Attracts Customers

What do gymnastics and attraction have in common?

Two things. Learning gymnastics and attracting customers both depend on developing core skills. Those skills help both gymnasts and retailers shine in the face of strong competition.

What can retailers learn from gymnasts?
Competitive gymnasts are incredible to watch. They move their bodies with skill, strength and beauty. They appear to have incredible control and confidence in their abilities.

We want our businesses to look like a gymnast's performance – beautiful, controlled and confident. We want to stand out from our competitors as the best.

How do gymnasts become so skilled?
One word. Practice.

Practice is what transforms a gawky seven year old school girl into a competitive gymnast. She doesn't start out at a competitive level. She doesn't attempt complex routines. First she masters basic skills. Before she does cartwheels on a beam, she learns to do cartwheels on the floor. She learns to walk along a beam that is only six inches high. She learns how to get on the beam. How to get off the beam. When she begins each skill, she is tentative. She wobbles on the beam. She looks a bit clumsy. She makes mistakes.

The coach gives feedback. She tries again. Correcting small mistakes. Each time she gets a little better until the skill is mastered. Once she learns all the small skills, she puts them all together. At each step, the coach supports and guides her. Soon, she can do a series of skills. One after the other. Now she can do cartwheels on the beam, four feet above the ground. Her movements are so smooth, they look effortless.

What does practice have to do with attracting customers?
Consistently attracting customers consistently requires a core set of skills. You need to have customers coming in day after day. Week after week. You need to practice many small skills over and over. When you put all those small skills together over time, you'll find you've mastered techniques that bring customers in the door.

We don't want to take time to practice those small skills.
We want to find some magic technique that will bring crowds of new people through the door tomorrow. Attracting loyal customers doesn't work that way. Loyal customers are gained by building relationships and trust, one day at a time.

There are three basic skills you can practice to attract customers.

1. Make it easy for customers to shop.
Keep the store organized, uncluttered & accessible. Make it easy to find product information.

2. Keep the store looking fresh.
Make sure displays are changed regularly and stock is filled.

3. Stay in touch with customers.
Create events, send valuable information, talk to them in the store, go for coffee.

You might think these things are too basic. You might think you're doing some, or all of them. But have you mastered them? Are you doing them so well that it looks effortless? Are you training like a gymnast?

Stores that are struggling to attract customers need more practice in at least one of these core sets skills. It's one thing to know the skills, it's another to master them.

To be competitive, keep practicing!


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Why Is Retail Merchandising Important?

Years ago I was told that merchandising and display are frivolous extra expenses for the small business owner who is just starting up. The implication was that expenses such as marketing, rent, inventory, utilities, staffing, etc. are 'serious' expenses, while merchandising and display are 'frills'.

I couldn't disagree more.

Merchandising and display are an important part of a marketing plan - even for a retailer operating on a shoestring.

In today's competitive retail environment, a retailer cannot afford to consider merchandising as a 'frill'. Everyone is competing for the customers' dollar. There are more choices out there for consumers than ever before.

With all these choices, what will grab the consumer's attention?

You've invested the money to get that expensive, high traffic location, but how will you keep the customers from walking right by your door? How will you encourage them to return? What is unique about your store? After investing money on the important priorities such as merchandise, great location, part-time staff, insurance, accountant, advertising, your carefully budgeted money can be lost if your store doesn't measure up to the customers' expectations.

Posters covering the door and windows, hand lettered signs, lack of lighting and untidy displays send the message that your business isn't serious.

If your store looks like a bargain basement, customers will expect bargain basement prices and may draw the conclusion that your product is poor quality. This judgement may have little to do with the product itself, but be the result of poor presentation.

Merchandising is more than simply the arrangement of products on the shelf. It is an integral component of the business image. It should be considered when you design your logo, business cards, brochures, letterhead, packaging, and product mix.

When you examine your merchandising, you examine what the customers' experience, from their first sight of your store front, until they leave store - hopefully with a purchase in hand. Merchandising is also about understanding the way customers shop. By using this knowledge, you can position your merchandise to increase sales.

You need to create an environment that attracts the customer, is comfortable to shop, and encourages the customer to return.

• Are the store front and windows attractive & inviting?
• Is all signage clear, professional and legible?
• Is the store interior welcoming and comfortable?
• Is merchandise presentation appealing?
• Are seasonal and high-margin merchandise placed in high profile locations?
• Overall, is the store appearance professional?

Of course, if you are on a shoestring budget, you need to start small, but make sure you include a plan for growth. One of the exciting things about retail is that it is dynamic. If you don't grow and change, customers assume you have nothing new to offer them.

You don't have to overhaul the entire store, but rotate merchandise, change displays, and change signage to make the customer feel that there is always something new for them to see or experience.

Including merchandising in your marketing plan and budget makes sense. It can make the difference between selling a product, or having it sit on the shelf.

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Shoestring Merchandising Tips for Retail Store Display

Quick tips to improve your store:

• Upgrade lighting whenever you can. Retail store windows especially need to be well lit. There are some great little halogen spotlights out there that are inexpensive and easy to install. They are terrific for highlighting display areas. Just make sure they are installed safely and the cords are unobtrusive.

• An inexpensive can of paint can be used to paint your fixtures to match, or touch up chips and keep things looking new.

• Fabric and paper are two valuable display helpers. Use them under or behind a display to provide a backdrop, use a scarf to add colour and movement to a static arrangement. To avoid a busy look, stick to a few colours and textures that complement your store design and merchandise.

• Use magazines as a source of ideas for displays. Find time to go to the library so you can browse for free. Look at do-it-yourself magazines for hardware, home decor magazines for giftware and housewares, etc. The full page ads, feature stories and new product listings are helpful.

• Take a seminar or spend a couple of hours with a retail consultant to learn some display and merchandising techniques.

• Pretend you are a customer and take a look at your storefront. Try to see the store as the customer would see it. What do you notice? Take photos to get a different perspective. Often you'll see things you didn't notice before.

• Sit down and make a list of adjectives that describe the image you want to achieve for your store. Before you make merchandising plans, check your list to stay focussed. A great idea in another store won't necessarily fit your image.

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How to Create Effective Retail Signs

Signage is one of the most important ways to convey your message to your customers. Your store name, promotions, pricing, and product information may all be conveyed through signage. Are you getting these messages across effectively?

As a customer walks by your store, you have about 3 seconds to let them know what they will find inside. What message are you sending? Professional signage will attract the customer, provide just the right amount of information and invite the customer to enter your store or try your product.

Unprofessional signage is confusing to the customer and sends a negative message about your store and product. Common problems include too many signs, ambiguous or misleading messages, spelling errors or signs that are difficult to read. I don't know about you, but I avoid stores that have have signs littered throughout the store that scream, "SALE! 9.99" and in small print at the bottom they add, "and up."

Effective signage has the following qualities:

1. Quality Production

You don't have to spend big bucks to get signs that look professional. Having said that, you still need to be willing to spend a few dollars to create the image that you want to represent your business.

Consider the lifespan of the sign. Exterior signage that needs to last several years requires a fairly large investment. The shorter the lifespan of the sign, the less it should cost. If you are running a small boutique, producing your own short term promotional or informational signage is perfectly acceptable, provided you have the tools and skills to do it well. If you are producing signs on your own, they should be produced on a computer, not handwritten. This might seem too obvious to mention, but I still see stores using signs that have been written in black felt marker. Use a desktop publishing or word processing program and quality printer and paper.

If your printer and paper are not good quality, take your computer file to a print shop to produce your image. Mount your final images on a heavy card, illustration board or foam core.

2. Simple Color Scheme

Don't go crazy with color. Pick a simple, two or three color scheme and stick with it throughout the store. Pick a background color, text color and highlight color.

Make sure that the colors have enough contrast to be easily read. Red on black, while a dynamic and high power combination, does not have enough contrast to be easily viewed. However, if the text is very large, bold and only one or two short words, you might be able to get away with it. Outlining the text with a thin white line will also improve the contrast.

Be careful with combinations such as yellow/green or orange/pink/red or green/blue. These combinations can be powerful and trendy, but require more work with design to make them legible. Strong contrasts such as white/black, yellow/black, red/white, white/blue increase visibility and legibility.

3. Easy to Read

Make your signage easy to read. Don't try to put too much on one sign. Some signs are so full of tiny images, starbursts, exclamation marks, and small print, that you can't take it all in. One main image, a headline and a few bullet points are all you need on an informational sign.

A sign in a store window should be even simpler. You need to get your message across immediately as the customer walks, or drives by. This means you can only use a strong image on your sign, a headline, or a simple combination of both. Some stores only use one word, such as 'SALE' or 'HOLIDAY' in the window, and provide more information inside the store.

The more time the customer will be spending looking at the sign, the more information you can include. For example, a sign near your cash register, where your customer will be waiting for a transaction to be processed, can provide details of a contest or return policy.

4. Clear and Simple Message

Keep your message simple. Avoid trying to say too much. Choose one main message that you want to convey.

Do you want to tell about a sale, a price, product info, return policy? Rather than say this all at once, try a sale sign on the top of the rack, price and product info on the tag, and return policy at the cash register.

When you craft your sign, write down the message you want to get across, then rewrite it in as few words as possible. Keep reducing until you have one to five words for your headline. If necessary, write a small amount of supporting information below.

5. Well Placed

Be careful where you place your signage. Place it where it will catch your customers' attention, but will not block essential elements of your store.

Think about how customers approach your store. If customers walk by your store, but your store name is only placed high up on your store front, facing the street, how will they see it? You also need to repeat the name on the door or window, and perhaps hanging from an awning or on a sandwich board on the sidewalk.

Make sure signs don't block traffic flow, displays, or the view of the interior of your store. Here's an example of signage placement that could be improved! http://www.inspire.bc.ca/articles/donotenter.html

Window signage may not be visible to customers for other reasons that you do not realize. Is there a parking meter blocking the view of your window? What about a loading zone where delivery trucks park for a large part of the day, obscuring part of your store from view?

Check for reflections on the window that make your interior signage invisible during the day. You'll need to check this at various times of the day to find out what happens to the light and reflections depending on the position of the sun. You can improve the visibility of your signage by improving the display lighting inside, and by using light colors in your windows. Light colored signage will stand out, while dark colors will recede and virtually disappear behind reflections on the glass.

After placing your signs, double check how they look from a customers point of view. Step back and approach the store as a visitor. Walk from front to back and look at all your signage critically and reposition as necessary.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

The simpler you keep your signage the better. Reduce visual clutter, and focus on getting your most important message across to your customer. You will attract more walk-by traffic, and avoid confusing your customer. Your sales should increase as a result.

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Create Retail Displays That Attract Customers

Retail is a competitive business. Even if your product is completely unique, you still have competition. There is always another store down the street - or in the next cyber-mall - that is aiming for your customers' wallet. Customers have a limited amount of disposable income, but their choices of where to spend it are infinite.

While there are many aspects involved in marketing and gaining customer loyalty, one of the most important is your visual presentation.

• Does your merchandise display attract and interest the customer?
• Or does it overwhelm and confuse the viewer?
• Is the display simply bland and unremarkable?

Here are some tips to help you create displays that will get the customers' attention:

1. Create a focal point

An overwhelming display or a boring one can both have the same problem - a lack of focal point.

• Where do you want your viewer to look?
• Is there one main feature you want them to notice?
• Where will the eye travel through the display? Don't leave this to chance. Plan what the customer should do when they see the display. Perhaps a new product is the main focal point, with complimentary items placed in close proximity to encourage multiple sales.

Many window and table displays are too low. The focal point should be at eye level to most viewers. Visitors will not work to get a good look at your display, they will simply walk on by without noticing.

2. Use line and shape to plan your design

Don't just put your products together willy-nilly. Practice drawing a quick layout to help you visualize the plan for your design.

• Will your layout be horizontal or vertical?
• Will the products be arranged in straight or curved lines, in a pyramid or circular shape?
• Will the design combine a variety of elements, or just one?

To experiment with this, draw rectangle that is roughly the same shape as your display space. Sketch geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, circles, semi-circles and triangles in various combinations to get a sense of an appealing layout. For instance, a large triangle could represent an arrangement of gift ware. A long vertical rectangle to the left of the triangle would represents signage placement.

3. Create balance

Strong displays have visual balance. Dark colors appear heavier than light ones. Large objects appear heavier than small ones. This seems straightforward, but you need to think about this as you plan your display.

Generally larger, darker items would be placed near the bottom of a display, with lighter items at the top to avoid appearing top heavy. Placing too many items, or heavy looking items on one side appears unbalanced. A grouping of many items on one side of the display can be balanced by one heavy item in just the right place on the other side. Think of weights on an old fashioned scale to get an idea of how this works.

Does balance matter?

We all respond emotionally to visual stimuli. Creating a display is about creating a mood and a desire within the consumer. A lack of balance creates an impression of instability and anxiousness. The consumer is not even aware of the feeling, he or she simply searches out an environment or merchandise presentation that gives them a positive feeling and creates an appealing mood.

4. Keep it simple

Don't try to do too much. The goal is to attract attention to the product. On a slat wall, often simple rows are the best way to show the merchandise. Too often I have seen displays where every row or shelf has a different arrangement.

Your goal is to make it easy for the customer to find what they are looking for and to make sense of your product arrangement. Keep your groupings logical by grouping similar products together, with complimentary products nearby.

5. Use proper lighting

Lighting is overlooked far too often. When budgeting for store fixtures and merchandising, display lighting is not an 'extra'. Lighting your displays properly can make the difference between a display that makes people yawn, or makes them stop and look.

Displays should not be lit directly from the top, or you will get unattractive shadows. Lights should be slightly off to the side, and to the front of the display. They should enhance the 3-dimensional quality of the product. Preferably the display will be lit from more than one angle. Lighting should be adjusted every time you change your display.

If you don't have positionable lights in your key display areas, especially windows, get some as soon as possible. A good lighting store will have some for a reasonable cost and can give you advice on installing and using them.

6. Look at the display from all angles

After you have completed your display, step back and look at it. Very few people will see it standing directly in front of it. Most displays are approached from the side and seen from an angle.

Approach your display from all possible angles and view it as a customer would.

• Is your focal point still placed appropriately?
• Do you need to angle the display to the customers viewpoint?
• Is the signage visible and readable?
• Does the arrangement still appear balanced?

Observe the direction from which most customers approach the display. Make sure that the best view of the display is the one that most of the customers will see.

Putting these six tips into practice will help you create dynamic displays that attract customers.

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Are You Struggling to Merchandise Because You Don't Know the Pinwheel Concept?

You've worked hard on your business. You know your target market. You have a quality product. You've trained your staff.

For some reason, you're just not getting the response you hoped for. Customers aren't buying.

You're not sure where to turn.

What do you do next?

Do you create new displays? Put everything on sale?
Get someone to help you with merchandising?
You know you need to do something.
But what?

Before you make any decisions, you need to understand the pinwheel concept.

Have you ever played with a pinwheel?

A pinwheel has four vanes that capture wind and spin the pinwheel. In your business, the four vanes are four areas of information. This information is what you need to know to merchandise your store effectively.

The information takes the struggle out of merchandising decisions. And when you struggle less, your business starts to gain momentum. The pinwheel starts to spin.

So, what do I need to know?

First, you need to understand the four areas of the pinwheel. Then you'll learn WHY you need this information to merchandise your store. Finally, you'll discover how to use this information to make merchandising decisions.

So, let's get started.

Analyze the information in the pinwheel.

The four areas that you need to know about are:

1.Customers
2.Products
3.Sales
4.Traffic

Let's look at these in more detail. You will probably know some of this information already, but probably not all of it.

1. Customer

What do you need to know about your customer?
As much as you can. Does she shop alone, or bring a friend or family member? How often does she visit?

Find out what she likes best about your store. Her favourite products. How did she hear about your store?
If she could change something about your store, what would it be? What service could you add that she would love? What would she love to tell their friends about your store?

Customers will be happy to be asked about their opinion. Ask questions when helping them shop, use a survey or try a focus group. Take a customer or two out for coffee.

2. Products

How are your products performing?

Make it a habit to always know your highest and lowest selling products. Do some detective work on these items. Do your highest sellers have a good margin?

Study where these items are placed. Perhaps the lowest selling items are hard for customers to find. How often are products rotated and displays changed? How long has all your merchandise been in the store?
Make sure you know the competitors that offer similar products. What are the price points? How are they displayed?

3. Sales

It is important to track your sales results on a daily basis. How do your sales compare to last year? To your plan?
Know the details of your daily sales. What is the average number of items in each transaction? And the average dollar amount of each sale?

4. Traffic

Analyze your traffic. Count the number of visitors each day. Calculate your conversion rate: number of daily sales divided by number of daily visitors. Multiply this number by 100 to get the percentage of visitors that are converted to paying customers.

Watch your customers walk through the store. What attracts their attention? What do they touch? How long do they spend in the store? Where do they spend the most time in the store?

Why do you need to know these things?

The four key 'vanes' of information help your business keep moving. Without information in these areas, merchandising decisions become guesses.

If a vane of the pinwheel is missing, it doesn't spin. It turns a little. And stops. Then starts again.

To start spinning continuously, the pinwheel needs all four vanes. Once it starts moving smoothly, it gains momentum and keeps spinning.

When you start catching the information in the four areas of your business, it starts to move. A little at a time. The information you take in begins to tell you what to do.

You don't need to guess.

What the pinwheel will tell you.
(As good as a crystal ball? Almost.)

You might already be collecting this information and not using it. It's no good sitting in a report. Or a computer file. Now is the time to put it to use.

Here's what you can learn by analyzing the pinwheel information.

What merchandise to buy

Analyzing your customers' needs, feedback and top sellers to know what to buy. Focus on products that your competitors don't carry.

What merchandise to markdown and clear out

Merchandise sitting on shelves and not moving is costing you money. You are paying rent on the space it takes up. If the product is more than three months old, consider marking it down. If you've had something sitting in the store for six months to a year, move it out. Deep discount it to free up the cash for new merchandise.

Older than 1 year? Old merchandise makes the store look stale, crowded and boring. Some things may never sell. Once in a while it may be best to just pull items off the floor. If you have the space to store it, pull it out for a sidewalk or warehouse sale.

Where to place merchandise

Place high margin, strong sellers in high visibility, high traffic areas. Use these areas for new regular priced, high value merchandise.
As a general rule, put sale items at the back of the store. Customers are willing to work harder for discounts.

Use cross-merchandising and displays to encourage multiple purchases. Change displays weekly to keep merchandise fresh, and capture the interest of shoppers.

When to have promotions or events

Use your traffic analysis to plan limited time promotions or small events. Use them to boost traffic during slow times.

Use the pinwheel to find out key information about your business.

Then make a change to your merchandising. Measure the results.
If it works, do more of it.

Less struggle. More momentum.
Get that pinwheel spinning.

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Avoiding Sign Chaos: Why Your Signs Need Job Descriptions

Signs seem simple. But they're more complicated than you realize.

Unless you know the secret to creating great signs.

The secret to great signs has two parts:

1. Great signs have job descriptions.

2. A great sign has only one job to do. One sign, one job, one message.

When you don't know and apply this secret, you can easily fall into sign chaos. One symptom of sign chaos is multi-tasking. A multi-tasking sign has a job description that reads, “Any other duties as required.”

Multi-tasking signs are easy to spot. These signs send too many messages. They try to do a little of everything at once. A sign that has too many jobs to do, isn't really effective at any of them.

A past client had a sign in her store featuring a new product. Great message. Great graphic. The problem was that the sign also showed the logos of the main product lines the store carried. And the store's own logo. And a list of the locations of all the stores in chain. The sign didn't have one message. The sign was trying to do three jobs, instead of one.

When a customer sees that sign, he doesn't know what to pay attention to. Is the sign directing him to a new product? Or is it telling him to go look for other brands the store carries? Or should he visit another location closer to his home?

There's too much information. The customer doesn't care about all the logos. He doesn't care where the other locations are. He's already in the store. Most of the messages on the sign don't connect with the customer. He doesn't know what to pay attention to. He ignores it. He walks on by.

The job of the sign is to tell the customer to pay attention. Signs need to be confident. Assertive. Not wishy-washy. A sign with one job, states the message clearly. The sign needs to say, “Hey! Something new! Pay attention to this!”

So, now we know that great signs have one job. How do you decide what job your sign needs to do?

Signs in different areas of the store, have different jobs. They tell the customer what to pay attention to in different zones of the store.

The job description for each type of sign is defined by its location size, colour, font size and type of message.

Create a plan for your signs based on these job descriptions. You'll be on your way to calming the sign chaos in your store:

• Directional signs – These signs tell you where to go. When a customer comes into the store, she looks around the store to decide where to go. These signs are large, simple, and easy to read. They are overhead, above eye level. They either hang from the ceiling or are mounted on the walls above fixtures.

Define departments or categories with these signs. They are meant to be understood quickly in a glance. Use one or two words in a large, easy to read font. Directional signs are meant to be viewed when the shopper enters the store. Even small stores can consider using directional signs or category signs. They will help customers to quickly find the right section of the store.

• Sale or Promotional – Choose one basic style for sale signs. (Tip: Unless you are a bargain basement discount store – stay away from pink and orange starburst signs!)

If you need more than one size of sale sign for different areas of the store, keep the design, layout and font consistent between sizes. Sale signs can be used as posters, fixture signs, or shelf talkers (attached to the shelf edge) to draw attention to good deals in the store.

Most people associate sales or discounts with the colour red. If you use red for sale signs, don't use it for other signs in the store. This will help you colour code the store. Having a code helps your customers find things easily.

• Fixture signs signs are placed close to eye level. They may also be on a tabletop or shelf . They describe the products found on one fixture. They may designate a subcategory, new products, or a price point. The font used is smaller than directional signage. These signs are meant to be read as the shopper is walking through the store. The text is limited to one to three words. The sign attracts the shopper's attention to the merchandise on that fixture. She is encouraged to pause and take a look.

• Product Information – As the shopper gets closer to the merchandise, she slows down and takes more time. The signs right next to the product can be smaller and more detailed. These signs provide the basic information that a shopper needs to make a decision. Include the product description, a few bullet points of features and benefits, and the price.

Signs at this level may stand on a shelf or table top, or be attached as a shelf-talker. For general product information, a 3 x 5” size works great.

You don't need product information signs for every product. Be selective. Use product information to highlight key products.

• Price Labels – Price labels are crucial. If you are not pricing your products clearly, you are losing out on potential sales. Pricing on the shelf helps with restocking.

For high end stores, you can use small, elegant tent cards to display prices. You can use this to price products individually, or list several products on one card.

• Store Policies – Policy signs are usually placed near the cash desk, on the door or at a fitting room. State the policy wording in as positive a tone as possible. Use the same font and colours as the rest of your signage. Get rid of hand written signs taped to the cash register. Font sizes for signs on the front door, or in the fitting room should be large enough to read from several feet away. At the cash desk, they need to be large enough to read while standing in line.

Every store is different. All stores have different sign needs. Use these basic job descriptions to plan the signs you need. And calm the sign chaos in your store.

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Decoding the Store: Why You Need Effective Signs

Retail stores are like coded messages to customers.

Filled with information.

Shoppers receive messages from all aspects of the store. The store front, layout, product selection, displays and lighting all convey information about what the retailer has to offer. They're all part of the code.

Our minds process this code so quickly, we don't even stop to think about it. We are constantly taking in information, sorting it and making decisions.

Usually when we shop, we are familiar with the code. We easily sort the information we need make our way through the store. We know our way around the local supermarket. We have favourite places to shop for clothes. For routine purchases, we usually don't need help to find what we need. Many of the stores we shop in use similar layouts, and have product lines we already understand. We understand the code.

But what if a shopper doesn't know your code?

New customers don't know your code. Your store might as well be an alien environment.

Imagine the first time customer stepping into your store:

She pauses inside the door to get her bearings. She is bombarded with visual information. Information about the departments, products, categories, and displays. She doesn't know which way to go first.

She feels she doesn't belong. Products have special names she doesn't understand. She has trouble finding prices. She doesn't what makes one product different or better than the next.

She feels like an outsider trespassing in a special club. You can help this customer feel comfortable as soon as she walks in the door. Before you even speak to her.

The secret is to provide a key to your code right away.

The key helps the shopper understand your store. She quickly moves from feeling like an outsider, to being an insider.

The key is signage. Effective signs help shoppers feel comfortable in an unfamiliar environment. Signs welcome new customers. Give directions. Explain new products. Compare benefits. Signs display prices and draw attention to sales and promotions.

They help shoppers find fitting rooms, or know what kinds of payments are accepted. The customer learns how to find her way around. Signs help her navigate and decode the information she needs to find merchandise quickly and easily.

But what about those stores that go crazy with signs? Some retailers create signs willy-nilly. Without a plan. Sometimes they think 'more is better.' Instead of decoding the store for the customer, they add to the confusion. In most stores, the problem is usually not too many signs. It's too many colours. Too many fonts. Too many sizes. And too many messages.

Signs are not meant to be the main attraction. Good signs draw your attention to the product. They guide the shopper to find what she needs.

Effective signs have:

1. Only one message per sign. Any more than that, and you confuse your customer even more.

2. No more than three fonts, or font variations. A basic rule of thumb is a display font for occasional headings, a sans-serif style for the majority of the text, and a bold weight of the text style. Once the fonts have been chosen, use the same ones for all signs.

3. A simple colour scheme. A good basic is black or white text with one or two high-contrast colours. Another colour can be used with black or white to highlight sale or special merchandise.

4. A similar layout and design. Signs should coordinate with each other. Not compete for attention. Ideally, the signs coordinate with the store's other marketing materials and website.

Effective signs help your customers decode the store. Both new and returning customers can find what they need quickly and easily.

And isn't that what you want?

Give your customers the key to the code.

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Anna & Kristina's Beauty Call - Guest Expert

A couple of months ago I was a guest expert on Anna and Kristina's Beauty Call.

I just found out it airs this week.

In the episode, we visit a local retailer and talk about merchandising techniques. How do retailers make a store an enticing and enjoyable place to shop?

Learn some merchandising tips on Anna and Kristina's Beauty Call on Tuesday, April 6th at 6pm PT and again at 8pm PT on W Network.

Don't miss it!

(I haven't seen it yet. It's a little nerve-wracking to think of how I'll come across on TV. I hope you like it!)

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The Secret Grocery Retailers Know (And You Should Too.)

When was the last time you went to the grocery store with a list?

And only came home with what was on your list?

More likely you went in thinking, 'I only need a couple of things.' So you didn't pick up a basket, or get a cart.

The next thing you know, you're half way around the store. With five items in your arms. You don't have any more room to pick up what you really came in for.

Now you have to go back to the door and dump all your items in a basket. And you walk through the store. Again.

You end up at the cash register with a full basket. Why?

The vast majority of grocery purchase decisions are made inside the store. Unplanned. On impulse.

Grocery retailers use many tools to sell: End caps. Product placement. Height. Colour. Scent. Samples. Signage. Promotions.

And it all changes weekly, if not daily. So you always see something new. Fresh. Mouth-watering.

A trip to the grocery store can teach us a thing or two:

1. Successful grocery retailers are masters of merchandising.

2. Smart retailers put baskets throughout the store.

Next time you're in the grocery store - look for merchandising tricks you can borrow for your shop.

(Hint: Check out how colour & lighting makes produce look succulent & juicy!)

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/sjlocke

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