10 minute read
Advice Column
Tips and Findings
From NAMM’s Webinar By Brian Berk Series
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No matter if your store is open or not, today is anything but business as usual.
In an effort to provide all of the advice necessary for MI retailers to get through these difficult times, NAMM has hosted a series of webinars. Here, I provide some tips from several of the webinars, as well as a look at what some retailers and manufacturers have gone through during this pandemic.
This is just a taste of what was presented in four of NAMM’s webinars. Make sure to visit namm.org to view the complete series of webinars and to see what may have been added since press time.
Bob Phibbs, “The Retail Doctor,” also dubbed this session “Reopening with Hope: What You Need to Plan for, Rethink and Buy to Reopen Your Doors.” He presented a five-step plan for retailers when reopening a store:
1. A PLAN FOR DOING YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE
“In the last eight weeks, trust has been broken,” said Phibbs. “Trust for the government to take care of us, trust for our public health, trust for our politicians, trust of our banking system, trust of the stock market and even trust our own family can keep us safe has all been broken. Suddenly, we are looking around and saying, ‘Wow, this is very different.’ This cosmic shellshock we’ve all [had] is affecting everything. It especially affects retail, because we are the signs of a new world.”
The solution to this problem is to do “everything in your power to regain that trust and make people feel safe and welcome again.”
“Anything touchable needs to be regularly sanitized,” said Phibbs. “Heavily touched surfaces should be cleaned every 30 minutes or more. … Doing due diligence means you are going to need to wear a mask, even if you personally think it is unnecessary or your governor doesn’t require it. It is not about you. It is about your customers.”
Phibbs pointed to a survey that said 86 percent of people would not go into a store where people were not wearing masks and gloves, with the latter part dependent on what they are selling. “What that means is, they are already afraid walking in and need to be reassured,” he said.
As for types of masks, Phibbs noted retailers should not look scary or “surgical.” Finding someone who can create a mask with your store logo can really work well. Etsy is one place to find people who can sell these products, he suggested.
Concerning customers wearing masks, Phibbs stated retailers must decide based upon state rules. However, he said a great way to get customers
to wear masks in your store is to encourage them to take pictures of the mask, post them on your social media page with a hashtag and reward them with something. The goal is to make things seem normal, but retailers must manage the optics.
2. A PLAN FOR LEADING YOUR TEAM
Trust is also broken for retail employees that were furloughed. “You have to rebuild your team,” said Phibbs. “They are shell shocked.”
Quickly, MI store employees must be trained in proper sanitizing practices and much more. “You have to have a meeting with everybody,” stressed Phibbs. “… Give your staff a script for the top four questions you think they will be asked, and then role play with [the employees] as much as you can so they feel confident with it.”
Phibbs took it one step further, recommending employees sign a sheet saying they understand everything they were told and are willing to perform those duties with new procedures. The store owner should keep a copy of these signed documents.
3. A PLAN FOR YOUR “NEW” BUSINESS
Customer demand is likely to be only 30 percent to 40 percent of what it would be during normal times, noted Phibbs. “Think of this like you are opening a new business,” he said. “It is actually going to be better than the last one.”
This involves rethinking a lot of things, including sales training, if employees know how to upsell and if they are suggesting addons. “You are going to have to get more out of people that are coming in,” said Phibbs. “More so than getting new customers.”
“Don’t expect employees to do it automatically,” he continued. “You have to train it, then practice it first. … It’s not just a matter of having someone know how to play the instrument. Can they get someone to nurture that little flame of desire, so they say, ‘I want to upgrade to the next big thing’?”
4. A PLAN FOR CARING FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS, NOT WAITING ON THEM
“We have to make shopping fun,” stated Phibbs. “We have to remember we are a music store. We are not a hospital. We are trying to have fun with this. Some people wonder if they need to sacrifice a goat to figure it out. No, we need to think about how we interact with customers in a new way and make sure you train your staff how to interact with people.”
Do not ever talk about the news with customers inside the store, Phibbs asserted. “If I had a sign on my door, it would say, ‘Escape the News With Our Music,’” he said.
Focus on human connection, Phibbs continued. “[Customers] are here for hope. They are here to upgrade. They are here for a lesson. They are here for fun,” he said. “People are buying hope, and your employees have to deliver that. … People who feel they matter buy from you. Those that don’t, don’t [buy from you].”
5. BUILDING HOPE
“Why is hope important?” Phibbs asked. “When you have hope, you are looking forward. You gain energy in the feeling of potential.”
“But hope is not a strategy,” he cautioned. “You can’t say you hope [COVID-19] will get better. You need to take action.”
In this session, marketing expert Marcus Sheridan started off by noting, “Economic hardship is always followed by certain sales and marketing opportunities. Always.”
Opportunity could be found in the form of virtual sales appointments, for which he offered 11 best practices: 1) Know and teach the technology 2) Require cameras to be on 3) Limit text on slides 4) Limit screen sharing 5) Write names down 6) Ask questions using names 7) Smile … a lot 8) Face a light source 9) Sit up straight or stand 10) State purpose of call 11) Take control of the call
“Virtual is going to be fundamental to every business in manufacturing and retail,” stressed Sheridan.
He added that even if MI retailers feel that virtual sales calls will not appeal to an older audience, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed this thinking in a big way. “All elderly that are not used to this technology are getting very used to it, especially video conferencing, because that is how they are communicating with their doctors right now,” said Sheridan. “And many of them are using platforms like Zoom to communicate with their children and families. Let’s get in the mindset that, although some may not know how to [use a virtual platform], many do.”
Sheridan added that retailer websites should be much different today than preCOVID-19. Dealers should make sure their home page offers the following: • Show empathy/awareness • Show the state of your business • Show how customers can engage you
Sheridan provided the example of DR Strings as a company who did it right. On its website, DR Strings stated the following: “We are all in this together. DR Strings is donating 10 percent of profits to community food banks of New Jersey, where $1 provides three meals. DR Strings is currently shipping and trying as best we can to meet the needs of our customers.”
When communicating with customers via email, Sheridan relayed there are three best practices when creating subject lines: 1) Including the person’s name will increase open rates by an average of 10 percent. 2) Including the word “video” will increase open rates by an average of 10 percent. 3) Including a personalized, specific element will increase open rates by an average of 20 percent.
Video messages within the email can go a long way, he added. “Your ability to make human connections right now with your customer base has never been more important than it is right now,” said Sheridan.
Providing virtual visits to the store is another excellent approach to earn more sales, said Sheridan. He cited the example of an MI manufacturer, Deering Banjos, as a company doing virtual visits well. “Deering allows you to choose the colors and finish [of the banjo]. So, it will change its look as you change the color or style you want. It’s really great.”
A “learning center” on a website is another thing Sheridan recommended. It is a place to get answers to common questions in the style people want to learn. He stressed this section must have a search function for people to try to find what they want to know, whether they consume information by reading it or watching a video.
“In a time of chaos, like we have today, people are looking for steady voices,” Sheridan said. “The steady voices are teachers who can talk about something and do it in a way where the marketplace says, ‘Wow,
a steady voice. Thank you for that. Now, I understand.’”
Sheridan concluded with 10 thought-leadership best practices. These are: 1) What’s wrong with your industry? 2) Who is your product or service not a good fit for? 3) What are the steps of a successful purchase? 4) What are the steps of a failed purchase? 5) What is the No. 1 question your sales team gets? 6) Who are your biggest competitors? Compare yourself to them. 7) What are the negatives with your product? 8) Brainstorm and rank the categories in your space. 9) Share your business’ secret sauce. 10) Talk and teach more about cost/price/rates/value than anyone in your entire industry.
As for No. 8 on the list regarding ranking categories in your space, Sheridan noted in his industry, the swim- ming pool business, he has written stories comparing and contrasting his company with competitors, something people often search for on a website. He said it is impor- tant not to bash competitors. However, comparing your business with theirs factually can be very helpful.
Regarding sharing the ‘secret sauce,’ “Do not hide it like you are Colonel Sand- ers and Coca-Cola syrup,” Sheridan asserted. “You are not [them]. I am not [them]. Let’s not act like we have a secret sauce when we really don’t. Most companies that believe they have a secret sauce do not.”
Sheridan was asked dur- ing the question-and-answer session about if sharing the ‘secret sauce’ would allow a large competitor to swoop in and steal the ideas. He responded that independent retailers are much more nimble, and big competitors have to go through a lot of red tape, so it wasn’t likely to happen, adding he has rarely ever seen this happen.
And as for No. 10 on the aforementioned list about cost,
Sheridan suggested that you should not just show the price, but you should explain the price. “Explain what makes a product expensive; what makes it cheap,” he said. “Explain what makes an instrument $50,000 vs. $3,000, yet it looks the same. How is that possible? Most people don’t know. Unless you explain it, people will make poor buy- ing decisions. And we complain that people are so cheap these days. Well, (continued on page 40)
