The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices

Having run the Resilient Retail Club for the last three years, I’ve seen first-hand the transformative power being part of a community can have on not only your business but on your life. Fostering connections and relationships and sharing in experiences is such a crucial part of what it means to be human - in episode 164 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I cover five key ways that being part of a community can help transform your business and, quite possibly, enrich your life.

In this podcast, I talk about the psychological importance of being understood and the value of sharing stories. We’ll discuss complimentary and non-competitive collaboration and how expanding our horizons opens us up to new possibilities. We’ll also talk about the many resources, from information to inspiration, that being part of a community affords you and how crucial it is to receive emotional support and encouragement from your peers.

Don’t forget - use the code: 10podcast to get £10 off your first month when joining The Resilient Retail Club.

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There are many reasons someone starts a business, but a pattern I often see with founders in the Resilient Retail Club is a combination of dissatisfaction with the working world and a desire to make a more significant impact, and today's guest is no exception!

In episode 163 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Lucy Jeffrey, founder of bamboo sock brand, Bare Kind. Having started her business as a side hustle five years ago, Bare Kind is now partnered with over thirty charities and donates a percentage of its profits to protect endangered animals. With little to no prior experience in retail, Lucy has worked hard to build an amazing business, and shares some of her major successes (and advice), especially when it comes to wholesale.

In this podcast, we discuss balancing demand with manufacturing, the value of merchandising, and holding your nerve as a seasonal business. We also talk about the importance of taking a step back, consistently reviewing the state of your business and the benefits of learning more about how your products are made.

Check out Lucy’s beautiful socks at https://barekind.co.uk/

Connect with Lucy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-jeffrey/ and check out Lucy’s e-commerce content over at: https://candidfounders.com/

Join the Christmas Sales Summit and get half off your first month in the Club - ENDS 17th September Midnight:

https://www.resilientretailclub.com/membership/

This summit will get you thinking strategically about the upcoming Christmas season, and give you the strategies, tools and support to grow your sales. It includes:

• Expert workshops
• Strategy planning sessions
• Tools and templates for growth
• Co-working hours

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The importance of Christmas for small product businesses can not be underestimated.

Some businesses can end up taking half, and I’ve seen in some circumstances, even three-quarters of their annual sales in the fourth quarter! This sales period, and a highly competitive one at that, really has the potential to make or break your year.

So if you want to achieve your Xmas sales goals and finish the year on a high, it’s imperative that you formulate a strategy and create and follow a robust and rigorous plan. 

In this podcast, we’ll discuss producing clear objectives with SMART goals and setting directions that make you, not others, happy. We’ll also be looking at what the past performance of our business can tell us about what decisions we should be making. We’ll cover tips for keeping things on track when things get crazy and staying on top of your stock management. We’ll also be thinking about our target audiences, how our ideal customer's qualities might differ at Christmas, and what form your marketing and promotional strategies might take from channel to channel at this time of year.

Join the Christmas Sales Summit and get half off your first month in the Club - ENDS 17th September Midnight:

https://www.resilientretailclub.com/membership/

This summit will get you thinking strategically about the upcoming Christmas season, and give you the strategies, tools and support to grow your sales. It includes:

• Expert workshops
• Strategy planning sessions
• Tools and templates for growth
• Co-working hours

Mentioned in this episode:

Capify

If you’re a long-time listener to this podcast or have worked with me, you’ll know I love to start talking about Christmas early - from around May actually! With the holiday season but a few months away, I’ve been digging into lots of research around what we can expect for retail at Christmas this year. 

Xmas 2022 disproved a lot of predictions and exceeded many businesses' expectations, but with the bruising combination of high inflation, rising mortgage rates and the cost of living crisis customer spending is likely to be lower this year. It might sound all doom and gloom, but there are still some bright spots to focus on.

In this podcast, we’ll discuss what customers want and how they’ll be shopping. We’ll talk about The Lipstick Effect, shaping consumer behaviour through discounts and the increasing importance of sustainability credentials. We’ll also discuss the ebb and flow of overall online purchasing, payment plans and mitigating delivery disasters.

Don’t forget - my Product Business Mastermind is kicking off this September!  

Book a free discovery call now to find out more about this high-performance 6-month program, combining award-winning business mentoring with the magic of masterminding, for ambitious small business owners.

https://www.resilientretailclub.com/retail-business-mentoring/

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If you’re running a small product business and are feeling a bit squeezed for cash flow right now, you’re not alone! August and September are traditional, well-established pinch points in the retail industry calendar. So, whether you’re coming up a bit short due to putting in your orders for this coming Christmas or perhaps an unexpected bill has landed on your desk, in episode 160 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to give you my top tips for what to do if you need money quick.

In this podcast, we’ll discuss dividing out your stock into three categories, with a different objective for each. We’ll discuss targeted discounting and why I believe it’s less brand-damaging than creating blanket offers, and we’ll also talk about why reaching out, 1-on-1, to your best customers might be the quickest and most dependable route to a sale.

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From decreased footfall to financial constraints, retailers across the board continue to be hit hard in the wake of not only the Covid-19 Pandemic but the ongoing cost of living crisis as well. It is tough out there - it may even be one of the most challenging periods experienced in retail history, but as smaller independent businesses, we have something to be grateful for that the industry giants don’t - the ability to be agile, adapt, and pivot quickly. 

In episode 159 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Charlotte Broadbent from the revolutionary global wholesale marketplace for independent retailers, Faire. Providing retailers with opportunities to try new things in low-risk ways, Faire is helping fuel the growth of independent businesses and entrepreneurs everywhere. 

In today’s podcast, Charlotte shares her insights into the current state of the retail industry and the challenges faced by both major and independent retailers. We talk about the power of experiential retail and the importance of community connection. We also discuss the costs and benefits of trade shows post-lockdown and the steadfastness of value-based buying.

Shop wholesale online from over 100,000 brands at: https://www.faire.com/

And Connect with Faire at: https://www.instagram.com/faire_wholesale/

To check out Corinne’s shop as mentioned in this episode head to: https://hackneyessentials.com/

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When you start and run your own business it’s often not long before you realise you might need an extra pair of hands. Whether you’re struggling with picking and packing in those busy sales seasons or fumbling through your finances, it’s important to recognise how best to support the growth of your business.

In episode 158 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Helen Dukes, founder of music-inspired clothing brand Disko Kids, about how she’s scaled up her business by growing a solid and supportive team through carefully focussing on training and on the needs of her staff as they change and evolve in tandem with the needs of the business.

In this podcast, we discuss shifting our business focus naturally in response to demand, the importance of word of mouth and balancing happiness with growth. We also talk about the need to set up systems, to not forgo admin and organisation in favour of the shinier things and the importance of taking a step back and relinquishing some control to see what needs your attention in your business.

To support Helen in her charity run for the Bowelbabe Fund:

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/helens-race-for-life-327470568

Check out Helen’s awesome products at: https://www.diskokids.co.uk/

And connect with her and Disko Kids at: https://www.instagram.com/diskokids

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In episode 157 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Cally Russell, CEO and Co-founder of waste-free clothing brand ‘This Is Unfolded’, supporting children’s education and paying garment workers better wages. 

Cally inarguably posits that fast fashion and current retail models are killing the planet - but that they also create a bland customer experience. To change a global business model that is fundamentally flawed, Cally believes we need to create brands and production processes that are driven by communities and in collaboration with their customers, which is exactly what he’s doing with ‘This Is Unfolded’.

In this podcast, we discuss educating people about the journey their purchases go on, the importance of identifying your best growth channels and extending the number of dopamine hits your customer experiences post-purchase. We also talk about how scaling bigger can take you away from your core customers as well as rethinking sustainability and circularity when it comes to the lifecycle of a product.

Check out the amazing community-driven fashion range at:

https://thisisunfolded.com/

Connect with Cally and ‘This Is Unfolded’ at:

https://www.facebook.com/thisisunfolded

https://www.instagram.com/thisisunfolded

https://www.linkedin.com/in/callyrussell

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Trying to increase a customer's average spend or basket size can be tricky. With a lot of focus across e-commerce on the pre-purchase experience, brands can easily fall into the trap of frustrating, and even losing their prospective customers with annoying pop-ups and offers that potentially cheapen their brand.

In episode 156 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Ruth Even Haim, the COO & co-founder of ‘ReConvert’, the number-one upselling app on Shopify, about how focusing on the post-purchase experience has enabled her business to help merchants generate millions of extra revenue in sales.

In this podcast we discuss the best practices for upselling, covering such areas as discounts and exclusivity. We talk about the shipping and profitability benefits of a successful upselling strategy, and we also discuss the importance of tailoring your post-purchase offering to your audience and not overwhelming your customers.

Check out the ‘Reconvert’ app here: https://www.reconvert.io/

Connect with the brand at: https://www.instagram.com/reconvert.io/

Struggling with low-profit margins? Fix it today with Reconvert’s FREE Conversion Rate optimisation guide:: https://www.reconvert.io/shopify-conversion-rate

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No business has shaped online retail, perhaps all retail, the way that Amazon has. Since its founding in 1994, the e-commerce giant has grown to become one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world, forever changing the way that we shop and sell. 

The idea then of trying to build a business on such a huge, busy and complex marketplace might seem a bit daunting at first, but in episode 155 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Amazon expert Emily Johnson who shares how she created her own semi-passive brand on the e-commerce platform and what you need to know to make the best go of setting up shop.

In this podcast, we discuss the importance of research, the benefits of getting to grips with optimisation and marketing, and what different business models Amazon has to offer. We also talk about sales platform glitches, troubleshooting your product listings and why it’s worth looking into brand protection in the forms of design registrations and trademarking.

Check out Emily’s Amazon coaching services at: https://www.hello-dream.co.uk/

And connect with her at: instagram.com/dreamers_should/

Don’t forget - use the code: 10podcast to get £10 off your first month when joining The Resilient Retail Club.

Mentioned in this episode:

Capify