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

With Easter not long behind us, the next big calendar event on the horizon is Father’s Day. Whilst the dad-centric holiday sees lower spending on average than Mother's Day, it’s still a major event in hospitality and retail. Now, some of you may be looking at your range of products and thinking where does my business fit into Fathers Day? It’s true that not every small product business will be suited to catering for gifts for dads, that's why I want to spend today's episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan breaking down the sort of product categories that broadly appeal to men to help give you some gifting ideas in order for you to make the most of Father’s Day. We’ll discuss pampering versus practicality and the male proclivity for functional upgrades. We’ll look at the undeniable gifting staples that are clothing, consumables and electronics, as well as covering some more varied ideas that are more lifestyle-led, and we’ll also discuss some possible product approaches for those of you who have a majority-female customer base or female-focused product range.

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The impact of mindset on your business truly cannot be underestimated, it affects everything we do as small business owners, from the way that we interact with our customers and staff to how we show up on social media and market our products.

Too often when we lose confidence in ourselves, and potentially in our business, we tend to take less action and get stuck in what I call the 'cycle of doom': sales drop - we lose confidence - we take less action - sales drop - we lose confidence, and on and on it goes.

So, in today’s episode, I want to share with you the new acronym I’ve developed (CROP) to help you maintain a mindset that keeps you feeling good and keeps your business running optimally. We’ll look at curiosity, where we’ll discuss exploring new ideas, learning from feedback and ultimately not catastrophising when things don’t go to plan. We’ll look at resilience, overcoming challenges, coping with uncertainty and the importance of staying nimble. We’ll also tap into objectivity, making data-driven decisions and keeping an eye on the big picture, and we’ll wrap up by discussing what arguably fuels your ability to be your best self, positivity.

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

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In episode 142 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I wrap up my short series about building your small business on a budget with my good friend and fashion brand consultant Elizabeth Stiles. Elizabeth and I share a lot of background and experience when it comes to the retail industry and understand the vital importance of sales strategy and skills when it comes to growing a business and that if small business owners don’t work on these areas they could end up with what amounts to a very expensive hobby! So, in today’s podcast, we talk about trying to shift our mindsets around selling, appreciating that it can be a mutually beneficial exchange and not you pulling a fast one on your unsuspecting audience. We talk about the art of conversation, seduction and the power of emotion when it comes to people's purchasing decisions. We also consider how we need to speak to our audience in different ways, understand that not everyone is ready to buy and that when things seem tough that we have to ‘sell through the silence'.

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

Check out Elizabeth’s services over at: https://www.elizabethstiles.co.uk/

And connect with her at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheFashionFeed/ https://www.instagram.com/elizabethstilesuk/ https://www.pinterest.co.uk/thefashionbrandclinic/

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In the fourth episode of my mini-series of discussions about building your business on a budget, I speak to Jayne Lasley, founder of “Fairlie Curved”. Originally started as a styling page on Instagram, Jayne took a modest £500 after losing her job in lockdown to attempt to create a fuller-bust clothing line - an idea informed by her own experiences of someone with a 30HH bust and an idea that had been on her mind since the final year of her degree in Textile, Fashion Design and Management. Only a few years on, her small business is thriving - boasting a dedicated community of customers and fans and an international demand for her products. 

In today’s episode, we discuss the vital importance of cultivating communities, listening to the needs and wants of your customers and bringing them in on the decision-making. We also talk about going the extra mile, repaying the support and appreciation you receive and effectively utilising user-generated content. We also touch on authenticity and trust, the value of a quick response and how being genuinely social can transform your business.

Check out Jayne’s amazing brand at: https://fairliecurved.com/

And connect with her at:

https://www.facebook.com/fairliecurvedstyle/ https://www.instagram.com/fairliecurved/ https://twitter.com/fairliecurved

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In the second of my series of discussions about building your business on a budget, I speak to Rebecca Gibbions of the boutique jewellery brand, ‘Last Night I Dreamt’. After putting a successful career in television production on hold to raise a family, Rebecca felt a bit adrift until an opportunity to open a jewellery shop in her home of Southwell, Nottingham, ignited an excitement in her she hadn’t felt for some time. Since opening in 2015, and launching a website in 2019, Rebecca’s small business has gone from strength to strength. Offering collated collections of jewellery by the best British and international designers, Rebecca attributes the brand’s true success to her desire and commitment to authentically connect with her customers, cultivate a community and to make even the driest of business processes relevant and fun. In today’s episode, we discuss storytelling, purpose and creating unique spaces that go beyond the standard shop floor. We also talk about the importance of the personal touch as well as creating a consistent tone of voice across a multitude of marketing and selling platforms. We also talk about how producing blogs and leveraging current trends can keep things relevant and fresh when it comes to generating organic SEO. Check out Rebecca’s beautifully curated collections at: https://www.lastnightidreamt.co.uk/ And connect with her at: https://www.facebook.com/LNIDjewellery/ https://www.instagram.com/lnidjewellery/ https://twitter.com/lnidjewellery

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Today’s podcast marks the first in a series of discussions about building your business on a budget and in episode 138 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan I speak with Laura Schofield, the founder of Otto and Ivy, a specialist shoe brand, who incredibly had never spent a penny on marketing until the third year of running her business.

Having initially cultivated a career in television presenting, she felt something was missing after working for several years as a shopping channel host. It was through her creative outlet - a blog for fellow tall woman (Laura is 6ft 1 with size 9 (UK) feet) - and the loyal community it generated that Laura found the confidence to enter the small business world. From starting out by simply googling shoe brands to visiting factories in Italy, to generating a wealth of research through focus groups and surveys, Laura has managed to quickly build an impressive business from modest means.

In this podcast, we discuss how people buy from people and how storytelling often rivals specs when selling. We talk about the value of adopting a slower model of growth, allowing for refinements and how gathering feedback not only improves your products but your audience's connection with your brand, and we also speak about what it means to be trustworthy and the importance of sharing your 'why'.

Check out Laura’s beautiful shoes at: https://ottoandivy.com/

And connect with her over at: https://www.facebook.com/ottoandivyshoes https://www.instagram.com/ottoandivyshoes/

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Product photography has changed a lot since the days of a single image on a white background in a 500-page catalogue. As the advertising and marketing worlds have evolved, we’ve seen increasing complexity in the way businesses present their products to their audience, such as through multi-layered storytelling and creating cultural context around their products, and with the continuing growth of online retail, good imagery has never been more important in communicating the qualities and value of products outside of a traditional physical retail space.

In episode 137 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to brand and product photographer Hiral Jethwa. A passionate advocate of good photography, Hiral produces content to elevate small product businesses, bolster their brands and ultimately help increase sales.

In today’s podcast, we discuss how good photography not only helps address your customers' pain points but can lessen the risk of unwanted returns and refunds. We also talk about finding the right photographer to collaborate with, how to communicate your vision and Hiral also shares her tips for how to best prepare for the big shoot!

Check out Hiral’s work and services at: https://hj-photography.co.uk/

And connect with her at: https://www.instagram.com/hjbrandingstories/

Don’t forget - use the code: 10podcast to get £10 off your first month when joining The Resilient Retail Club, and get your copy of “Tame Your Tiger” at: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/tame-your-tiger-how-to-stop-your-product-business-eating-you-alive/9781788604048

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So, the inspiration for today’s episode came out of a conversation I was having with fashion brand consultant, Elizabeth Stiles. We chat often over WhatsApp, sometimes about the things that drive us crazy about small businesses - and on this occasion we both found ourselves bemoaning the recent trend of founders posting negatively framed content about their businesses.

Now, this episode is definitely not about shaming you if you’re having a tough time, or indeed if you’ve recently shared posts on social media to this effect! What I really want to discuss today are the risks of implementing such a strategy, the damage it can do to your brand and ultimately why it’s important to understand that there should be a line when it comes to sharing content built around your business.

In today’s podcast, we’ll talk about compassion fatigue and not shifting your problems onto your customers. I discuss how retail is theatre, and how we as small business owners need to offer up escapism. We’ll also look at how to positively reframe your struggles and challenges, by thanking those who are supporting your business and how we can authentically connect with our audience by “sharing the scar, not the wound”.

Don’t forget - use the code: 10podcast to get £10 off your first month when joining The Resilient Retail Club, and get your copy of “Tame Your Tiger” at: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/tame-your-tiger-how-to-stop-your-product-business-eating-you-alive/9781788604048

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Branding at its core is rooted in psychology and human behaviour - it’s how your customers think and feel about you, your products and your business, and more than ever with so many brands out there, we, as founders, need to be able to cut through the noise, set ourselves apart from our competitors and build trusted relationships with our customers if we want to grow. In episode 135 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to brand consultant Cara Bendon. With 10 years experience of running her own award-winning studio, Cara and her team help small lifestyle businesses create standout brands. In this episode, we break down branding as we talk about colour theory, shelf appeal, and the importance of cohesiveness and consistency in establishing trust. We also discuss the power of the little touches, tone of voice and the paradox of practising sustainability while offering an excellent unboxing experience. Don’t forget - use the code: 10podcast to get £10 off your first month when joining The Resilient Retail Club, and get your copy of “Tame Your Tiger” at: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/tame-your-tiger-how-to-stop-your-product-business-eating-you-alive/9781788604048

Check out Cara’s services at https://www.carabendon.com/ and connect with her at:

https://www.instagram.com/carabendon/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/carabendon/

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