In order to stay competitive in today’s rapidly changing retail environment, one of the best tools for success for business owners is information.
On Monday the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce and Nelson and Area Economic Development Partnership is bringing in one of the best retail minds in North America. Barbara Crowhurst will be delivering a workshop called Retail Makeover: Keys to Retail Success and Best Practices.
“We all know that the world is changing,” said Chamber manager Tom Thomson. “We are trying to make sure that local retailers are staying as competitive as possible.”
Crowhurst will be speaking about effective marketing. At the core of this basic strategy is bringing new customers into your store and increasing the number of times existing customers come in to your store.
Key points Barbara covers are defining your market place, what is your potential customer base, knowing who your competition is, using technology effectively, social media, website, your customer data base, today’s traditional advertising and how best to maximize effective, using a POS system, creating a promotional calendar and the best marketing practices for retail success in today’s economy.
“She will be able to provide people with tools they may already doing, but other ones may not be,” said Thomson.
On-line shopping and the lure of American retail has caused concerns for local small businesses, but Thomson said with a regional market of 60,000 to 70,000 shoppers the customers are out there.
“For many we are the retail destination shopping area for this region,” said Thomson. “We know there are lots of folks that come over from Trail, Castlegar, Nakusp and some of the smaller communities in our region. We have a really good retail mix, but there are still lots of ways retailers can continue to improve and continue to enhance our reputation to make customers feel even better.”
One of the local examples Thomson looks to is Mountain Baby which can be found on Baker Street. Owner Judy Banfield has taken the business from its Comfort and Joy beginnings, transformed her retail headquarters and moved into the new world of marketing with mountainbaby.com.
“The retailers have to do something as well,” said Thomson. “The city can’t fix all of their issues, the business community has to continue to evolve.”
Crowhurst is a retail specialist, business coach, writer, international speaker and trainer. Her comprehensive and detailed approach to retail comes from years of working in the industry.
Her career has taken her from working with some the largest corporate retail stores in North America to consulting with thousands of owner-operators since becoming self-employed 12 years ago. Crowhurst’s company is leading the way with innovative services such as retail business coaching sessions, one on one coaching and consulting by phone or in person.
The workshop is set for Monday, October 29 at the Prestige Lakeside Resort from 1 to 4 p.m.
