August 2023 NEWSLETTER
What shall we do for the conference this year??
It's a common question asked by retail leadership teams.
A huge investment both in time and money.
It needs to be worth it.
Throughout our careers we’ve asked the question and now at School of Retail we work with retailers to create exceptional team experiences.
So for impactful conferences our top 5 tips are:
1. Know why you’re bringing the team together – what’s the purpose beyond the good times?
Have a clear outcome that aligns to your business goals.
2. The details matter - they show how much you care. From the invites to the venue to the takeaways, retail is detail and it’s your chance to make the team feel like you want them to make your customer feel every day.
3. Keep it simple. Repeat your message lots of times and remember less is more especially with numbers. Make sure you present numbers that are all about the customer’s experience.
Make it a jargon free zone.
4. Celebrate your stars and be clear on why they have succeeded so others can emulate their wins.
5. Follow up from the day they get back to store. The real work starts here.
THINGS WE LOVE IN RETAIL THIS MONTH
Our beautiful Aba is living life in the Big Apple this month inspiring us with her refreshing notes from NYC. It got us thinking about how we retailers get inspired...
At School of Retail we see 3 stages to how a customer experiences a physical retail store and Aba’s trip has reinforced what makes us stay, shop and return.
1. Windows If 30% of customers walk in to a store just because they like the window then this clear call to action by Nike gets us ‘just doing’ that...
2. 5 Senses Once we’re in a store what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch makes us subconsciously decide to stay or go.
Aba stayed for 2 hours in Nordstrom and the interactive lighting options in their fitting rooms were just one of the reasons why!
3. Team Interaction Meet Cole.
He’s a passionate retailer from an uber cool store in Nolita. He texted Aba after her sale just to say what a pleasure it was to have her in store and to thank her for her purchases!
Mind blown.
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Sally who heads up marketing for Perri Cutten and Cable Melbourne gets our vote this month.
She attended the 3 part leadership sessions we ran at Austin group and we loved the way she practised the skills back in her role immediately.
She empowered her team and they decided to visit some stores to gain some better insight. Her positivity alone would make us want to be part of her team.
RETAILER OF THE MONTH
They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes but Nordstrom has not let us down.
Aba’s first interaction ‘Hi, I’m Nancy from Valentino. Can I show you a colour for your cheeks that would look great on you?’
OK Nancy, you are on!
Just get and give name.
Seems so easy...
LOVE NOTE
See you in store soon
Love, Claire, Janelle and Aba