Stay in Touch with Your Customers

I just had this statistic arrive in my inbox and it gave me quite a start: 

"77% of consumers who stepped up their shopping at discount and value retailers during the poor economy plan to continue visiting those stores when the economy improves," says TNS Retail Forward. 

This should be a wake-up call for all independent retailers out there, especially during this all-important 4th quarter holiday season. As difficult as it may be and as tight as your budget is, it is even more important to promote your store to your established customer base and reach out to attract new customers right now. You want to make sure that you reinforce the value of what your store has to offer over the discounters in terms of unique selection of products and service. Invite them. Woo them. befriend them Offer them an incentive. Do something and everything you can to ensure that they come to you when they need that special gift or just a little something for themselves because.