Articles

A Good Safety Gate

The design diversity of today’s homes commonly includes open architecture, sweeping staircases, oversized openings, and wide patio doors. Gone are "standard" doorways, which today can mean anything from 30", 32", 34", or 36". That's why so many different child safety gates are on the market and why it's easy to understand why close to 7 million units are sold in North America, making gates and enclosures one of the top baby product categories.

A Good Nursing Bra

Even though it’s something most women wear everyday, the majority of them dread shopping for a bra. When they have to shop for a nursing bra, the dread doubles because they’re literally thrown out of their comfort zones. I have found most retailers wanting to sell nursing bras feel this same way. As a designer, I have always followed “the law of three,” and as a retailer who sells nursing bras, I’ve applied that law to what I stock.

A Cloth Diaper

With bold and bright colors, unique patterns and designs, cloth diapers have officially gone mainstream. They are available online, at major retailers, the neighborhood boutique and even E-bay. There are designer versions and soft neutrals. They have celebrity appeal and they have boy or girl appeal. But most importantly, they appeal to the earth and babies and parents everywhere.

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Creating a Satisfied Customer: Living Up to Their Expectations

There is a great deal said about the importance of retailers delivering on their service promise, and how that impacts ongoing customer retention, engagement, loyalty and spending. It’s obvious really.

Taking Baby Steps in Goal Setting

As the owner of a small boutique store, allow me to be your “goals” virtual coach for next 30 minutes. Let me help you set some goals in key areas of your business so that your employees and you have some agreement around what matters most to all of you: the success of the business. But, first let me explain a little about why you would want to set goals and how to set them.

Successfully Managing Employees

Organizations face environments of rapid change, economic uncertainty and increasing competition, making it difficult for organizations to survive and prosper, so managers are challenged to find ways to make their organizations prosper. A major way, and possibly the only sustainable way, for organizations to gain a competitive advantage is by efficiently managing their employees.

Shopping for Shopper Insights: Get Smart About Evolving Consumer Lifestyle Trends to Better Reach Shoppers

Retail prognosticators touted a slew of trends as being critical to retail success in 2012: From leveraging social media, growing mobile commerce, the Boomer opportunity and rising numbers of male shoppers to the new American family, niche brand opportunities, big stores building small and reinventing the customer experience.

Independents: Impact, Connect, and Engage

Independent Retail is vital to the world’s economy. Not only does it create numerous jobs for each country, but it also helps to keep individual ‘boutique’ brands circulating in villages, towns and cities, and gives customer service the greatest opportunity to shine.

How To Increase Sales with Baby Gear Test Drives!

Be it free samples, test drives or even money-back guarantees, the try-before-you-buy merchandising model is very much alive and well in many retail sectors. More and more, baby gear retailers are joining the ranks of beyond-the-store demonstration providers and seeing big benefits.

Ready, Set, Listen!

I have a colorful word on my desk as a reminder to do something that is not always top of mind for me. It simply says: LISTEN.

When To Hire a PR/Marketing Firm

We live in a world where small businesses are created every day. Technology has made it easier for us to communicate, and social media has allowed us to connect and engage with our consumers. While this may be beneficial to small business owners, it also adds more tasks to their already full plates.

How to Maximize a Gift With Purchase

A Gift With Purchase (GWP) is a great way to promote products and drive incremental sales without discounting. Most GWP promotions come from manufacturers, although retailers would do well to consider doing them on a regular basis.

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Your Business Benefits When You Show You Care

Small business owners are busier than ever. They not only head a business, but they typically run daily operations that can include inventory control, staffing, finances, sales, and marketing. With many business owners putting in well over forty hours a week, finding time to give back to your community seems dismal and a last priority. I understand completely as a small business owner and single mom myself. Investing time in a community when you rarely have time to spend with your family can seem unreasonable; however, it can be amazingly rewarding in more ways than one.

Relating to Your Customers

We have been in business for six years now and the number one lesson I have learned is to relate to your customer. You cannot sell your product to your customer if you do not understand it or cannot relate to it.

Q&A on Helping Mom and Dad-to-Be Decorate Their Nursery

What color combinations or print/color combinations are "in" for 2012? Gray and yellow is a very hot color combination right now. Gray has been popular for a few years and is still holding strong.

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Your Online Store: Why Not Having One is No Longer an Option

Since starting my blog in 2004, I have seen a number of retail stores come and go, and seeing them go is always hard. The reasons vary.

Baby Steps: Creating an Effective Home Page

For new parents, everything seems overwhelming—from trying to find matching pairs of tiny socks at any given time, to attempting to remember what day (or month) it is. Being overwhelmed also extends to buying all the necessities (and some ridiculous extras) for your little one. Shopping online can be a great way to get the things you need without leaving the house. The problem is most baby e-commerce sites are as cluttered, confusing and overwhelming as their brick and mortar counterparts.

Social Media Strategy, Expand Your Professional Network

In today’s digital age, it is easier than ever to connect with clients, customers and other industry professionals. Twitter creates a great web log of short messages to share with your following but lacks any genuine interaction with other users. Facebook is much more social and fun, but not everyone wants to share pictures of their children with their clients or customers. When it comes to selecting a professional social network, LinkedIn means business!

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