On Screen & Off, The Small Merchant Is Alive & Well

SUMMARY BOX

* Like the cowboy of the '60 the small business possessor of today is the novel type of American hero.

* The days of mom and burst corner stores have faded away. Today, small business holders should know that consumers want a store that is sport to shop, that recognizes the individual and that mention one by ones its own unique story from one side merchandise.

* Small businesses have a number of advantages above the giant mega chains, of the like kind as familiarity with the local spectacle personalized service, close relationships between employer and employee freedom to experiment and innovate and the ability to make rapid decisions.

What do Hugh Grant, Meg Ryan and Tim Allen have in common? They have all played small business heroes in the movies. If the movies mirror our daily life, the family writing obituaries for small businesses should tear up their latest efforts. After all, it looks we are seeing the dawn of a fresh era: the rebirth of the small business.

Consider Hugh Grant who holded a small bookstore in Notting Hill or Meg Ryan who had a small work store competing against Tom Hanks, the ceo of a mega work retailer in You've Got Mail. Tim Allen left "Home Improvement" to start an auto restoration store only after he speculated for years whether to unclose his own hardware shop.

Robert Thompson head of the Center of The close attention of Popular Television at Syracuse University is quot in the Wall public way Journal comparing the small business holder of today with "what the cowboy was in the '60s--a novel type of American Hero. race who can get the piece of work done instead of a corporate figure with a knob of drones to do their bidding."

A new Arts & Entertainment cable broadcast fix uponed Burlington, Vt., as the "most livable city" in the U single of the main reasons: the shopping. Were the stores the familiar large chains? Was there a mall outside of town anchored by dint of giant mega-marts? No. A major reason is the temple Street Market Place, a pedestrian mall in the center of the city. In this special district, there are 55 businesses--30 are locally be in possession ofed The most successful stores followed the advice of famed motivational speaker Napoleon Hill: "If you want to be happy all you have to do is find a niche and fill it."

"That's exactly what these stores did," said Ron Redmond executive director of the house of god Street Market Place. "We're a destination center We're not a traditional mall. Whether race walk into one of our incidents and see jugglers or musicians or vendor carts, they're experiencing something they can't find someplace else"

These stores capitalize upon their smallness and their individuality. They understand that stores, like race must have a reason for existing. And tribe enjoy shopping with them. A overlook by the national Food Marketing Association revealed that clan who enjoy shopping will disburse 20 percent more. There are mights the small business, like David, has above their Goliath competition. Look at the advantages:

Familiarity with the local scene

Today's felicitous small retailer creates a store personality. Call it a gaze image or need. Nearly each retail guru agrees this is the greatest in quantity single valuable asset. Determine what you are and come [i]or[/i] go after [i]or[/i] behind that path.

Personalized service

Marketing guru Tom Peter wrote that "Retail is a connection business. Relationships are forged individual at a time with a [large] audience or a single customer."

We have grown past the time when the holder of a small gallery can "eyeball" his gallery's inventory and know what is selling. That's what computer do. Consider the story of Lee's supermarket in Westport, Mass. It decided to pierce the computer age with a frequent-buyer program. At first hesitant, it agreed to invest in the emergencyed equipment. "I was first skeptical" said originator Al Lees, Jr. "I knew my best customers. I didn't ne a computer to number me."

He was inequitable When the computer printed on the outside a list of his top ten customers (those that exhausted the most with him during the year), he was amazed to discover he sole knew four.

shut up relationships between yourself and your staff

Having weekly meetings with staff gives you the opportunity to discuss your plans with them for futurity buying and, as important, time to come advertising. Show them proofs of upcoming ads and direct mailers. Ask for their opinions. What would they change and why? more [i]or[/i] less of my best ideas for mailings have tend hitherward from staff input. In addition, they frequently spot errors I have missed.

Freedom to experiment and innovate

The independent small business propels merchandise around. No waiting for a Plan-O-Gram from corporate headquarters saying what merchandise must be displayed where. And if a small business one sees a fad caching upon they can "me too" in like manner fast they look like they got there first. "The definition of a great retailer is the imagination and zeal to recreate yourself daily," said Peters

Ability to make quick decisions

A small business receives a quantity of wanted merchandise for a special price. They will impel a postcard mailer to their total mailing list or just previous buyer of that outcome Time needed: a week. No waiting for approval from many horizontals of individuals who must give their OK for a mailing by means of which time the moment may be lost