A new mom and pop

Face it. Mom and Pop know just how to push our buttons sometimes. While we cannot “change” our parents, we can change our other mom and pop—our business.

For specialty mom and pop stores, reinvention is a “given” if retailers want a successful destination store. That was the message heard by more than 300 specialty retailers during the recent annual meeting of ASTRA—the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association. This year's event in Orlando, Fla., also drew an array of vendors with product offerings tailored for the specialty market. Order-writing was brisk and both retailers and vendors were optimistic about the marketplace.

Their optimism was met by an enthusiastic Jon Schallert, president, The Schallert Group, Sorrento, Fla., a marketing consulting firm. Schallert led a day-long workshop targeted to the mom and pop—or independent—retailer.

Schallert told attendees that creating a successful destination store isn't just about the best location, high-income areas and working 24/7. It's about emotionally tying customers to a store—whether they live two miles or 220 miles away—dropping traditional marketing, sprucing up a store's physical appearance (inside and out) and knowing the eye color of each customer standing in front of the salesperson or owner.

Schallert says that specialty retailers can profit from being smaller. “Little is in,” he told attendees. "Little is one of a kind. You are competing on a whole different level than the bigger stores.”

One way retailers can begin to reshape their stores is the “Winnebago Test” or differentiating whether they have just a job or a real business. “If you have a professional business with your own components, you'll leave with a big Winnebago,” says Schallert. “If you leave a job each day, the Winnebago will be smaller.”

Retailers must first look at destination. However, being in a central, urban locale, doesn't necessarily mean more business.

For example, Powell's Books, Portland, Ore., pulls new, and regular, customers from up to 200 miles away. In the Midwest, Nell Hills Furniture, Atchinson, Kan., has customers from Des Moines, Omaha and beyond, Schallert told ASTRA members.

What's the secret? First, identify your weaknesses, create a set of goals to turn them into strengths, then reinvent your store, he advises. Don't be completely dependent on the perfect location, but create one from within.

One way to begin the reinvention is by changing behaviors that may be displeasing to customers, which will direct them elsewhere, or worse, to the larger competitor.

“Stop consumers before they buy from the competition on terms that can be to your advantage,” says Schallert. “A productive business owner, when they see a plateau, it's like a blinking light—what can I do to impact the plateau?”

Customers don't believe signage that reads “high quality,” “great service,” “super selection” and “customer friendly” anymore. They want to see all these things before they believe it. Create a “unique positioning” by figuring out how your store is different. Define something so you are the only one that “owns” it.

Schallert told workshop attendees that finding one item and exploding it can create a micro niche store that no one can touch. Len Libby's Chocolate, Scarborough, Maine, has customers from all over New England. Why? The high-end chocolate shop, which has been featured in National Geographic and the Food Network, has Lenny, an 1,800-pound full-size moose made of chocolate for customers to drool over. But more importantly, the pricey chocolate speaks for itself once customers are drawn in.

“Differentiate yourself as to how the customer will identify you,” says Schallert. “Consumers remember one-of-a-kind items even if they can't afford it.”

Joseph Diaz, president, Learning Express, Devens, Mass., tells Playthings that you should know what Wal-Mart and Target are selling. Customers will go to specific stores for specific product. Diaz says specialty stores that go against the norm always do better.

“The [specialty stores] that are successful are venturing away from the best sellers and want to have something new when the customer walks in,” says Diaz.

“If you have 'wow' items that are hard to find, the customers will have a sense that they are going to find something great for their kid.”

Bland marketing is also a no-no. Customers today are Internet savvy and bored easily. Retailers should have an easily navigable Web site that includes the store address, telephone number, hours, why the store is different, photos and directions.

Once retailers know their unique position and have a solid Internet site in tow, figuring out what they want their customers to “feel” when they walk in the store is next. First set goals and direct employees—retrain them if necessary.

Word of mouth works, but it's too slow, says Schallet. Web sites can reach all your zones and fast. Customers can visit the site when they have free time. Customer testimonials to back up your products are also a good addition to any site.

“It's a low pressure selling device that projects a positive to the world,” says Schallert.

In addition to an informative site, retailers should also use local newspapers and other media as an outlet. Once you find your niche, expose it to the press.

Never underestimate the power of getting to really know your customers. Schallert says that looking customers in the eye, picking up on one component about the customer's appearance (dress, bag, shoes, etc.), getting their last name and asking them what brings them to the store, can all make a difference in a customer's lasting impression of the store.

Going the extra mile can also build a strong emotional tie with consumers. When Starbuck's, Seattle, wanted to keep its top customers, it focused on a weakness. One of the biggest complaints was long waits, so the coffee retailers started a pickup service in April for regular customers.

Schallert also recounts a time when he called a Nordstrom store and wanted a product that was only sold in another store within the same mall. The Nordstrom employee went to that store, picked up the item, and shipped it to him (in Nordstrom wrappings, of course) at the cost of the product alone. That makes an impression.

Another step in getting to know customers better is by starting a database collection including their name and email address. Once you get customer names, have them sign up for your e-newsletter. Leave the in-store guest books at home and have them leave their business card with you instead. Sweepstakes and other contests are some ways of getting them to log on to the site or stop by your store.

Melissa Bernstein, CEO, Melissa and Doug/Lights, Camera, Interaction!, Westport, Conn., says that a good experience brings customers back for more.

“Make it that every customer who leaves changes,” Bernstein tells Playthings. “When you walk into a store and know that you matter—if they don't feel that, they'll go to the Wal-Marts.”

David Niggli, president, FAO Schwarz, New York, added that retailers should focus on the issues in society that affect consumers' purchasing habits, as well.

“At the end of the day, it's about the product and the experience,” says Niggli. “Today's customer is more demanding.”

Going the extra mile with your store's appearance is also key. Storefronts have to be appealing. If a retailer has become accustomed to going into work through the back door every day, he or she needs to go in the front door once in awhile and see what the customers see when they walk in. Then, change where necessary. No matter what the cost, it's worth it in the end.

“There are certain components that the consumer is seeing that you're not,” says Schallert. “If something feels different, they won't come back. Physical appearance is important. Customers judge it within the first seven seconds. Less is more.”