Store Closings Dominate the Headlines Today

Reading headlines this morning provoked thoughts of a changing retail landscape. Here are five that caught my attention:

• Future Shop stores closed across Canada.
• Target moves to accelerate - Closing 80 stores by Easter weekend.
• Ricki's, Bootlegger and Cleo owner Comark to close stores and restructure.
• Smart Set stores set to vanish as Reitmans restructures.
• Jacob to close all 92 stores. 

I remember in the mid 80's being sent to visit an Iranian family in Vancouver that owned the Future Shop brand. They outlined a plan for a new kind of electronics store. As one of Canada's largest distributors of electronics, they asked us to supply them with truckloads of entertainment merchandise to support a move across Canada as the dominant retailer. Lining up transport trucks of product was heady stuff, but it put us in the center of controversy as they disrupted our existing distribution in each major urban center. One by one, independent retailers surrendered and even regional chains were acquired or sacrificed to progress. Eventually Future Shop surrendered to Best Buy (2001 - $580 million) and now thirty years after my meeting the Future Shop brand is being eliminated from the retail landscape.

Looking around, there are few examples of independent retailers who have survived the changes of the past six decades. However, Bay Bloor Radio, (my first stereo client) was started by Sol Mandlsohn in 1946 and is still serving clients today. That they have survived is a credit to the vision of Sol and his wife Peppie as well as the hard work and evolution brought about by their son Mark. Bay Bloor was the toughest customer I ever had but I learned much about supporting a retailer, negotiating balanced deals and adopting good business principles from this family. One of their employees, Don Archer became my mentor in the audio business and was largely responsible for helping me become a subject matter expert in the sound reinforcement industry. The Bay Bloor story should inspire independent retailers who have built a reputation around long standing client relationships and personal service. Bravo Mark!

Whether an independent retailer or a big box store embracing change and positioning a brand to be relevant for the future is the primary element of sustainability. Standing still is not an option.

Brands: Moving from Awareness to Affinity and on to Amplification

Earlier this year I participated in a Google live streaming event with Gopi Kallayil, Google's Chief Brand Evangelist at Brand Marketing. His presentation was entitled Online Branding: Winning Customers in the Moment.

Recently they provided a YouTube link that allows me to share this with my colleagues. It is well worth the investment of time. I would encourage you to pay particular attention to the Brand Arc he draws. There are also some great examples of how brands developed an experience for their prospective and existing clients.

They also provide a link to the Google creative sandbox which I highly recommend for inspiration.

Google Creative Sandbox

Monica on the Price of Shame

The ugly side of social media and online presence is illuminated in this TED Talk by Monica Lewinsky.

How are 'brands' implicated as they use and pay for clicks to increase awareness?

Can the way consumers respond to 'click-bait' reduce or eliminate cyber bullying and harassment?

How do we bring compassion back into our response to story-lines and make a difference for those experiencing shame or embarrassment?

Can the way brands chase clicks be more responsible?

Will there ultimately be a backlash to an environment that facilitates the voyeur?

Kudos to Lewinsky for breaking the silence and bringing her story to us as a social activist. 

Have a look. Monitor your own response to 'Patient Zero' both then and now. You may be surprised by what you find. I was.

The Price of Shame

You can resond by tweeting to @MonicaLewinsky

Why do we need Facebook in the Payments business?

According to a Forbes report yesterday, Facebook is going after PayPal and the payments business through instant messaging. It sounds like a monumental move for the social media giant but I wonder why we need another payment option.

First a disclaimer, I closed my Facebook account several years ago and I've put all my networking energy into LinkedIn so I likely have a bias. Second, I moved my personal transfers to electronic payments in November of 2011 and brought my companies into the same regime mid 2012. 

Today, most of the financial transfers we do are through the banking system or through Interac. If you want to improve my life help me find a way to transfer to international payees through the systems I already use.

Facebook, does have big numbers of potential clients. I wonder how many of them will put up with the wait, "transfers may take a few days depending on the financial institution". I wonder how many already using E-transfer will see an advantage from the financial service they currently use. Finally, I wonder how strategic a 'me too' approach will work when the banks hold all or at least many of the cards and have an interest to provide their own services.

As the world gets smaller, it is becoming obvious there will be a concentration of primary services with those who already own a space and are providing a positive client experience. But I can still be surprised.

Does Friendship Pay??

How much will an organization pay for a new client?

Consumers are seeing fantastic new programs to influence their behaviors and sustain their loyalty. Many of these new programs feature cash. 

Recently, Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB), introduced a new program to attract Alberta clients. It pays $350 to open a new account, $150 to refer a friend who opens a new account (they get $350 as well) and $50 to sign up for their ATB Gold MasterCard. While this may seem aggressive in a downer provincial economy, it is well constructed. Albertans are looking at dollars and financial services even closer in an environment of lower oil prices and daily layoffs.

Changing the consumer mind is easier when you get above the clutter.

Will a client walk across the road to a new bank for $350? Why not? In the face of the Royal Bank of Canada offer earlier, ($50 to visit with a recent statement) the ATB offer is seven times more rewarding. The ATB campaign also takes advantage of the consumer network to spread the 'fire' with a referral program - "do the deal and tell your friends" - everyone wins.

How much are you paying for new clients? Take your marketing expenses and divide them by the number of new clients in a period to find out. Don't be surprised if the advertising budget has risen and the number of new clients has fallen. Just when many thought the internet could reduce acquisition costs, client acquisition investments have escalated.

By the way, paying for customers is not a new idea. Peter Thiel in his book "Zero to One" tells how they grew PayPal to the first million subscribers by paying $10 for each referred friend. That story is more than a decade old.

Friendship does pay at ATB!