gth. Learn more about it. Go the extra mile. Develop a more personable atmosphere in your store. Greet customers within 10 seconds of entering your store. Smile. Learn their names and call them by name. When they leave your store, say “Thanks for stopping by”, or “Have a good day”. Smile again. As a small store with few employees (or maybe just one!), they will learn to recognize you. They will feel more comfortable with someone they have deMega--stores are a fact of life and they are not going away. If you own a small brick and mortar business, you just have to adapt. You must discover and exploit their weaknesses and you must develop your strengths. It’s a matter of your survival and you must do what it takes within the confines of integrity and the Golden Rule.

Keep in mind that you are not even on the radar screen of the mega--stores. You are not competition to them, yet they are competition to you. To survive, you must learn their weaknesses and develop your strengths.

Their Weaknesses

• Their sheer size makes them slow to move and adapt.
• They have information about national market trends but they may be weak about some specific local market conditions.
• Their management decisions typically come from corporate headquarters. This may include which products to stock, which price to charge and how to display merchandise.
• Customer service is sometimes a weakness. However, the mega--stores have improved in that area last over the last few years.
• Products are not always priced. Sometimes the mega--store employees are just too busy or have a “That’s not my job” mentality. There is nothing more aggravating than being interested in an item but not knowing how much it cost. Some customers will go to the customer service area and ask what it costs. Others will just leave without buying the item they were interested in.
• Some people just don’t like them. For whatever reason, some people just will not shop at the mega--stores.

Your Strengths

• You are small. You can adapt to market conditions more easily, especially your local market.
• Customer service is your biggest strength. Learn more about it. Go the extra mile. Develop a more personable atmosphere in your store. Greet customers within 10 seconds of entering your store. Smile. Learn their names and call them by name. When they leave your store, say “Thanks for stopping by”, or “Have a good day”. Smile again. As a small store with few employees (or maybe just one!), they will learn to recognize you. They will feel more comfortable with someone they have dea
  3 Secrets to Full Color Printing that Printers Don't Want You to Know About
  There are secrets to buying full color printing. It’s no secret that we all want that professional full color look for our organization. Crisp full color photos and high end graphics just look better, right? But, how do you make sure you're getting the best price and the best quality? If you’re planning to give your give your image a boost with full color printing, you need to know the secrets. I found them.I discovered the 3 things that your printer does not want you to know about full color printing. Here's what I learned . . .For starters, put your eCommerce thinking cap on. That’s what I did. Ask yourself these quick questions: why does getting prices take so long - why am I always told to save
  yet they are competition to you. To survive, you must learn their weaknesses and develop your strengths.

  Their Weaknesses

  • Their sheer size makes them slow to move and adapt.
  • They have information about national market trends but they may be weak about some specific local market conditions.
  • Their management decisions typically come from corporate headquarters. This may include which products to stock, which price to charge and how to display merchandise.
  • Customer service is sometimes a weakness. However, the mega--stores have improved in that area last over the last few years.
  • Products are not always priced. Sometimes the mega--store employees are just too busy or have a “That’s not my job” mentality. There is nothing more aggravating than being interested in an item but not knowing how much it cost. Some customers will go to the customer service area and ask what it costs. Others will just leave without buying the item they were interested in.
  • Some people just don’t like them. For whatever reason, some people just will not shop at the mega--stores.
  Your Strengths
  • You are small. You can adapt to market conditions more easily, especially your local market.
  • Customer service is your biggest strength. Learn more about it. Go the extra mile. Develop a more personable atmosphere in your store. Greet customers within 10 seconds of entering your store. Smile. Learn their names and call them by name. When they leave your store, say “Thanks for stopping by”, or “Have a good day”. Smile again. As a small store with few employees (or maybe just one!), they will learn to recognize you. They will feel more comfortable with someone they have de
    Making Logistics Easy By Renting Crates
    In this modern world of logistics, technology and big business, crate rental has become an important and useful factor to provide easy packaging, handling, shipping and logistics of industries, businesses and sectors. Using crates supplies a no fuss, efficient, convenient and generally secure method of transportation for almost any thing. No longer are business and personal items being packed into undersized cardboard boxes, which usually fall apart after time. Now consumers and businesses can benefit from companies providing the useful method of transportation of items – crates.There are reputable crate rental companies to choose from, choose a company with plenty of experience; this will ensure you recei
    ts to stock, which price to charge and how to display merchandise.
  • Customer service is sometimes a weakness. However, the mega--stores have improved in that area last over the last few years.
  • Products are not always priced. Sometimes the mega--store employees are just too busy or have a “That’s not my job” mentality. There is nothing more aggravating than being interested in an item but not knowing how much it cost. Some customers will go to the customer service area and ask what it costs. Others will just leave without buying the item they were interested in.
  • Some people just don’t like them. For whatever reason, some people just will not shop at the mega--stores.
  Your Strengths
  • You are small. You can adapt to market conditions more easily, especially your local market.
  • Customer service is your biggest strength. Learn more about it. Go the extra mile. Develop a more personable atmosphere in your store. Greet customers within 10 seconds of entering your store. Smile. Learn their names and call them by name. When they leave your store, say “Thanks for stopping by”, or “Have a good day”. Smile again. As a small store with few employees (or maybe just one!), they will learn to recognize you. They will feel more comfortable with someone they have de
    International Business To Business Payments
    With the huge amounts of business transacted online, there is a growing concern amongst businesses about managing payments. Business to business (B2B) payments at the international level are a major concern since the amounts tend to be larger and the charges are appreciable. This results in some loss in profits, which makes global commerce less attractive. From the smallest business operating on the web to huge conglomerates that transfer large amounts of funds internationally, everyone wants cost efficiency in their payment system. The issue is, of course, larger in the international payment segment because there is the currency rate to consider as well. So both types of losses, in currency and in transfer charg
    tomers will go to the customer service area and ask what it costs. Others will just leave without buying the item they were interested in.
  • Some people just don’t like them. For whatever reason, some people just will not shop at the mega--stores.
  Your Strengths
  • You are small. You can adapt to market conditions more easily, especially your local market.
  • Customer service is your biggest strength. Learn more about it. Go the extra mile. Develop a more personable atmosphere in your store. Greet customers within 10 seconds of entering your store. Smile. Learn their names and call them by name. When they leave your store, say “Thanks for stopping by”, or “Have a good day”. Smile again. As a small store with few employees (or maybe just one!), they will learn to recognize you. They will feel more comfortable with someone they have de
    Resurrecting the Perfect Resume, Part One
    Is your resume dead?  Don’t be so quick to say, “No way!”  Of the hundreds of resumes I’ve seen written by job seekers of all backgrounds and educational levels, easily 95% qualify to be labelled as dead-but-not-yet-buried.  A dead resume lacks a clear structure or chronology, does not present or quantify achievements, fails to offer a “big picture” of what you would bring to the employer and is impersonal rather than expressive.  Worse yet, a dead resume fails to win you the response you’re hoping for from the employer:  an invitation for a job interview.  To win more job interviews and dramatically increase the quality of opportunities your resume can help you attract, strip your resume down t
    gth. Learn more about it. Go the extra mile. Develop a more personable atmosphere in your store. Greet customers within 10 seconds of entering your store. Smile. Learn their names and call them by name. When they leave your store, say “Thanks for stopping by”, or “Have a good day”. Smile again. As a small store with few employees (or maybe just one!), they will learn to recognize you. They will feel more comfortable with someone they have dealt with before.
  • You are small enough that your merchandise displays are very manageable. Make sure they always look nice. Make sure your customers can easily find what they are looking for. Make especially sure they can see the price of every item.
  • Some customers will shop at a small locally owned business instead of a mega--store just as a matter of principle. It’s their way of protesting against the ‘big guys’. Give them a good reason to come back. Give them great customer service combined with excellent products.
  Some Practical Advice
  • Learn from the mega--stores. They spend millions of dollars on research and marketing. Visit their store and observe how they do things. You should be able to pick up a few tips that you can use. For instance, there is a reason that milk is normally at the back of the grocery store. There is a reason that impulse items such as candy and magazines are near the checkout stands where you are normally waiting. Notice how the very newest releases are at eye level in the video store. Notice the paint colors used in various mega--stores. Different colors evoke different emotions. Listen to the music played in stores. Be observant. There is a psychology to marketing and merchandising. Learn how to use some of it to help your business without being manipulative. You want your business to be a customer--friendly place.
  • Listen to your customers – they give you your best market information. They will tell you what they like and don’t like. They will sometimes ask for a product that you don’t normally carry in stock. Maybe even the mega--store doesn’t carry it. If a few customers ask for it, you may try getting some to see how they sell. You are flexible enough that you