Wired Magazine recently drew attention to the movement of online usage away from websites to applications. What’s the difference? A website is a network of interrelated pages where you may or may not find the information or function you’re looking for. Search engines (like Google) help to navigate the quagmire of the web and get you to the site you’ve been looking for all along (most of the time). An application is a device (on the web, on you computer, on your mobile phone) that serves a specific purpose and users are gravitating to applications that just work far more than they’re willing to jump into the big web. Here’s a quote from the article:

Two decades after its birth, the World Wide Web is in decline, as simpler, sleeker services — think apps — are less about the searching and more about the getting…

Unclear? Here are some examples…

• Instead of reading your blog or personal homepage, I’ll use an application like Facebook to find you.
• I could search the web for news about say… Brett Favre… and I’ll find news. But if I want to know the most important news (important being a term of loose interpretation) then I’ll use an application like Google Reader and keep my finger on the pulse of all involving Mr. Favre.
• Better yet, if I’m planning a date night with my wife, Twitter is the best way to find out true opinions about a certain film I’m thinking of taking her to see.

Now, retailers do not run websites. How does this apply to you? Think of your store. Is it just one more node in a great mess of options? Is the value you provide lost in the midst of non-essentials? Can shoppers find one reason (other than price or location) to come to you rather than your competitors?

Are you losing business because the other place in town just works? If so, you may need to focus more on what makes you valuable and spend the resources to develop that part of your offering so it becomes irresistible to your clientele.

(read the article in Wired Magazine)

I want you to give some serious thought to this idea.  A recent “experiment” was conducted in a market in New Mexico designed to get shoppers to buy more fruits and vegetables. I know, I know… we are ALL tired of being bombarded by information that tells us what an obese country we are, but this is different.

Buying more produce is good for your bottom line, isn’t it? Read this story and watch the 1 minute video. I dare you to try this for a few days in your stores. I’d love to hear the feedback and the results.

Brian Tracy is a leader in management and sales training known around the world as an expert in his field. He was recently diagnosed with throat cancer and is determined to continue to share his knowledge while fighting his disease.

A friend of mine forwarded this short (14 minute) video to me. Every business owner or sales person (often one in the same) has to know what their “core competencies” are, and must focus on developing them to better serve those with whom they do business and work alongside.

Find the time to watch this, and re-focus your efforts to be the best at what you do best.

I am reading a recent book from leadership guru John Maxwell the leadership guru. The title caught me: How Successful People Think. Maxwell describes how we must actively pursue thinking to include things like a time, place and input from others as important to successful thinking.  Here is an excerpt:

Recently I had breakfast with Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-fil-a, a fast food chain headquartered in the Atlanta area. I told him I was working on this book and I asked him if he made thinking time a high priority.  Not only did he say yes, but he told me about what he calls his “thinking schedule.” It helps him to fight the hectic pace of life that discourages intentional thinking. Dan says he sets aside time just to think for half a day every two weeks, for one whole day every month and for two or three full days every year.
Dan explains, “This help me ‘keep the main thing, the main thing,’ since I am so easily distracted”

Distraction is the way of the world today… develop a schedule for thinking.

Flying home last week from Detroit, I found myself in the usual long, zig-zagging queue to get through security. No one likes to wait in line and the security line at the airport can be especially frustrating – especially when you are getting dangerously close to your flight departure time.

I happened notice this sign off to the side of the line.

There were a couple of these surrounding the ropes. Below the picture of the TSA officer was a brief “bio” about him including his name, hobbies and job description. It went on to say that his job was to “keep people happy” and “keep the mood light” on the security line so that those who might have intent to injure might stand-out. Sure enough, when I looked up there he was. This gentleman spoke to everyone in the line, had a smile on his face while asking how each of us was doing, where we were headed, if we played the drums (which I do, but he asked the kid in front of me…) and so on. He was doing his job.

What a great idea this would be for supermarkets to emulate.  Team members in each store would take pride in having their picture displayed in the store for customers to see, along with a line or two about them. It makes a connection with your customers as they recognize your employees and learn a little about them so that when they see them in the store they may just strike up a quick conversation with them.  Promote a feeling of pride among your employees by showing them you care and a many of them just might show you they care too.

This recent sketch by Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd parodies the LeBron James “decision” during the ESPY Award Show last week not only made me laugh, but got me excited because it involved the food industry. Much in the same way I think it is cool to see the nation’s “best bagger” on the Letterman Show.

It got me thinking about how people seem to be eating at home more. But are they? Recent stats show that grocery sales are up slightly in 2010 against last year and I am sure that is due to the uncertainty of the economy and a bit of frugality on the part of the masses. Even the wealthiest portion of the population have decreased their discretionary spending in 2010. This means there are opportunities for grocery retailers to really promote the values of their offerings and educate their customers.

Unless you have been living under a rock, there are a plethora of sources available – free sources – for retailers to offer their customers information about healthy eating, meal preparation and even coupon savings. If you are not considering a strategy to make these sources available to your shoppers via such channels as your website, text messaging or email, your competition is considering it.

Amazon has widely announced that e-books outsold printed hardcover books last quarter.  Not just by a little but by 40%!

Is print still your primary way of promotion?  If you knew print would only reach 40% of your audience three years from now, how would that change your promotional strategy?

It’s not a question of if, but when.  When is coming fast!

I’m a thinker, not a feeler… OK I’m a bit of a stiff.  But when it comes to passion about the loyalty business I’m all about feelings.

Thought leaders will be replaced with feeling leaders.  I abhor the prospect of declining “thought leadership” but we must learn to connect with feelings whether it be shoppers or an audience.

This article has 10 great points for speaking but it is really about connecting with people anywhere.

Remember: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care”

Too cool for coupons? Not the image you want to portray to your customers? Or are you simply Everyday Boring (I mean LOW) Prices?” Even “luxury” or “high end” retailers are beginning to utilize the technology that is available to them to connect with today’s consumers. Mobile coupons can help remove the stigma of traditional discounting, and I’m not only talking about “text offers”… Jewelry stores, clothing stores, restaurants and salons are all participating in Yowza’s marketing platform which utilizes smart phone technology to make offers at retailers based on your location. All of the offers are consolidated in an app on your iPhone, and a bar code is available to show the cashier which is scannable for your discount.

We all have to change our ways of thinking. Whether it is Yowza or a combination of some other technologies, people who are in the business of selling things to others better be looking at everything these days or be ready to  face extinction.

A recent Harris Poll found that 63% of Americans believe that they’ve become more saavy consumers during the last couple of years. The problem is that many of these people say they haven’t seen a complementary change in the way businesses are marketing to them. Only 18% believe that advertisers have changed “a lot” in the way they market brands or products since the economy has changed.

I was recently in a meeting with a 3^rd generation retailer operating 7 stores with a brand identity strongly connected with the local community. Admitting that they are slow to change as an organization, they are coming to terms with the reality that the prevalence of web/mobile technology combined with today’s economic climate mandate the need for strategic implementation of new tools and services to stay relevant to their current and future customer base.

Are you known to your customers a company that is in touch with and responds to their changing needs? Would they say that you utilize technology, and resources to save them time and money? Even if you are not compelled, or don’t possess the capital to be in an innovation leader, it is important that you are not perceived by your shoppers as lagging behind.

Source: http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i17f324ee1f3a862ad64ca1bc22784a58