Professional Retail Store - March/April 2013 - (Page 10)

Executive Director’s Column What's Your Inﬂuence on Retail? PATRICIA DAMERON PRSM ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR T his magazine issue looks at exterior store care with several valuable articles about extending the life of your assets. I don't need to tell you that your stores' parking lots, lighting, and exterior paint choices all have an impact on the attractiveness of your store and on the image of your brand. Why focus on this topic in the magazine? Because image matters in this business and it can directly impact sales. I encourage you to cruise through these articles to gain new nuggets of information that you can use. In April 2011, Morpace, a market research ﬁ rm, released a report, "Consumers are Inﬂuenced by the Physical Appearance of a Retailer," afﬁrming that the physical store appearance matters signiﬁcantly to consumers and inﬂuences their decision to stop and shop. PRSM will continue Nearly 95 percent of the respondents to the research said that the working to inﬂuence exterior appearance of the store inﬂuthe image of this enced their decision as to whether to shop there. Approximately 52 percent profession and to of the respondents said that they have ensure that our avoided a business because it looked dirty. And, two-thirds of the responmembership consists dents avoided a store based on its poor of the most reputable appearance. Consumers make a decision whether to stop based on how it companies in the looks from the street. Interestingly, business. consideration is also given to consistent store image. For example, the physical layout, signage or external appearance of a storefront should be consistent, particularly in a given region or target market. Because we are such a visual society, consumers expect the image of the store to complement the product line and customer service. At the end of the day, you are responsible for meeting that expectation and are inﬂuential on your retailer's reputation as safe and attractive environments; not barriers “ ” 10 I PROFESSIONAL RETAIL STORE MAINTENANCE I www.prsm.com to consumers' stopping and shopping. Needless to say, a retailer's business image inﬂuences its reputation, consumer trafﬁc and ultimately sales. Behind the scenes where the real work happens within FM, your professional image and reputation inﬂuence your success and ability to do business. We all want to associate ourselves with other retailers and suppliers who are well respected with a solid reputation. While this is a vast industry, it's really a small community where people are known by reputation if not in person. Many relationships have been built over decades of building trust and respect. If you're new to the industry, you should know this is an industry where people will give you a chance once, but if your reputation is soiled, or you abuse their trust, you probably won't get a second chance. PRSM's Ethics Committee is very protective of the association's reputation and has taken on the responsibility this year to revise the association's Ethics Policy including a Code of Conduct for members. They recognize that the Association's image is only as pristine as its actions and those of its members. So, new guidelines for conducting business have been developed. This sets a standard for the industry which hasn't been established before in this detail and guides how members' should conduct business. The guidelines are based on two PRSM values: integrity and professionalism. And, I encourage you to review them at www.prsm.com. I am honored to know some of the industry's most well-respected professionals and to have as members some of the industry's most reputable retail and vendor brands. PRSM will continue working to inﬂuence the image of this profession and to ensure that our membership consists of the most reputable companies in the business. By working together we can create a more transparent, open and reputable business environment empowering the best of the best to be the true leaders of this industry. http://www.prsm.com http://www.prsm.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Professional Retail Store - March/April 2013

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S COLUMN
NEW PRSM MEMBERS
THE RIGHT PROVIDER WITH THE RIGHT PROGRAM
COVER, COAT AND COLOR
THE DARK SIDE OF PARKING LOT LIGHTING
PROACTIVE ROOF MAINTENANCE
ENGAGE AT PRSM2013 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
MANAGING YOUR PARKING LOT PORTFOLIO
SUSTAINABLE RETAIL OPERATIONS OFFER RETAIL FACILITY MANAGERS A GREAT DEAL
FOODSERVICE ADDS COMPLEXITY TO PM SCHEDULES
SHEDDING LIGHT ON A COMPLEX LED TRANSITION
THE OMNI-SHOPPER AND THE STORE
SOURCING: HOW THE RFP PROCESS IS CHANGING FM TODAY
ADVERTISERS' INDEX
RETAILER PROFILE: U.S. CELLULAR

Professional Retail Store - March/April 2013