Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2013 - 27

9. Find new avenues of engagement

January and February are times to take risks
concerning the ways a retailer engages customers. It's the time to try something different.
With increased competition for the customer's
spend, particularly for smaller retailers, the
risks behind not taking a risk are evident.
"It is critical that retailers stay top-of-mind,
especially because customers move out of the
buying mindset after Christmas," Norins says.
Plunging into social media, attempting radical events, partnering with like-minded small
businesses, or even striving for old-fashioned
customer outreach-calling individual customers, hand-delivering coupons to the most loyal
customers, hosting exclusive events-these
forms of outreach might seem risky, but surviving a dry spell demands retailers try something new and take a risk.
"If you're not directly in front of them, someone else will be," says Norins. "The big box up
the road is in front of them."
10. Leverage the BIA

If independents belong to a BIA, winter is the
time to get the BIA to earn its keep. Events that
attract crowds, like street music, a busker festival, sidewalk sales, winter lights festival, can
drive traffic into the neighbourhood and into
the store. Coordinate sales with these events
and sales will increase as traffic increases.
"Demand value from the BIA," says Norins.
11. Bring in the accountant

Retailers should make a New Year's resolution to speak to their accountant in the first
weeks of January. It's a fresh year, the right
time to plan for the future, and accountants
can help parse the spreadsheets in ways that
help retailers increase sales and prepare for
annual shortcomings.
* Analyze holiday sales reports: Retailers and
their accountants should analyze holiday sales
reports to determine what sells, what sold out
and what sat on the shelves. Use the analysis
to prioritize categories-know what to quickly
put on re-order and know what merchandise
flopped. Get rid of the duds right away.
* Examine last year: Retailers will want to
look at their financial performance over the
previous four quarters. The greater the detail
they can provide their accounts, the more
easily accountants can identify areas where
revenues fail to meet the budget.

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* Compensate for dips in cash flow next year:
Accountants can help plan the upcoming fiscal year. When did revenue spike? When are
bills usually due? What kinds of loans will the
retailer need during the course of the year?
* Use the right funds: Retailers sometimes
make the mistake of mixing all of their
money into one pot. Instead, retailers might
find money management easier if they segregate their funds: use short-term funds and
loans for short-term expenses, and long-term
funds and credit for capital costs. Accountants can help structure the bank accounts
and loans in a way that maximizes cash flow.
12. Re-invigorate staff

By January, staff are sick of hearing "Jingle
Bell Rock." (And so is the store owner, and the
customers, too.) The new year offers a time to
step back from the holiday rush to examine
what's working with store staffing and what
isn't. Independent retailers want to ask themselves the following questions:

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Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2013

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