Realize Your Dreams

Hey, last week was really tough on my wife. She is a caring woman. Every time she opened a newspaper or passed by the TV, she was confronted with headlines like, “Irene disrupts travel plans up and down the East Coast” and “Irene responsible for countless numbers of people being evacuated from their homes.”
     I am determined that today will be different for her. It’s our 48th wedding anniversary. An occasion to stay away from news reports, celebrate the hurricane of love I have for my Irene, and treasure with her the memories of our years of adventures together.
     Since we first met as teenagers, Irene has encouraged me to realize my dreams. I recognize how that spirit has inspired me to encourage retailers like you to realize your fullest potential for business success. I’m convinced that central to achieving this is to have the sort of grounding which comes from family values.
     Keep a firm conviction to be profitable. A thriving business allows you to provide for your family and offer family members the option of joining the enterprise. At the same time, if offering that option is your intention, you’ll want to cultivate an exciting life outside your store. When children grow up seeing their parents imprisoned by the business, unable to do what they love doing and not being with family often enough, odds are the children won’t want any part of it.
     Family values influence how you relate to shoppers. Some retailers say, “Make our customers feel like family.” I prefer, “Give a sense of family” because research findings seem clear that for maximum profitability, you’ll want to be sure to keep the interactions as a business relationship. Don’t promise more than you’ll deliver. That would be dishonest.
     Giving a sense of family is valuable not only for retailer-to-consumer relationships, but also for retailer-to-business (B2B) relationships. According to research at University of Geneva, there are two dimensions to a business-to-business expectation. The researchers called the first type “secure business attachment.” Your B2B customer may want to rely on you for quick answers to questions about purchases made from your business and for quick solutions to problems with purchases. Very businesslike.
     The researchers called the other type “close business attachment.” Your B2B customers may want to develop close personal bonds with you, exchanging information about family and friends. Something like family members would choose to do.

Click below for more:
Incorporate Family Values into Your Retailing
Convince Shoppers to Reach for the Stars