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Retail

5 Ways to Build a Strong Customer Base

5 Ways to Build a Strong Customer Base

Jillian Falconi April 14, 2015 , , ,

Customer endorsements and advocacy hold the key to future business growth. Research shows that the majority of a business’ revenue comes from just 20% of existing customers. This is good news for you as the probability of selling to an existing customer is around 60 to 70%, compared to just five to 20% for a new one – and therefore costing your business five times less than acquiring new customers too. So for most businesses, whilst growing your customer base is indisputably important, keeping your existing customers happy is arguably more so. Here’s fives ways business owners can solidify their firm’s customer retention strategy. 1. Showcase your customers’ happiness Businesses believe only a fraction of their customers leave because of poor customer service but in fact the figure i... »

What is Bad Customer Service Costing Your Business?

April 24, 2014 ,

According to recent research, 73% of consumers say they would share a good customer experience with friends or online acquaintances, but 91% of unhappy customers don’t come back. In this age of abundant business alternatives and viral proliferation, the risks – and potential rewards – of customer service have never been greater. Brands can be built, but reputations are earned with great experiences that satisfy your customers. So, to grow your company’s profile, retain your customers’ loyalty and mobilise them to find new leads, set aside the marketing plan and follow this advice for reaching small business heaven at the coalface… »

With Change Comes Opportunity on the UK's High Streets

February 14, 2013

The transformation that the internet has had on our everyday lives over just the last decade is phenomenal. Our physical and digital lives are becoming entwined to the point where it is now becoming possible to check your smartphone to see if you’ve got milk in your fridge and for messages to pop onto your TV once the washing is done. But this isn’t just affecting individuals; many businesses are also undergoing tremendous change in order to adapt and survive in a more web-based economy. Nowhere is this shift more prominent than in the high streets of Britain, where just recently the digital ‘winds of change’ have once again shaken many of our popular high street chains. »

Product Returns: How to turn a problem into a golden opportunity

January 23, 2013 ,

By Ben Dyer, CEO of ecommerce software specialist, SellerDeck With the ecommerce silly season, or as people outside of retail call it “Christmas”, now behind us, most online retailers spend January and February dealing with the fall out. It’s interesting listening to the support calls here at SellerDeck. We spend a lot of the first part of the year helping our customers to upgrade to our latest version and we hear a lot of fascinating stories! One of the hottest questions coming from the phone lines at the moment is the best way to handle product returns. »

Happy Endings and Hopeful Beginnings

January 16, 2013

John Sollars of Stinkyink.com marvels at the shopping mania of the festive week and resolves to be strong willed in 2013. Wow, what a Twixtmas that was. Experian Hitwise figures for 2012 show that Christmas Day is fast catching up on Boxing Day as the busiest online shopping day of the year… »

Should SMEs Be Worried About the Demise of HMV?

January 15, 2013 ,

The news this weekend has been filled with stories about the demise of HMV. That’s not to say that the store, founded in 1921, will totally disappear, but it has been placed in receivership and there will probably be some fallout. Firstly, there are more than 200 stores and over 4,500 staff whose jobs are at risk. Comet closed its doors for the last time in December 2012, leaving behind 236 empty stores and making some 7,000 workers redundant. Photographic retailer Jessops also shut all of its 187 shops, with a loss of 1,370 jobs within the last week. »

Why Startup Britain Thinks 2013 is the Year of the Pop-Up

January 7, 2013 , ,

By Emma Jones, co-founder of enterprise campaign StartUp Britain Take an empty shop, add a constantly changing bunch of retail entrepreneurs and you have a model that will not only help re-shape the high street, but also provide much-needed shot in the arm to British entrepreneurs… »

Get Ready for the Post-Christmas Rush

December 13, 2012 ,

By John Sollars, MD and founder of Stinkyink.com We’ve had Valentine’s Day, we’ve had Halloween, we’ve even had Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but do you know the busiest online shopping day of the year? »

Cash Mobbing Lifts Local Business

August 10, 2012 , ,

The flash mob is a public gathering where people use social media or other communications to organise and congregate on a public place and perform some usually pointless act and then disperse again.  Now, after the flash mob, we have the cash mob – or cash mobbing. So what is cash mobbing? »

These New Portas Pilot Towns…

July 26, 2012 , ,

People of certain  generations still have fond memories of the High Streets. I for one recall going to the toy shop or the sweet shop as a child and these two types of stores are a rare sign in our towns these days. Why is that? Well, there are a number of factors. One big one is the rise of the supermarkets. Once upon a time supermarkets were just another store in the high street, albeit often a bigger shopfront than the others. They sold “the usual” foodstuffs and not much else. »

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