Marketing & Footfall

Footfall & Marketing are so intractably linked that the two should always be referred to whenever you are producing a report. Footfall is the lifeblood of retail and Marketing drives footfall. Nothing in terms of marketing is too small, everything has some effect. It is important that you have some system of recording footfall, even if it is a basic beam system. With new technology available, the camera system which can distinguish between groups of people and count them separately is a relatively cheap piece of equipment. It should be on the agenda of every centre manager, large shop manager etc.

When referring to footfall during an event it is also important to give alternative information, such as past counts, weather for the event and past events, other events on at the same time and any other pertinent information. This will help contextualise your information. Don't be afraid of Marketing, encourage individual retailers to carry out there own, instigate marketing opportunity's in the area and with the local community. Involve your retail outlet.

Wobbley Moment

When you have been working on an idea and have developed it as far as a presentation to all and the day is looming for that presentation. It is never good when someone loses there nerve and feels compromised by your presentation. When this someone wants to cancel and regroup, to make a new presentation that they may have more control over or are afraid of the response to the presentation. It will take some skill on your part to walk all the relevant party's through the mess and finally get to the presentation. Of course you have to believe that you are right, even if the other party has panicked. You need to talk them through calmly what is going to happen what your expectations are what you envisage the result to be. Say to them that we have to follow through not in a bull headed way "by god Jim we are heading this way..." but in a reasoned, calm, thoughtful confident approach. Be aware of your own ability to deliver the presentation, practice, practice. Be aware and prepare for awkward questions. Use the stock answer "I'll get back to you on that...". You are in control and sometimes we do have to go forward even if it is a 50/50 chance that the whole thing could backfire.

If you find that it didn't go as expected use the line "sure the questions were aggressive but all in all they were positive because they were asking how we would move forward.....". Think it through, walk everybody towards the light and deliver. You may just come out as the saviour and that has got to be worth it.

Cool building

Retailers

Retailers as a group hunt in packs but when the going gets though it is each man for themselves, or perhaps lady in a nice pair of Jimmy Choos. Case in point, they all want business, they want customers, they want publicity. However when a day say like Sunday proves to be less profitable than hoped maybe they might opt out, just until things turn better. However everyone has to take the good with the bad and you can not opt in or out as suits. All in or all out, the customer comes calling once and does not like to be disappointed. Retailing unlike other avenues does not favour second chances, generally you get one shot. Those that do not want to play with the big fish need to answer some questions before they get onto the playing field, sorry a lot of mixed metaphor's there.

Contract Negotiations

A word of caution to all those out there who are thinking of moving companies, just to be aware that when you do all you can do by way of checking and double checking, contracts, job's, roles etc. Sometimes you still get caught out. My own position now turns out to not be what was advertised and they seem fit to tell me after 3 months in the role. So as precarious as my position is now, I still have to put in a performance and along with my new best friend my laywer, wait and see where the chips lay. At the end of it my goal is to preserve a role for myself and not to prove a point. Grandstanding and principal are for those who are flusher than myself and maybe more foolhardy. For remember it is better to have a role than not, it is better to move to a new role from an existing one and principal does not pay.