Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MARCH 2019 54 E very year around Memorial Day, my wife and I and three other couples travel to the Caribbean for a vacation, taking some time to relax, decompress, and have a little fun. At the end of every trip, we meet at the resort and choose our destination for the next year. Last year we had a major issue — all the guys wanted to go to one location and the wives had their eyes set on another destination. While we were standing in the middle of the lobby, one of the hotel staff members began to engage in our conversation. She mentioned that the destination that the wives wanted to go to had swimming pigs and we could take a boat out to the island and feed these swimming pigs. That's right, swimming pigs. This was the attraction that this resort was known for. After the mention of this "incredible experience" as the staff member said, can you guess where our destination is going to be this year? Yes, we are going to see the swimming pigs. You may be asking yourself why I would be telling you this story. Here is the reason. I want you to think about the financial ramifications of us choosing the swimming pigs location and how quickly that choice was made. The staff member mentioned the words "swimming pigs" and in a blink of an eye, the wives were hooked and the husbands were booking a week-long trip, all because this resort had a "why". The why was a once-in -a-lifetime experience to swim in blue water with pigs, and suddenly we were all in! Every day of my life I get up and fight for the independent retailer. I aim to bring them the best programing to help them compete in their marketplace against big-box stores. Having the best programing and the best pricing is wonderful, but often that is not enough to be a successful retailer. I often ask retailers this question: Mr. or Ms. Retailer, what is your swimming pig? What is your "why"? Why would a consumer choose you from the store down the street? Honestly, a lot of retailers cannot answer that simple question. There can be so many replies to that inquiry — what would your answer be? Consumers today have so many choices that you must be different to stand out from the other options that are out there. It can be a challenge to keep consumers in today's environment; consumers are more knowledgeable, gather information online and are more pressed for time than ever. Once you are able reach a consumer and they've chosen your store to shop, you must do something special to keep that customer. Think about your business, what you are doing to drive traffic to your store, and how you plan to keep that traffic for a lifetime. Identify your unique draw, and get your customers swimming with your pigs. WHAT IS YOUR SWIMMING PIG? Jeff Rose Furniture Trends Jeff Rose, Director of Furniture, Nationwide Furniture RO

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