While traveling across North America counseling home furnishings retailers, I have become painfully aware of just how many owners are working extremely hard, yet their companies are not growing nor are they as profitable as they should be.

Retailers have four main responsibilities. These cornerstones produce amazing transformations in companies where the leader takes steps to integrate the disciplines into business.

Cornerstone #1: Set the Vision and Culture of the Company

A leader must have vision, mission and provision. Vision is the chief cornerstone for any company. It’s not just an emotional or entrepreneurial desire; rather, vision comes from defining a clear and obtainable goal based on research and analysis of the market. The old adage continues to be true—“To be successful, you must find a need and fill it.”

The leader always needs to ask, “Where does opportunity exist? Am I able to take advantage of it?” If the answer is yes, then develop the mission. This is about building a strategic and tactical plan outlining steps required to realize the vision.

Often developed as part of a comprehensive marketing communications plan (marcom), the marcom is a five-step process that first looks at a situation analysis. It defines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a company. Then, once all market data, including the customer database, demographics, consumer buying indexes and the competitive landscape have been reviewed, you are prepared to start the creative and media strategy process.

The creative process means defining the true window of opportunity in the marketplace. On your own or with an experienced third party, define the position you will take in the market and craft a brand message to separate your store from the competition.

The media strategy defines the most efficient path to reach targeted consumers with frequency. This requires a multi-faceted approach integrating a strong brand message that flows across both traditional and digital mediums.

For example, after market research, let’s say a retailer sees a great window of opportunity to increase market share in the mattress category. After accessing what the competition is doing, he builds a strategy including a unique brand promise and begins to support that promise with selective merchandising, express delivery, price and happiness guarantees, and exceptional sales training that allows his staff to be better equipped than the competition.

Targeted creative is then crafted to break through the clutter and communicate the unique brand promise to consumers. It may even require the retailer to add additional free-standing mattress store locations outside the mainline furniture store.

Be sure to maintain brand environmentalism. Simply, the brand promise (what separates your store from the competition) must be clearly seen and experienced at every point of contact and every level of the company.

If a customer does not experience the brand promise, they will feel the brand lied and may never return again.

Provision is the final part this cornerstone. The successful leader must not only provide resources and training, but also remove any obstacles, so staff are enabled and encouraged to accomplish the company’s goals and vision.

Cornerstone #2: Build a Competent Core Team

One of the biggest deterrents to company growth and profitability is the “Superman Syndrome,” where a leader micro-manages every aspect of the business and believes only they are capable of successfully operating the business.

What kills most entrepreneurial companies is a lack of a strong core team and efficient systems allowing ordinary people to deliver extraordinary results.

After a company begins to grow, there is always a tipping point for the entrepreneur. You know, that point at which the retailer can’t keep up with everything they are trying to do and things begin falling through the cracks.

Unless the leader builds a competent core team, the end is usually disaster. The company can’t grow any further and begins to fail as the leader becomes burned out.

So, develop a competent core team that shares your same vision and mission. For the retailer, this requires hand-picking the team that will help him reach goals of growth and profitability. This includes managers overseeing merchandising, sales, accounting, general operations, warehouse delivery and human resources.

A leader with the right people in place is able to review weaknesses and strengths of the company, continually make needed adjustments and provide leadership to his team for continued growth and profitability.

Cornerstone #3: Hold every Part of the Company Accountable

A successful leader holds everything accountable. What gets measured, improves. This is an absolutely vital area where, all too often, retailers fail. In both of my companies, I believe if I don’t put a measuring device on every part of my business, I am losing money.

Know how to identify what is working and what is not working in every part of your business. For example, are merchandising, operations and staff holding to the vision and mission of the company? Is the unique brand promise demonstrated, clearly communicated and experienced by the customer at every level of your company? Do you have a pre-determined profitability amount for every line on the floor? Do you have minimum turn-rate expectations when you introduce a new line or product?

If not, make needed adjustments quickly in every department and every operation of the company.

Leadership Cornerstone #4: Establish a Succession Plan

One of the most difficult times in a company is the transition of ownership from parent to child. When a clear and concise succession plan is not in place, the company becomes unstable, confused and unhealthy.

When the incoming generation is kept in the dark without a plan, they lose hope and relationships become strained. This adversely affects the staff—and the performance of the company.

Two or three years before the transition takes place, all parties must develop a plan for succession. What is expected and from whom? What needs to be in place before succession can be realized? What are the monetary expectations?

When the plan is executed, your staff needs to understand what to expect so they feel secure and not fearful of the future.

Leadership is the key to any successful company. Embrace it—despite all its challenges. Get off the treadmill of busyness and build your business through stronger leadership. You will enjoy better employees, greater customer loyalty and continued growth and profit.

Douglas Knorr, known as a retail marketing activist, is president of Knorr Marketing (www.knorrmarketing.com), a full-service marketing and advertising agency specializing in the home furnishings industry. The agency provides strategic planning, creative production, public relations, sales promotions, website development, social media campaigns and management as well as media buying services. 

Managers are often task-oriented and not necessarily focused on their employees. Leaders, on the other hand, are people-oriented; they work through and motivate their employees, utilizing their resources to perform assigned tasks in the most productive and profitable way possible.

Many managers confuse management with leadership and feel they are automatically leaders because they occupy a position of higher responsibility. While this assumption is often true, many fail to display active leadership qualities. The roles leaders fulfill are different than those of managers, although sound management practices are complementary to effective leadership.

While some individuals are natural leaders, most managers must evolve into leaders both by investing time and effort in developing their abilities and by adapting their management roles to a more flexible, effective leadership style.

Leaders learn how to harness the specific talents of every team member to drive efficiency and productivity. This may appear to be more work than it’s worth, but effective leaders are able to produce higher levels of productivity with fewer problems than those simply using traditional management techniques.

When leaders adhere to specific leadership roles they will foster trust, inward strength and a unified purpose in the groups under their direction. As leaders, they will embrace their own personal responsibilities, understanding that anything is possible and attainable. They will recognize that each specific element is a stepping stone to the next that ultimately creates a transition from management to leadership. To define a personal leadership role, the following three principles are critical.

Self-Management

Leaders take complete responsibility for all their actions and decisions. Often leaders must make a decision to challenge rules proven to be detrimental to their overall work environment and the people entrusted to them. The role of a leader is to set aside ineffective or unproductive rules and procedures in favor of those promoting increased cooperation, trust and ownership.

Leaders never waiver in this pursuit. They understand that part of their role is to take risks whenever a policy, procedure or situation hinders progress—and they stand by their decisions.

Making improvements means rocking the boat. While often challenging to the best leaders, this is a substantial part of true leadership. Leaders recognize the status quo often isn’t good enough, and it takes change and creativity to generate improvements.

Leading People

Leaders approach their roles with serious determination. They do not dwell on the “rearview mirror,” but look forward. They learn from past mistakes and errors in judgment, but never allow them to affect future opportunities and possibilities. Leaders learn to detach themselves from their circumstances to maintain a clear, forward-thinking perspective.

In order to succeed, leaders must unburden themselves of emotions and perceived limitations that impede attainment of goals and performance. They know past experiences can easily alter good judgment. For a leader, past experiences become the lessons for the future, producing the wisdom to adapt to change.

Leaders know situations or problems will not always fit into neat compartments and have predictable outcomes. They understand and accept that even the most unthinkable changes and devastating occurrences are a possibility, and their role is to embrace the challenge to overcome them.

Leaders also know they must be flexible in any and all situations and looking forward requires creating viable alternatives. They are aware that part of their function is to embrace change and the challenges it brings.

Cultivate the People under your Direction

The most important role a leader must fulfill is to cultivate, support and nurture employees. Anything can be achieved with fertile enough ground to plant and grow the seeds of accomplishment. To best achieve this end, it is important to:

Learn and remember

Leaders know part of their role is to learn everything about every person under their charge. They make it a point to learn what is important to each, to celebrate special days, achievements and even sadness with outward expressions, incentives, written memos, awards, notes and letters. Nothing builds loyalty and cooperation in employees better than being both professionally and personally attuned to them.

Demonstrate fairness and a cooperative spirit

Leaders work with their employees to maintain high levels of motivation and productive team efforts. They do this by clearly educating their employees on specific procedures, problems and needed skills. Leaders also acknowledge and take seriously the expectations employees have of them. This role builds trust, loyalty and the desire for all to achieve.

Walk the floor—get your hands dirty

Part of a leader’s role is to offer help when and where it is needed. This can only be done by personally taking part in tasks and assignments and being an overall active participant in what is going on in their workplace. Knowledge is gathered, problems disclosed and people motivated when leaders fulfill this role. Employees gain respect for leaders who willingly undertake this interaction in a positive fashion rather than view it as an obligation.

Reprinted with permission from Majorium Business Press

Furniture retailers can benefit greatly from mobile marketing and the mobile revolution if they have a grasp of how mobile technology is affecting consumer behavior.

If you’ve taken the digital plunge and are driving traffic to your website, don’t let the trail end there. Take a hard look at your website. Is it optimized to lead qualified buyers to your physical location? Can consumers successfully navigate your site? Can they continue the research process and be prepared to make a purchase?

This month, I deliver six easy tips to turn your website into a sales (conversion) machine.

1. Your Website Partner

If you’re in need of a good website for your store, reach out to your association and ask for recommendations. Your association has chosen providers that do excellent work for reasonable fees. This is one job you don’t want to leave to an amateur.

If you have a basic site, consider upgrading to a premium site offering updated features, including inventory catalogs, custom design, automated rebates and more.

Either way, be sure your site is designed to look and work properly on all devices (PCs, tablets and smartphones). Developing for a multi-screen world now involves an understanding of mobile browsers and the user’s experience on a wide array of touchscreen devices. The popular solution is responsive web design, which leverages new features to actively modify the size and position of web page elements based on screen size, orientation, and pixel ratio. Ask your vendor about this.

2. Contact Information Clarity

You only get one chance to make a first impression and less than 10 seconds to catch your customer’s eye.

Every page on your website should have a standard header including your store name, logo, phone number and address, in a large, bold font.

Don’t bury your store hours in the footer. Find a way to cleanly insert your store hours in the header as well. Think small and legible.

In footers, include awards you’ve won or associations you belong to. Replicate your site navigation as text links in the footer, but don’t overwhelm visitors with too many links.

Beyond your basic store information in the header, don’t miss the opportunity to create a “Contact Us” page on your site. This should be in your site navigation and contain a map, address, phone number and store hours. Embed a Google map widget into your site.

Smartphone users should be able to click on your telephone number to make a call. Test this feature and see how long it takes to reach a sales representative. Optimize your internal phone process.

Next, enter the address into your smart phone. Does it work correctly in your turn-by-turn directions applications? If not, dive into Google Maps. Find your Google+ Local page, claim it and move the push pin on the map to your store location or the nearest intersection.

3. Highlight your Universal Selling Proposition

Ask yourself: Why should a customer buy from you? Best Serta inventory in Raleigh? Best sofa selection in Austin? Award-winning Amish furniture? 

Decide on your universal selling proposition and vigorously repeat it throughout your site. Be sure every page contains one or more elements.

Remember that time-based promotions drive conversions. People buy based on events (new home purchase, back-to-school, holidays). Whether there’s an actual upcoming event or one you’ve created, build excitement around a time-based promotion and remind consumers when it ends (e.g., Super Bowl living room makeover specials end January 31!).

4. Focus on Your Best Sellers

Don’t clutter your site with side products and offerings. Focus on your core—furniture, appliances, mattresses, etc.—whatever sells the most and gives you the greatest margins.

If consumers want to look for ancillary products, let them search your site. Put a search box on every page in the header, and make sure search results are clear and link to live content.

5. Your Sales Machines: Landing Pages Convert Buyers

Now that your site is clean, clear and ready to properly convert visitors into customers, it’s time to think landing pages, customized pages on your site that serve as the destination for your marketing and advertisements, digital and traditional.

A good landing page has large images, a distinct but similar look and clean design. Think of this as being closer to an advertisement than a regular web page. For example, an image of a woman sitting on a mattress will convert better than one with nobody on it. Include relevant brand logos.

Briefly highlight top selling points, special offers or a significant call-to-action with a time component. What can you say in five words or less to entice a qualified consumer?

Other options include adding a printable coupon to bring into the store and embedding a video, as long as these elements don’t overwhelm the page. Videos produced in your store work best.

Don’t forget to include strong linkage back to your core website from your landing pages, and carry over your site navigation (header and footer) to get the best results. At the very least, provide a footer that gives visitors a path back to your main website.

Most importantly, embed a form on every landing page to capture basic customer information: first and last name and email. Posting another clear link to a “Contact Us” page also boosts conversions on these pages. Landing pages close the loop on every customer interaction with your website, and will turn the site into a lead generation and sales machine.

Regina Dinning is a business development director at Netsertive (netsertive.com). Dinning is a seasoned professional with more than 15 years’ experience in marketing and advertising, including several years specifically in home furnishings.

Let’s examine both types a little closer.

Relational advertising deals with relationships. It is based on brand loyalty, not on price. This type of advertising allows customers to relate to the retailer and creates a connection between the two.

Transactional advertising is price-driven and creates a short-term relationship with customers. They don’t shop with the retailer unless there is some short-term benefit, like a discount or a sale.

I bet you’re asking yourself, which is the best for me? It really depends on what you want for your business. While it may sound appealing and get customers through the front door, transactional advertising doesn’t help you develop a long-term relationship with your customers. It only brings in those who want to shop the sale. Of course, all business is good business, but we both know you can’t afford to hold a sale every week.

This is where relational advertising comes in to play. Not only does it promote your brand in such a way that makes people want to shop at your store, it also builds a long-term relationship between you and the consumer. The customers then become your customers, and they won’t shop anywhere else for products they can get at your store. If done correctly, customers won’t even pay attention to price. They will simply focus on the company they have come to know and trust. Just like building a long-term relationship, brand loyalty doesn’t happen overnight. Results will require patience, but your converts will make it worth your while.

So which should you choose? Most retailers are currently focusing on transactional advertising. They want to get customers in the door, make the sale and improve their bottom line. While making the sale is important, it is also important to establish relationships. While offering discounts and sales are great, establishing a strong relationship will benefit your business more in the long term. Less price-driven sales equals more money in your pocket.

Should you go cold turkey and drop transactional advertising all together? No. You need to employ a nice mix of both. Once you have an established customer base, you can back off of transactional advertising. But never stop using it completely, as it will both reward your long-term customers and bring in new ones.

Quick-Fire Marketing is brought to you by R&A Marketing. Armed with more than 25 years of furniture retail marketing experience as a full-service traditional and digital marketing company, R&A is the industry’s premier agency for retailers in the home furnishings and appliances/electronics industries. Visit us on the web at www.ramarketing.com or email us at info@ramarketing.com.

HELLO from your new editor! As I write this, I’m sitting in the Retailer Resource Center at High Point Market. I’m exhausted, my feet are killing me, I desperately need a nap—and I am having the best time. I’m willing to bet, if you’re here, you are too. It’s so fun getting to meet all of you and dive into this incredible culture. But I want to take it one step further. I’ll share something unique about myself if you do. Here’s mine:

I sang in Carnegie Hall my freshman year of high school and before writing came along, I was a choir teacher.

Email me a unique fact about you, and we’ll print it in the next issue. Let’s get to know each other!

This issue is about leadership, and how appropriate. The magazine has a new editor, the North American Home Furnishings Association is now a reality and leadership teams across the board are changing. Whether you’re striving to be the best sales leader in the industry, leading your store through a disaster, trying to improve your management skills… this issue will be your best resource as you continue to grow and evolve.

I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you through this magazine, markets, conferences and whatever other fun things we can cook up. The work we can do together is exciting and invaluable. For starters, I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think of RetailerNOW? What content would you like to see that we haven’t covered? Or, what topics do you never want to see again? What direction would YOU like to see the magazine take?

Email me any time at jennifer@retailernowmag.com—it doesn’t even have to be about the magazine. Tell me about your family and hobbies! I can’t wait to hear from you.

Whenever we sit down to write an article (Ladies and gentlemen, start your pencils!) we banter back and forth about what we want to say. Sometimes we enter that conversation with our tongues planted firmly in our cheeks, sarcasm being one of our best-loved traits. Plenty of consultants out there are more than willing to spout ideas on how you can grow your business, even if they’ve never worked behind the retail counter, nor woke up at 2 a.m. because the store alarm went off and the police are at the door, nor run out of gift certificates a week before Christmas. Ideas are great. It’s the implementation that takes time. So we thought a catchy title like “How to Kill Your Business without Even Trying” might be kind of fun. The title would surely catch your attention.

But it wouldn’t be funny.

Being a retailer is tough enough these days. Even the most seasoned business person needs a little help now and again. Or a kick in the pants. So we ditched the sarcasm and went with what works: Six easily implementable ideas to make your customers sit up and take notice.

1. Stop working IN your store and start working ON your store

Running a retail store is hard work. From the time you unlock the front door in the morning until you relock it at closing time, you’re on your feet, deftly handling crisis after crisis. You have speed bump displays to tweak, social medias to update, vendors to call, orders to place, bathrooms to clean, customers on hold who will only talk to you and a staffer who’s late—or worse—called in sick and left you short-handed. Again.

You’re busy. We know. But we’re going to throw you a curve ball anyway. It’s time to stop working IN your business and start working ON it. Your time and your talents should be spent looking for, and implementing, new ways to grow your business and you can’t do that if you are stuck in an office or behind a cash wrap. So, take a deep breath and delegate the everyday tasks to someone else. Easier said than done, even for us, but let go. Someone else can change that display, make a sign and update Facebook. Or clean the bathroom.

Now, about that working ON your store. Grab your iPad or a pad of paper and pen, and then list all of the things you would do if you had more time. Things to consider include in-store events, updating your loyalty program/frequent shopper club, ideas to make a splash with email blasts, etcetera. Some days our list includes lunch. We bet yours will, too.

Now, prioritize your list and vow to tackle a little at a time. You don’t have to do it all in one day, but you do have to get it done. Inch by inch, everything’s a cinch, so give it your best shot.

2. Build a team of customer advocates

You won’t be able to work ON your business if you don’t have a strong team of associates standing behind you who are ready to pick up whatever you put down. Building your team should be right at the top of your new “To Do” list.

Advocates need to be the best at what they do so start an official on-going associate training program. Thousands of resources are available to help you do this. Begin with industry-specific tools, like the great articles in RetailerNOW and business classes offered at the trade shows you attend. Purchase seminars on DVD, plus CDs you can listen to in your car. Check out webinars and podcasts online. Ask your vendors about resources to train your team on technique. Film your own in-store seminars and demos, focusing the camera on the instructor, and don’t forget to record associates who excel in a particular area.

Build a curriculum that clearly shows associates what’s expected of them. Put a TV and DVD player in your lunch room along with an iPod or CD player and headphones. Create tests on various topics to chart each associate’s progress. And keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to keep your training library up-to-date.

3. Empower everyone

People who don’t like to delegate really hate the word “empower” because it means letting associates make decisions on their own that affect both customers and the store. It’s nothing to be afraid of as long as you set some ground rules first. Nordstrom, a family-owned and operated company that has earned a reputation for superior customer service, was founded on employee empowerment. Nordstrom encourages store associates to think like entrepreneurs—what a concept! For years, the Nordstrom Employee Handbook was a single card containing only one rule:

Nordstrom Rule #1: Use best judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.

Obviously, not every one of your store associates will thrive with this much freedom—many won’t believe that you actually want them to make their own decisions, so you need to be concise about what you expect. You’ll also have to encourage them to actually do it. Most of the time, it will be smooth sailing, but occasionally they will mess up. That’s when you sit down together and discuss what they might do differently the next time, all while encouraging them to try again.

Some of you might be thinking, “Yeah, right. What about the current associates who don’t fit the vision I have for my store?” Another tip from Nordstrom: Look for nice people who can be trained to sell. It’s a lot harder to train someone to be nice. We know; we’ve tried.

If an associate has ever uttered the last seven words of a dying company, “But we’ve always done it that way,” when you suggest a change, it’s time for a revival. Hold a store meeting to outline exactly how you expect everyone to act. Most associates will refocus, but some may not; these are the people you need to think about replacing. Even if you rely on them heavily, if they are hurting your business they have to go.

4. Every associate needs to feels valued

According to a Gallup poll, “the number one reason most Americans leave their job is because they don’t feel appreciated; 65 percent of the people polled said they received no recognition for good work last year.” Associates who feel appreciated have proven to be more productive, stay longer and attract better co-workers. Only you can praise your people to success.

Give every associate a stack of business cards printed with his or her own name and title. Cool titles. Instead of “Cashier” try “Customer Service Specialist.” You can buy 500 business cards at most instant printers for around $15. Your associates are well worth the investment. Encourage them to pass out their cards—each one is a mini-advertisement for your store.

A C.I.T.A. Card is a great way to show your appreciation. C.I.T.A. could be the first four letters in the word “citation” or it could stand for “Caught in the Act,” as in, “You’ve been Caught In The Act of delighting customers!” C.I.T.A. Cards celebrate an associate’s going above and beyond the call of duty; each one has a place inside for you to list what the associate did for a customer, plus a place to add a personal message.

Make a big deal when you present a C.I.T.A. Card. Do it on the sales floor in front of everyone. You’ll see grins from ear to ear, and a renewed enthusiasm. Don’t be surprised to find that even years later, the associate still carries the C.I.T.A Card. Drop us an email and we’ll send you our easy-to-customize template.

5. Innovate

Be the store everyone looks to for inspiration and innovation. Innovation relies on right-brain thinking—that’s the creative side of your brain. You have a team of right-brained thinkers right in your own store. When did you last ask them to share their ideas?

After you hold your empowerment meeting, schedule a brainstorming session. Brainstorming means there are no bad ideas. No one gets to say, “That’s a stupid idea,” because that stupid idea just might lead to your next great success. Get a flip chart and write down EVERY SINGLE IDEA. If you anticipate negative comments then come pre-armed with squirt guns for each associate. Every time someone breaks the “That’s a stupid idea” rule, the whole team gets to take aim and fire. Buy a bunch of candy bars and when an associate has a great idea, everyone tosses him or her a treat.

6. Keep on top of your competition

Most retailers hate keeping tabs on their rivals but it’s a necessary evil. You should walk your competitors’ sales floors at least once a quarter—every four to six weeks is a good rule to follow. This is important! You need to know how your store stacks up when compared to the competition.

Review everything from the parking lot to the back door and every square inch in between, including the service areas and restrooms. Note the locations of in-store signage, specialty fixturing, what’s displayed on speed bumps and in the lakefront property (front-right side of the store), vendors, product adjacencies, size and condition of the cash wrap and other service areas.

Compare the policies, pricing and services offered to yours. Pick up circulars and weekly ads. Watch how store associates interact with customers. Buy an item and return it later to see how you’re treated. If you’re not comfortable visiting yourself, delegate this responsibility to a trusted store associate, a close friend, or even a good customer. Give them specific guidelines they have to follow. Drop us an email for a copy of our Mystery Shopper form.

You’ll also want to visit their website. Is it easy to navigate? Is it fun and interactive? Does the store post upcoming promotions and special events? Can customers design project idea sheets online? Click on every link and read every page, then visit your competition on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and any other social media sites they are using. A Google search will help you discover where they are online. Want to find out what your competitors have up their sleeves? Set up a Google Alert for each one and you’ll receive an email with a link to follow each time they are mentioned online.

You’re not finished yet! Sign up for an email account from Gmail, Yahoo or one of the other sites that offer free email, then register for everything that each of your competitors offer online. You‘ll know what’s happening in their stores at the same time as their customers.

This is not an unfair advantage—your competitors would do it if they thought of it first. Remember Michael Corleone’s quote from The Godfather II? “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” In a marketplace where every competitor wants to steal your customers, keeping a close eye on what they’re up to is just good business.

So, from this point forward, vow to work ON your store, not just in it. Build a team of empowered associates and keep a close eye on your competition. Become known as a haven of creativity and unconventional thinking. And do just a little at a time; after all, inch by inch, everything’s a cinch!

Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender are professional speakers, authors and consultants. KIZER & BENDER made Meetings & Conventions Magazine’s list of Meeting Planners’ Favorite Keynote Speakers; they’ve also been named “Two of Retailing’s Most Influential People.” Rich and Georganne are experts on generational diversity, consumer trends, marketing and promotion, and everything retail. They are widely referred to as consumer anthropologists because they stalk and study that most elusive of mammals: today’s consumer. For more information, go to www.KizerandBender.com or email info@kizerandbender.com.

A brisk Saturday morning trip to IKEA generates many feelings: 

• A strenuous feeling—after you’ve just finished lifting one of their 30 lb. (yet environmentally friendly!) floor rugs
• A diabolical feeling—after you receive the receipt (“I bought 16 items for only $39.28… really?”)
• A feeling of self-disgust—after you realize you forgot to bring your own shopping bag for those 16 items.

But every now and again, another feeling sheepishly surfaces from within: the feeling of immaturity. 

“Ha,” we snicker to ourselves, “that plant spray is called Fukta.”

Most shoppers just consider IKEA’s product names to be a random potpourri of consonants, but most of the names are actually Scandinavian in origin. A few are even Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and Danish words. According to The Guardian, the Swedish company’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad (who is dyslexic), found it easier to remember products named after Scandinavian proper names and words than item numbers. This unique trait distinguished the retail brand from its competitors for decades.

Aside from a few soft chuckles, this product naming model has generally served IKEA well for the past 70 years. However, as the retail industry giant approaches $28 billion in sales and more than 1 billion online visits, their product names are causing less schoolboy grins and more offended glares from their globally diverse consumers.

What the HELG happened

Just this past April, an IKEA customer took their curiosity to (where else?) Google to enter the name of their Gosa Raps pillow into Google Translate. What they found was so disturbing that the customer then posted the translation on Reddit.com: The pillow’s name translated to “cuddle rape.” While the customer was alarmed by the retailer’s audacity to name a pillow after a sexual assault, other Reddit.com users (who were Swedish), quickly corrected the translation. Fortunately for IKEA, the translation of raps, the Swedish word for “rapeseed,” was cut in half by Google Translate.

IKEA’s response… or LACK thereof

In the midst of lengthy blog comment strings and all the international media articles printed about “Cuddle Rape-gate,” where was IKEA’s voice? Surely THIS would have been a time to dust off the old IKEA Crisis Communication Handbook. So, what was IKEA’s official statement regarding their product naming process?

Bueller? 

Bueller? 

Nothing. 

When The Huffington Post sought comment regarding the improper translation, Ikea didn’t immediately respond.

The BESTA course of action

Calm the beast—clarify the situation. The customer who tried to translate the name of the pillow was not at fault here. As with most anxious consumers (and let’s be honest—aren’t the anxious ones always the most vocal?), he was not only offended, but also wanted to share his offense online for empathy’s sake.

As all successful retailers and communications professionals know, customers armed with ignorance wound a store the fastest (and the media comes in a close second). From all the articles written about the misinterpreted translation, no one will remember the error of Google Translate. They’ll remember the fact that IKEA named a pillow “cuddle rape.” That’s why it’s important for retailers to be vocal. Also, showing transparency and adding your two cents ironically best guards you from additional questions, objections and criticism.

Speak for YOURSELF. IKEA has repeatedly seen their product names misinterpreted over the years, but maintains a policy of not being vocal when this issue arises. That PR stance may have worked before the dawn of social media (or even the World Wide Web), but in 2013, the curtain that is the relationship between the retailer, the media and the consumer must be transparent.

The retail giant now operates in 298 stores across 26 countries and plans to expand by at least 200 more stores from now until 2020. It must come to terms with the fact that what’s worked in the past won’t work anymore. With such a large global footprint, it may not be necessary (operationally scalable) for IKEA to draft a press release every time a 28-year-old American male laughs at the Fartfull workbench. But there are other direct channels between the retailer, the media and the consumer—such as Twitter, Facebook and company PR blogs—where issues like product name misinterpretation can be addressed.

Playing devil’s advocate, they’ve provided some insight on their product naming process. According to The Independent, the best tongue-in-cheek names are on display at the original IKEA museum in Sweden, and their search for product names includes “going through dictionaries, websites, crossword dictionaries, atlases, announcements in the births column and place-name lists.” The product names must be between four and 10 letters long and checked so that they should “never be ‘bad language’ in any of the many languages spoken in the countries where Ikea has business.” But I couldn’t find any of that information from a document directly circulated by IKEA.

The ship will sink if all hands aren’t on deck. IKEA acknowledges there is an issue with their product naming process… at least internally. They proactively prepare for store openings in a new country, understanding that product names translate differently across the world. According to the Wall Street Journal, Natthita Opaspipat, an IKEA team member, spent nearly four years preparing for the launch of their Bangkok store in 2012 by carefully scrutinizing terms to see how they sounded in Thai before transliterating them into Thailand’s cursive, Sanskrit-influenced alphabet. Opaspipat and other team members were quizzed on how to pronounce product names when speaking with customers, and consulted the company if they found a product name inappropriate.

One can argue that after four years of preparation, Opaspipat and the Bangkok team should have anticipated and solved for all translation issues. However, IKEA still came under fire for the name of a few products sold at the new Thailand location, including the Jättebra plant pot. Jättebra sounds similar to a street term for sex in Thai. When quoted by the Wall Street Journal regarding the incident in Bangkok, Opaspipat said “the Swedish … words are important because they bring a unique character to the brand,” but later stated in the article, “we’ve got to be careful … some of them can be, well, a little rude.”

I can only imagine how quickly the PR, marketing and executive departments at IKEA slapped their foreheads in unison. While Opaspipat’s first statement was persuasive, it was negated by her use of the word “rude” in the following sentence. There was no purpose in preparing for the IKEA Thailand location in Bangkok to open (for four years!) if she couldn’t adopt the company product-naming policy and effectively communicate it to the media.

It’s obvious that a retailer’s success partly depends on their ability to ensure all team members (from IT associates to C-suite executives) know company policies and comprehend their meanings. But most retailers don’t spend enough time reviewing their company’s “hot buttons” with team members, and as a result, team members have no idea how to address those issues with customers and the media. Provide your team members not only with your company standpoint, but also key words and phrases that will keep even the scariest detractors momentarily at bay. Your proactive, EFFECTIV leadership will breed a knowledgeable team.

Christine Carter is the owner of Epps Consulting, a premier retail marketing firm. Epps Consulting strives to help retailers with customized and affordable marketing and public relations campaigns all across the nation. Learn more at eppsconsulting.com and www.facebook.com/eppsconsulting.

The maintenance of team strength requires ongoing leadership, diligence and interaction. If leaders fail to pay attention to what is happening within the team culture and environment, it is easy to stumble into several pitfalls. Many major problems can be avoided by structured attentiveness.

It is easy for leaders to begin surrendering their personal authority as they actively work to empower team members. Many assume that individual teams are automatically able to meet the responsibilities assigned to them—thus making their jobs and workloads much lighter. When this belief takes hold, it is easy for leaders to assume their responsibilities are being effectively handled. Because of it, they generally tend to miss the undercurrents and interactions that work to undermine team strength and productivity.

Because leaders understand that empowerment is not synonymous with surrender, they play an active, ongoing role in guiding and directing the actions of their individual teams. The roles and responsibilities of individual leaders are not subjugated to their teams. Rather, teams become a mechanism for leaders to be more effective within their stores and more productive in what they need to achieve within shorter periods of time.

Leaders can stumble into a number of common pitfalls as they develop and build their teams.

Lack of Solid Team Structure

Leaders must ensure their teams have a solid structure in place. This includes all team members having a clear and concise understanding of their roles and responsibilities. It also includes development of and adherence to the norms, rules and boundaries established during the team’s formation. Once a particular team has been established, a primary leadership responsibility is to make sure the team adheres to its overall structure.

Not Being Observant

Within the team structure, leaders need to take a hands-off stance in regard to team matters and discussions in order to actively and impartially observe what is occurring. This enables them to be vigilant concerning internal team conflict, dominant personalities and other issues that can impact an individual team’s productivity, strength and performance. Leaders cannot assume that effective team management occurs automatically within the team growth and development process. Specific attention needs to be paid to all details when any negative occurrences take place.

Allowing or Minimizing Disruptive Team Behaviors

Leaders must understand that the team culture has a specific structure guiding and directing its progress and functions. Specific roles must be assigned to maintain this structure for an adherence to the rules, boundaries and regulations that a particular team collectively develops.

One common pitfall many leaders stumble into involves allowing individual disruptive behaviors to continue to the point where they actively hamper the team’s progress. The acceptance of disruptive behaviors by leaders and other team members can undermine overall team strength, as they have a tendency to intimidate less assertive participants into silence. Leaders must be vigilant for specific behaviors that inhibit the free flow of ideas, thoughts and feedback within the team culture.

A Failure to Intervene

One of the team leader’s major responsibilities is to intervene whenever required to eliminate disruptive behaviors or any other barriers that negatively impact the entire team process. When they tend to overlook specific performance-inhibiting behaviors, they are ultimately undermining team strength. It is up to team leaders to take increasingly stern measures when intervening within the team environment. These measures often start with intervention in the group setting itself; if this proves ineffective, personal intervention with the offending member(s) must be undertaken.

Displaying Bias or Favoritism

It is easy for leaders familiar with the capabilities of individual team members to display favoritism toward one member over another. However, any open display of bias will automatically cause other team members to be less open in expressing their concerns, feedback and input. Biases and favoritism have the tendency to create a situation where specific team members become dominant, which, because of their power and influence, can result in the assertion of personal agendas and overall conflict.

Not Allowing Teams to Adequately Develop and Police Themselves

It is easy for leaders, especially within a new team environment, to assume total control over the team process. They feel it is faster and more productive to “tell and instruct” the team in what to do rather than allow it to develop and chart its own course.

A team learns best when it grows through its mistakes and through problems it must solve on its own.
It needs to be given the room to brainstorm and create solutions, while having the freedom to police itself when internal problems and conflicts surface due to disruptive behaviors or dominant personalities.

Team strength is developed when members are allowed to work collectively through specific challenging situations and arrive at effective solutions as a result.

Reprinted with permission from Majorium Business Press.

The future looks uncertain and unstable. Hurricane Sandy was a deadly reminder of shifting climate patterns, emphasizing the need for new ways to manage the world’s resources and environment. There are growing levels of social unrest over rising inequality, austerity, unemployment, political ineptitude, institutional failure and more. And companies will continue to fail because they misread the future—like Kodak, which invented the digital camera but filed for bankruptcy after focusing on its core film business instead.

In our new Global Trends Report for 2013, we highlight 10 trends that business leaders need to focus on today.

1. Social everything: New generations and their digital world stepping forward

Social technologies are now a central part of everyday life and work. The social generations are reshaping companies from the inside, helping them to build broader, more agile networks to create and deliver value to customers. Mobility and connectedness will be at the heart of the future business environment. Communications and marketing are moving from a focus on one-to-one relationships to many-to-many.

2. Redefining value: The consumer is winning the fight to own the new consumer

The notion of value is being redefined for the 21st century. Consumers have choice. They want personalization and to participate in value creation, shifting the mindset to “made with me.” Value will also be about “shared with me” as the ownerless economy expands. This will be driven particularly by younger generations who value experiences they can share—and that also deliver benefits to society—over possessions.

3. Distributed everything: Mobility in production and consumption

Mobility is entering a new stage. Not only does consumption occur anywhere, anytime, but the tools and resources to create and capture value are more broadly distributed, too. Work is becoming increasingly distributed. Small-scale manufacturing, including 3D printing, will reshape production. Renewable technologies are distributing energy production, while mass teaching platforms are revolutionizing education. Ask what can’t be distributed, not what can.

4. The next “industrial” revolution: Robots and smart machines reshaping work

Smart machines and robots will redefine society. Robots are now being deployed as receptionists, banking assistants and even prison guards, while technology allows amateurs to do what professionals once did. The upside: Addressing issues such as caring for ageing populations. The downside: Huge job losses. Yet the next wave of smart machines will also create new kinds of jobs. The challenge will be to create a workforce that is ready and skilled to utilize them.

5. The new space race: Pushing the frontiers of technology once again

Scientific advances from national space programs have had a significant impact on how we live and work, from advanced materials to global telecommunications. Now, commercial space travel and exploration is a reality. A new space race is heating up, particularly between the U.S., China and Europe. New advances will surely result, as will questions over the ownership of space “assets,” and whether advances will be shared for public benefit.

6. Geopolitical wars: The fight to control the future

Rapidly growing economies will be where the fight to control future economic growth and social development will take place. It’s a multi-polar market landscape, based on dramatically different economic, social and political systems. Politicians, along with companies, are still trying to find and control their place in the new world order—even as trust in government falls, nationalism rises, and power shifts towards the people. The potential for radical political shifts at home and between nations is rising.

7. Resource wars escalating: From a world of abundance to shortage

As the world’s population moves towards 9 billion by 2050, resources are under pressure, exacerbated by climate change. By 2030 we will demand twice as many resources as the planet can supply—risking social unrest and conflicts as people and nations compete for ever-scarcer resources. Scarcity is already driving resource price volatility and cross-border investments. New technologies and rethinking consumption will be critical in future, with businesses rather than governments likely to lead the way.

8. Business stepping up: From profit to purpose

Many businesses are stepping up to a new role, often with partners, to tackle social and economic challenges. Corporations are seeking to build legitimacy in the eyes of demanding consumers, employees and stakeholders who care about the impact and motivations of companies with whom they associate. But it’s also good business as companies realize mutual benefits with society. Look for more businesses redefining their purpose in this way.

9. Information is power: The security challenge

Cyberspace is the new frontline for security. Knowledge and information are a source of competitive advantage for organizations, nations and individuals. But it’s a growing challenge to retain control as mobility and the democratization of everything (commerce, politics and societies) increases along with cybercrime and cyber war. Look for a rising tide of litigation, policies and regulation. Digital freedom or a “big brother” society?

10. Who needs banks anyway? Reshaping the financial system

The financial system is broken. Regulators want change, businesses want new means of financing and consumers want alternatives. The “banks” of the future will include state-owned entities, and firms that simply don’t use cash—think bartering and community currencies. Digital wallets and mobile banking are opening the door for telecommunications and software players, while trust is the entry point for retailers and crowdfunding communities. In an increasingly crowded and cashless financial system, banks may no longer be key players.

Like any big shift, the dispersion of economic power presents challenges and opportunities. Are you and your business ready to take advantage of these 10 trends?

This story was first printed in the Cassandra blog of The Economist.
Thomas Malnight is Professor of Strategy and General Management at IMD. Tracey Keys is Director of Strategy Dynamics Global SA. Each year they publish The Global Trends Report (www.Globaltrends.com).

Will there be another Hurricane Katrina or Sandy? Yes, you can count on it. As a consultant to home furnishings retailers for the past 40 years, I have encountered many fine leaders and seen firsthand several disasters that occurred to their stores including fires, tornado damage and unfortunately even death. In each case, these store owners were able to reap benefits from their disasters, turning lemons into lemonade. The key was their RESPONSE.

R for Reason

The greatest sales results my clients ever achieved always came from having a good reason for their sales event. You may not get to choose when a disaster occurs—but if one does, take advantage of it and conduct a sales event.

Banner Home Furnishings in Clinton, Iowa, had its warehouse clipped by a tornado. The twister took off a corner portion of the building. He also had some water damage. For about a month, we ran a huge clearance event based on the tornado damage. We were able to clear out the merchandise rather quickly. My client said the insurance settlement and the special clearance event led to his best bottom-line in years.

E is for Examine

On a yearly basis, examine all your insurance policies on all your assets—starting with your people, buildings, inventory and vehicles. Read them thoroughly and make sure you have business interruption insurance as well.

Empire Home Furnishings in Valley City, North Dakota, had a severe fire in the warehouse. Not only was the entire back-up inventory burnt to a crisp, but the rest of the store had severe smoke damage and some water damage. The walls were still intact but the warehouse needed a completely new roof. Fortunately, the owner was adequately insured for not only his building and inventory but also business interruption expenses. Insurance adjustors declared the inventory unsalable and paid him dollar-for-dollar on the landed cost of his merchandise as his policy demanded. Then he converted his first lemon into lemonade. He asked the insurance agent what would happen to the smoke- and water-damaged inventory. The agent said it would be sold to liquidators at $.10 to $.25 on the wholesale dollar. My client inspected the damaged inventory and offered the agent $.15 on the dollar. We bought it back and had it cleaned up and fumigated, costing roughly another $.05 on the dollar. In effect, my client bought all of his own damaged inventory for a total of $.20 on the dollar. Meanwhile, the insurance paid for his new roof. The store was closed for business for only two weeks. My client continued to pay his employees during the down time even though his business interruption insurance did not kick in for another two weeks. This fire was in all the local media and the nearest large television market—over an hour away. I suggested we conduct a smoke and water damage sale. We ran the event for nearly 90 days in order to liquidate a majority of these goods. Because my client bought it right, he made even more profit than normal.

S is for Seek

Seek professional advice from your insurance agent, an accountant and an independent industry consultant that has encountered and dealt with disasters. Their expertise and experience can guide you and help set up a strategic plan for recovery.

P is for Publicity

When your disaster hits the media, take advantage of all the coverage with a major clearance event.

The first significant disaster I ever encountered was the death of a previous client. At the time, I was running a high-impact sales event in Waterloo, Iowa. One evening, the local news reported about the death of a furniture retailer (Sam Becker of Becker’s Peoples Furniture) killed in Cedar Rapids—about an hour’s drive from Waterloo. The victim was a dear friend and client I had helped with a stock reduction event little more than a year before. At the wake, his widow requested I meet with her attorney and come up with a plan for her store. She had two daughters who had started their own families and careers and had no interest in the business. The attorney and I decided the best course of action was to liquidate the business. Traffic to the store was huge for the close-out event, and the local news team came by to see what the commotion was. They filmed the crowded store and interviewed customers and the store bookkeeper. On that night’s evening news, the lead-in story was Becker’s landmark store closing. The sale was an immense success. We liquidated everything at a well-deserved profit that all went to my client’s widow and daughters.

O is for Options

Consider your options. Can you temporarily relocate or possibly rebuild? Family Furniture in Park Rapids, Minn., had a constantly leaking roof due to the extreme temperature changes. State regulations would not allow us to simply put on a new roof without bringing the entire building up to current code, which was an extremely expensive option. The owner owned his property and other buildings in his town were not suitable for relocation. Fortunately, he owned several lots across the street where we had built newer warehouses. It made the most sense to rebuild on the original property. We decided to run a 90-day demolition event in the main store in the spring when the weather broke. He operated out of his newer warehouses for the summer months while the tear-down and new construction took place. We made it into the new building before the first snow fell—then we celebrated with a massive grand opening.

N is for Navigate

Disaster navigation can take many turns. Back to Becker’s story, my deceased client was a distinguished businessman with an impeccable reputation. Ironically, he despised going-out-of-business sales. He detested them so much he helped local merchants write laws to require special permits to close a business. The law stated a time and inventory limit on each sale. In addition, the downtown business association had to give final approval to the permit. One of Becker’s direct competitors was on the approval committee. The attorney and I had to meet with the committee to get final approval for the store close-out event. They asked me to leave the room while they discussed the permit with my client’s attorney. Some time later, he came out to the anteroom to tell me they were leaning against giving us the permit to start the event. I asked to speak to the committee once more before they decided. I informed them I was hired to serve the deceased and his widow. Since they were hesitant about giving me the permit, it left me no choice but to stay and run the widow’s business for the foreseeable future. They asked me to wait outside while they voted on the permit and about five minutes later, handed me the permit. I later found out the major competitor lobbied strongest for the permit so he’d only need to deal with the competition for a short time rather than for the long term. Be prepared to navigate in uncharted waters.

S is for Special Event

It can be devastating when disaster strikes. Remember—other retailers have faced similar situations and recovered. Take advantage with a special event that respectfully acknowledges the disaster. These events can help you get through these trying times and turn a profit. This brings us back to our first letter: R for reason. Once you are tied to the reason, have the sales event.

E is for Empathy

Remember, you are not the only one affected by a disaster. Your staff and community are as well. Team up with a local or national charity to demonstrate your compassion and empathy for the entire community. When 9-11 occurred, Houston’s Yuma Furniture Galleries in Yuma, Ariz., decided to offer a Red Cross donation to victims of the tragedy with every purchase. The following three days beat the sales projections and the store donated a substantial amount to the Red Cross.

Remember: When disaster strikes, have a RESPONSE!

Philip M. Gutsell, president and owner of GutSELL & Associates, consults home furnishings retailers on marketing, advertising, strategic planning and motivational sales education. He also serves as a featured seminar speaker for the NAHFA, NARDA, AVB Brand Source and numerous other associations. He has a course for salespeople, “GutSELLing: From the Customer’s Point of View,” and publishes “GutSELLing Techniques” weekly via email to continuously improve retail professionals’ sales skills. Contact Phil at GutSELL & Associates, 5951 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, Ill., 60646; 773-792-2480; fax 773-792-2481; or gutsellassoc@gmail.com.