Posted on March 22, 2010 by Nick
Have you ever watched that extraordinary business TV show, “Mary, Queen of Shops”? In it, retail guru Mary Portas dispenses her wisdom to struggling shops around the country. I’m always impressed when TV pundits put their reputations on the line with real, sound advice; and Mary is a triumph. But I remember one episode of [...]
Filed under: retail, sales, service | Tagged: business, business advice, business process, business skills, customer service, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, mary portas, mary queen of shops, production line, restaurant, retail, run a business, running a business, service, small business, start a business, start your own business, time management | 1 Comment »
Posted on September 14, 2009 by Nick
Do you run a business selling online? I don’t, but I know lots of people who do. Some are large companies who have added online sales to their standard face-to-face or retail sales effort. Others are one-man-bands; people who have a day job, but have then turned an interest or hobby into a business in [...]
Filed under: current affairs, marketing, sales, service | Tagged: business, business online, consumer protection, consumr rights, CRM, customer relations, customer relationship management, customer service, eBay business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, online business, online retail, online sales, retail, run a business, sales, start a business | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 18, 2009 by Nick
Mostly, this blog deals with my personal experiences of running a business. Today, though, instead of taking you to my office, I’d like to take you home. To sunny Sydenham in South London, for a quick look through my local lens at supermarket giant Tesco. Tesco has an astonishing position at the top of the [...]
Filed under: business heroes, marketing, retail, sales, service | Tagged: business, business survival, CRM, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, innovation, retail, run a business, start a business, supermarket, Terry Leahy, tesco | 3 Comments »
Posted on May 6, 2009 by Nick
Like many hoity-toity Londoners, I don’t get out of London much. It’s a bit like being a politician – I get the feeling that the fine upstanding folk of Westminster don’t much like getting their hands dirty by going out to their constituencies and seeing how the other half live! But last week, I did [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, retail | Tagged: Birmingham, business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Halfords, heavy industry, manufacturing, retail, run a business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 1, 2008 by Nick
I’ve held off ranting about the VAT cut until now, because I wanted to speak to a few other entrepreneurs, to see what they think. So: the results are in, and here is the news… Firstly, I was on my way home at 11.45 last night, and couldn’t fill the car up with petrol because [...]
Filed under: finance, retail, sales, technology | Tagged: 15%, business, finance, price policy, prices, retail, running a business, start a business, VAT, VAT change | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 27, 2008 by Nick
Do you run a shop? Read on, then… As I write, it appears that Woolworth’s, staple of the high street for 99 years, is to be put into administration. For fans of slightly soggy pick’n’mix- or sweets with a strange rubbery patina from the fingers of 50 other small children, this is bad news. I [...]
Filed under: current affairs, retail, sales, service | Tagged: bank, business, finance, Hilco, pick'n'mix, recession, retail, risk, running a business, sales, shopfitting, start a business, start your own business, store, Woolies, Woolworths | 1 Comment »
Posted on October 30, 2008 by Nick
I, dear reader, am male. That means that when I need a pair of shoes, this is what I do: Decide what sort of shoe I require, functionally (e.g. shoe, trainer, boot, etc.) Go to the nearest shoe shop Find shoes that broadly meet the requirement above, at what looks like a halfway decent price. [...]
Filed under: current affairs, marketing, people skills, retail, sales, service, tips | Tagged: Add new tag, business, competition, customer service, experience, management today, matt gwyther, public transport, retail, run a business, shopping, start a business, westfield | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 29, 2008 by Nick
The top story in the business press today is about Tesco‘s latest assault on the high street: Britain’s No. 1 retailer wants to massively increase its financial services offering. This is one of those announcements that makes so much sense, you wonder why we didn’t all expect it. Firstly, Tesco is no newcomer to finance- [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, marketing, retail, sales, service, technology | Tagged: bank, banking, credit crunch, CRM, current account, customer relationship management, customer service, financial services, motor insurance, profiling, retail, running a business, segmentation, small business, tesco | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 23, 2008 by Nick
Today, a salutary lesson in business planning and customer service. This is a story which my good friend Darren likes to tell; about his father-in-law, John. I’ve met John several times. He’s now in his 70′s, still thoroughly full of life, and a ‘mad inventor’ type of chap. John has had more hare-brained schemes, inventions [...]
Filed under: people skills, retail, sales, service | Tagged: business, choice, customer service, retail, sales, service, start your own business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 8, 2008 by Nick
Soothsayers and sleight-of-hand merchants, magicians and Victorian side-show owners. They’re as good a bet in understanding the current economic climate as anyone in the press. I mean, what sort of misguided fool would proffer their opinion on this recession? Who’d be daft enough to stick their head above the parapet? Er… me. I can’t help [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, retail, sales | Tagged: advertising, banking, banks, business, construction, Currys, economics, employment, food prices, GDP, jobs, john lewis, M&S, mortgages, Persimmon, recession, retail, running a business, self-employed, small business, small companies, start a business, Trinity Mirror, unemployment | 2 Comments »
