This is a great video from PayPal that shows the future – and not too far in the future.

An easy to understand illustration of how easy it will and what consumers will expect in the not-to-distant future.

Retailers get informed & get ready!

In the digital age we need great profile pics & Fiona King of Polly Street was fabulous!  I am not a fan of having my photo taken but Fiona took the stress out!

I really didn’t want ‘studio shots’ I am retailer and a marketer and wanted my pics to reflect that ~ and they do! We shot in the streets of Balmain.  Thanks to Lol & Roc, Anokhi, Suyu Emporium and Pearl Gift & Homewares for the use of their store windows! Even sold a book (7 Powerful Ways To Boost Retail Profits)!!

Visit the Polly Street site here: www.pollystreet.com

Here are the pics and some behind the scenes shots!

I was asked to speak at this monthly event and chose the hot topic of the moment:  “Consumer Behaviour & Its Impact on Retail”.

It was lovely to meet a great group of inspirational, passionate business owners! Thank you for your time and wonderful feedback!!

Learn more about Mumpreneurs here on their website.

What attendees said:

“Great talk Nancy, I spoke with many of the girls after the event and they valued your information highly, said it had educated, inspired and created many new avenues for promotion! ”

Kristie White  ::   Innovation Space

“Hi Nancy, wonderful hearing you speak last night at Mumpreneurs Northern Beaches Network. You are truly inspirational and have given me loads of ideas and tools to better my business. Thanks so much”.

Michelle  ::  Lil Cherubs x

“Thanks so much Nancy for practical and honest information delivered with a gorgeous sense of humour, cheers and Happy Easter from Bern”

Bern Alexander  ::  FindAUniform

“Great meeting with you last night. Fabulous presentation. Thanks for inspiring.”

Imagine for Kids

“Thank for the motivational & inspirational talk the other night at Mumpreneurs Northern Beaches Network was great to finally meet you after following you online for some years!” ♥

Banika ::  Witjuti Bamboo Clothing & Products

If you have been to one of my presentations int he past few months, you would have heard me talk about Five Faces & their interactive in-store screens / mirrors.  I met them @ Retail Expo and Conference last year & they had already implemented the units at OROTON & now Sportsgirl is rolling them out.  Really good fit with their customers!

Read more from Retail Biz here.

The way of the future folks!

I received this wonderful email from Jennifer Berry, owner of Adrienne & The Misses Bonney who I had a great 4 Hour Power Meeting session with, this is why I do what I do:

“I met Nancy at a series of seminars organised by the marketing manager of St Ives Shopping Village.  Nancy’s seminars were jam packed with information and on that basis I engaged Nancy for a 4 hour Power Hour session.  Nancy’s pre-meeting questionnaire crystallised some issues for me even before I met her and allowed Nancy’s information to be totally focussed on our business (not just generalised advice).

I decided to roughly structure our meeting around Nancy’s book and the 7 key elements of increasing retail profit.  I took notes on that basis and it ensured I recorded 99% of what was discussed. In a prior life I was a consultant charging over $600 per hour for my advice.  I’m ashamed to say that I am not sure I ever provided the value-add to my clients that Nancy provided to me that day.  I was left with a very long list of “to do’s”, including “the how” and “the why” they were necessary.  Some things will take longer to implement than others as I am an owner/operator and a Mum!

However, all the advice Nancy provided will be integral to me taking my business forward and contending with social media and an on-line presence.

I can’t speak highly enough of Nancy, her energy and her expertise.  Make sure you are a very good note-taker because you will be given a lot of practical information, lots of things to do and think about and it is impossible to remember it all.  I can’t stress enough how Nancy’s advice was very, very specific to my business and the area I operate in – hence it is a huge ‘value add’.

I will be inviting Nancy back; I think a regular health check is an integral part of the business going forward.

Jennifer Berry, 

Adrienne and The Misses Bonney St Ives,
Shop 131, St Ives Shopping Village

I had a great Strategic Session at Studio Fresh Australia last week.  The Owner and Creative Director Wendy is truly a creative person who is surrounded by handmade goodness!  She designs her products and creates the artwork for the personalising them as well!! I also visited her garden and her chooks & scored limes & fresh eggs!

My favourite item was The Nanny Purse…. based on a purse her Nanny gave her… what a lovely story!

The range is gorgeous:

• Leather Bags & Purses
• Canvas Bags & Tea Towels with great graphic text
• Shopping Bags
• Purses and wallets based on Indigenous Art
• Fair Trade Shipping Bags that are hand embroidered and zip up

The great thing about a lot of the range is that it is Hand Made – I love that!

This is the 2nd part of my article on Pinterest, please click here to go to the first article.

THE INFOGRAPHIC

The infographic below is informative, not only does it help people understand Pinterest, but it shows that Social is driving more traffic than Search (not surprising, is it?).  This infographic is from December 2011 so some of the data is out of date & the data included in this article is correct – still great information!

source: Mashable “Pinterest Becomes Top Traffic Driver for Retailers”

USING PINTEREST FOR BUSINESS

This is all great for users but it is even better news for businesses.  In the last month Pinterest has been heralded as the fastest growing social media site with more referrals than Google +, You Tube & LinkedIn combined.  In July 2011 Pinterest was 0.17% of the referral traffic, in February 2012 it is 3% of the referral traffic – not far behind Twitter which is 3.1%.

There are nearly 10 million users and the number is  greatly increasing daily.  I read a statistic that said that there are over 1.5 million unique visitors daily who spend on average 15 minutes on the site.  Gauging my own and my friends’ activity I would have thought more!!  The thing with Pinterest is that you can lose track of time as you move through design, people, places and things…..

Using Pinterest for business and by business was quite minimal initially.  Sharing our products online seems to be more common now and is probably the natural progression of a community site like this.   However we have to do this in a very subtle strategic  way.

This month there has been a flurry of interest in Pinterest as a retail and marketing tool, especially in light of its importance to website referral.  The key for businesses using social media and building their online presence is to build their authority and connect with their customers.  Pinterest makes this easy to do and share!

Pinterest easily integrates with Twitter and Facebook.  For me integration is the key to any marketing activity.  There is still the volume of members over at Twitter and Facebook, so they cannot be abandoned or forgotten (yet?) I think tools like this make ‘Social’ easier to integrate but also much more important to businesses than perhaps they are treating it now.

It is important to state that Pinterest is not suitable for every business.  Remember there is already a community of creative people on Pinterest who are doing what comes naturally, you cannot ‘force’ or entice them to look at your products or services if there is not a good fit.

Some Tips for using Pinterest for business:

Define Your Objective For Using Pinterest

You can curate the web as you see it with Pinterest.  As with any use of Marketing tools, be very clear about what you want to achieve with Pinterest to:

• Show your creativity
• Simply collect great pics
• Connect with suppliers and customers
• Share the way customers use your products
• Share great innovations, ideas, products and events
• Collect trends
• Sell your services or products
• Etc: the list is endless

Create Great Content For Your Site

One of the great things about Pinterest is that the original source of the image is preserved and therefore directs traffic to the original source.  The Online Pied Piper!

This places a greater importance on exceptional, inspiration, unique and creative Visual Communication than ever before.

People pin pictures not text.  On your site, add an image to every blog post, page and activity online.

Show Your Flair & Be Authentic

When pinning away, make sure your boards are interesting, whatever that means for you and your business.  When somebody looks at your wall of boards or a particular board they need to be inspired and feel a common bond with you (based on common interests) – you want them to explore and repin.

If you are simply copying someone else, it will show and people will not connect (follow) you or stop following you.  Authenticity is so important.  Make sure you give credit where credit is due.   I have many people following me who have not pinned or who are great in real life but not interesting on Pinterest (yet, this may change), so I don’t follow them.

If you are not naturally creative, spend time observing others similar to you and start slowly.  Stick to a few boards and concentrate on that.

Make Your Board Names Interesting & Attention-Grabbing

Once you are more comfortable with using Pinterest, go though your  default boards and update their names .  Be interesting and fun so that they are appealing and invite investigation.  It is an extension of your creativity and flair.

Add The Pinterest Buttons To Your Site 

Everything you need is in the Goodies  section.

The Follow Me On Pinterest button is even customised for your page and will bring people straight to your boards.  There are also ‘Pin It’ buttons so people can pin your content from your site.

Remember – MAKE IT EASY to connect and share from your site.  Those who know me, know that I am constantly reminding businesses to bring all of their activity to their site and not do it all on their social media pages.

No Obvious Selling

Overtly selling will result in the ‘community’ turning off you and your boards!  The community would not include you and this is the true power of social.   As a customer, I expect to see interesting, creative pics on Pinterest showing more than just products with a link to the store – online and offline.

Interestingly, looking at Nordstrom’s boards a few weeks ago, it looked like their website, I don’t find it interesting or creative and unfollowed – very disappointing as I love the store.  Last week I was using it as an example with a client and they have pinned NYC Fashion Week pics and some in-store shots.  Far more interesting and appropriate.

Sell Within Pinterest’s Framework

By adding a price to the description, a price sash appears across the top left hand of the image.

The picture also gets added to the ‘Gift’ section of the site – which is perfect if you are selling products.

REMEMBER: competition in this section is rife so stand out!

Pin From Here, Pin From There, Pin From Everywhere

Don’t constantly Pin from the same source, mix it up – continually scout for new sources and inspiration that are connected to your business.  Build the boards, connect with the relevant people, and share your products .

Pin pictures from:

• Repin from Pinterest – use the search box to find relevant pics
• Websites – yours and others
• Pictures from client and supplier sites
• Take pictures with your phone / tablet when you are out and about

Pin your content far less than any of the other sources.  Your activity should be in this order:

1. Curator
2. Connector
3. Commenter
4. Sales Person

Be Strategic

• When you pin an image from your site, add a concise description and your business name.  If it is good enough to be repinned, this description will go with it.  Use keywords in your descriptions the same way you do on your site – this is how people will search.
• Leverage key sales times and seasonality, if it is relevant for your business, by creating boards and using key words in descriptions.  People search these all year round, ensure you are on their screen.
• When a user clicks on a Pin they are directed to a larger image.  They click again and go to the original source, which would be your site.  Make sure your site is up to date and user friendly!
• I know people who are new to online and social media want to watermark their images but I rarely see these done well, so if you are going to do it, be tasteful and small.
• Show the business through pictures.  We have been doing this for business on Facebook for a while.  Popular posts are the behind the scenes / preview / sneak-peak shots so create a board around that story.  Be careful singling out staff members – ensure they abide by the company’s social media policy and have an appropriate online footprint.
• I have used a board to sell a client on a concept – they are great visual tools and easy to navigate – and yes my clients are on Pinterest now too!  Incorporate it in your sales process.  If appropriate create a board just for them.
• There is a section for videos on Pinterest and there are not as many pins there – so this is a great opportunity to promote your business & show your Pinning skills
• Connect and auto-post on other sites appropriately, don’t ‘spam’ your friends
• Analyse activity on your boards and be there when your community is there for better engagement.

Connect With Influencers and Good Users on Pinterest

Repin, Like and Comment on their pictures.  They will be influential in getting your pins out there.  Start a conversation and build a relationship with them.

You can also tag people with your comments by placing ‘@’ before their name, like Facebook and Twitter.

Conversation means engaging and responding – you will need to do a lot of engaging to start.

Follow Those Who Follow You

Assess them of course, but as a rule, it is good ‘Pinterest Etiquette’.  Check that they are interesting, have good boards and check their followers.

Great guide from Pinterest on ‘Etiquette’ if you ever want to check it when you are using it.

Share The Fun

One board can have multiple contributors.  It’s a good way to share the job within the business.  I contribute to my client boards, we are often on the different times, which means better coverage and more interesting and diverse content.

The Pinner appears on the board – so ensure you are using a profile you are happy to have public.

Ensure there is a Social Media Policy in place and that all contributors have read and signed it.  This SMP should cover all online activities.

Be Mobile

Download the App and use it to upload pictures and keep communication going through the day.  This will help with your activity being spread out.

Be Ready

Pinterest has an international audience.  If you have a great product and someone contacts you or orders it online be ready to ship it.  International Shipping is not straightforward so do your homework.  Customers don’t like to wait.  Don’t miss any opportunity that comes your way.

Be Aware

There is so much information on Pinterest, about people, places and trends.  Observe them and use them – to create new boards to create new connections and integrate this with your marketing activity.

A great example of this is a Trend I have been observing; The return of the library at home with floor to ceiling bookcases. There are so many gorgeous pics of these rooms.  I have been pinning them to my Home Décor Board but am thinking seriously about creating a board just for them.   I tweeted it out and mentioned it on my Facebook page and was surprised by the number of responses.  Even more interesting as I have a client who will be using this information and trend in new products this year.

There is a lot to take in and learn with new sites.  Once you have mastered the site, you can do so many effective marketing campaigns that integrate multiple channels.  More on that next time

Get into it and enjoy!  I have yet to meet anyone who has not enjoyed being on Pinterest.  It is just a bonus that we can use it for business.  Take advantage of the relative newness of this site and use it today!

Happy Pinning and Enjoy the new tools!    Visit My Pinterest here.

A super quick post today, with a longer one to follow!

It is amusing to be seeing the ‘resurance’ of the awareness of the importance of customer service!

People are talking about it like it is a new planet; “The way to build sales and ensure your business’ longevity is to focus on customer service”, “The key to success is serving your customers as they want to be servied”, “This x will transform your business because it will help with customer service”, “Look at the customer as a person”….

I started my working career as a Grace Bros Management Cadet and it was drummed into us that CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY for everyone in the business.  Above all we were to ensure the customer was served and do whatever we had to do to ensure the customer felt important BECAUSE THEY WERE IMPORTANT.  I have carried this focus with me through my working life and it has served me well.

You may have heard of the term Shopper Marketing,we used to call it ‘knowing your customer and tailoring the business to serve your customer’.

‘Multi-Channel’ is also simply being where your customer is – makes sense doesn’t it?

If you have been to a Department Store in the last few years, you will know the reason why non of the cadets in my class still work in Department stores anymore.  It is absolutely beyond my comprehension that they would spend millions on store fitouts yet not put staff on the floor.  Really it is not a case of ‘enough staff’ anymore, it is just staff – where are they? Who is supposed to help us, unlock the security bands to try things on, open the cabinet, help us choose between 2 items, give us product information, look for more stock etc?

I was listening to the radio this week and people were talking about no service in Department Stores; one said she answered the ringing phone out of frustration after waiting for someone to serve her, hoping that it was another staff member; another one said they could not get served at a cosmetic counter on Christmas Eve??!!

Not having any staff on the floor to serve customers is just the beginning of a long list of BAD EXAMPLES OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, they also include:

• not having a website
• not engaging customers – on and offline
• not being aware of the importance of communicating to your customer, online through Social Media & offline
• not being in stock
• not being able to order stock and have it delivered quickly
• not having ‘pick-up in-store’ as a checkout option on your online store
• not understanding the sales process and language
• no product training

etc etc

At the last Social Media Women, of which I am co-founder, meeting, guest speaker Kate Carruthers said ‘Sometimes you just have to forget about the technology and just do the marketing’.  How true is that? In this example:

Just focus on the customer and serving them well and use the best tools possible, on and offline!!

For those of us who have been using Pinterest for a while now, we are not surprised that Pinterest has become the ultimate connecting & sharing tool.  I started using it in May 2011, I try almost everything new, it’s my job, but Pinterest was different from the beginning, I LOVED IT and found it pretty addictive! One click leads to a board which leads to another……

From the start, Pinterest was a god-send for me!  I had been saving images to my computer in folders and taking up a lot of space, on and offline!  Now my pics are available online. & in groups and I can share them.

Pinterest, for those who do not know what it is; is an online bookmarking tool / online pin board.  It is total Eye-Candy; beautiful, delicious, creative Eye-Candy!! Reminds me of when Facebook was new and we all uploaded and shared our pictures – that is what drove us to adopt it easily.

But Pinterest is better!  The minute you start there is a wonderful world that awaits your discovery.   You become a curator of what you see online.  Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility!

Pinterest have created a tool, the ‘Pin It’ Button,  which allows us to do what comes naturally;

• see a picture we like on the web
• ‘pin it’ to a board (save it organised in a group / theme)
• check out our friends’ activity
• share and like their pictures – on Pinterest and on other social media sites

It also makes these things easier than ever before:

• find new friends / contacts  / influencers / products / customers / suppliers – based on common interests
• find new sources
• ‘follow’ people, businesses and brands we like
• gain insight into a person’s creativity

I was instantly impressed by the quality of the images and the variety of people on Pinterest.  Over the last month or so, I have noticed a lot of the ‘geeks’ have started boards, so this will add another dimension.  Whether this will be popular with hard-core Pinners will remain to be seen.

Unlike other sites, Pinterest does not manipulate us to do its bidding,  as users we don’t have to do anything that is odd – we are simply flicking through pages of the web and cutting the pics out that we like and pasting them to a board… online!

By simply adding the ‘Pin It’ button to your internet browser toolbar, you can ‘Pin’ almost any picture online to a board of your choice.  Almost you ask? Yes.  You can’t Pin pictures from Facebook and sites who opt out of having their contents pinned.

GETTING STARTED

New accounts are still by invitation only from a Pinterest user.  You can request an invite on the site itself or  email me and I will send you one (there are a limited number of invites I can send so be quick).  I did see people requesting an invite on the Pinterest Facebook Page although Pinterest seem to  have turned this off of late.

You can only start a new account via your Facebook or Twitter log-in so get one or both if you don’t have already (I am sure all business owners reading this do right?).  More on linking later!  You can’t have more than one Pinterest account feeding into one Facebook account and one Twitter account.  At the moment, Pinterest only adds to your personal Facebook timeline and not your business page.  Hopefully this changes soon!

You will need to select a Username with less than 15 characters (I hate that!).

Pinterest starts you off with:

• People to Follow Suggestions
  • First select the topics you like
  • Then it automatically follows people in that category (you can unfollow at this stage or later but they are probably great and I always think it is good to look outside your current reference zones in any case)
  • A few general boards and you can add your own as you go so you aren’t starting in the dark!  Don’t be concerned about the names of the boards before you start Pinning, you will edit and add to these as you start pinning.
  • Easy and clear instructions for adding the ‘Pin It’ button to your bookmark bar

Some suggestions to get you started:

1. Fill in the Profile information about yourself so that people get a good sense of you, include your website & business name.  Keep in mind that this is not LinkedIn so adapt your profile to the audience.
2. Put in your Facebook and Twitter details too so that they are linked under your profile as well as to increase followers.
3. Start pinning before you start following – this will do a couple of things, it:
   1. Won’t colour your activity by what you see your friends doing
   2. Will let you explore ‘under the radar’
4. Start on the www.pinterest.com  page, you will see this on the top of the boards:
   * Pinners you follow     * Everything     *  Videos     *  Popular     * Gifts
   Click  on each one so you can see all that Pinterest has to offer and orient yourself.
5. Remember you will be pinning for years to come so be discerning about what you pin,  make sure that your boards are interesting and attractive.
6. Don’t pin in ‘chunks’ – space out your pinning so that you are ‘woven’ through the feed rather than appearing all at once and then disappearing.
7. You can add friends through Facebook or email.  Use the search box to find people and brands you like.
8. You can follow all of their boards or just the ones that resonate so check before you click (this is one of the many things I like about Pinterest).  Don’t follow boards that don’t interest you – it will clutter your screen.
9. Add the ‘Pin it’ Button to your Bookmark Bar, click here to go to the page and drag it onto your bar, if you didn’t do it at start up
10. Once you find an image you like in Pinterest, you can:
    1.  ‘Repin’ it onto one of your boards – or Create a Board if you don’t have something suitable already set up (it is an option in the list of boards)
    2. ‘Like’ it – it won’t be attached to a particular board but is placed in the ‘Likes’ section and the Pinner will know their image has been appreciated
    3. ‘Comment’ this will show under the picture but the image will not be pinned to one of you boards
11. If you find an image online you want to add to a board:
    - Click your ‘Pin It’ Button
    - Select the image you would like to pin – all of the images show on one screen
    - Follow a,b,c above  (10)
12. You can upload a picture on the website or take one using your phone and the app and Follow a,b,c from point 11.
13. You can rearrange and edit your boards at any time
14. Pinterest sends email notifications of new followers and all activity with your pins, so act on this; reply, re-follow, comment

The site has a great ‘Help’ section which is simple and easy to use and follow.  Click here to view.

Here is a snapshot of some of my Pinterest boards, as you can see my interests are diverse:

 To date, this is my most pinned image (left).  Not hard to see why is it? Timeless: Dior in Paris.

This was an image I have loved since I was a youngin; I have bought cards with it on the front, I have clipped it out of Magazines and I have stuck it on my Eye-Candy wall in my office over the years.

It was one of the first images I pinned on Pinterest.  I have since gone and pinned images I have admired and treasured…. Which has been wonderful.  It is like discovering them all over again and sharing them with a new audience.

Before Pinterest, I used Polyvore, to create ‘story boards’ but was more limited to fashion.   It is a little different to Pinterest but was a predecessor, they do enable you to add your own pics but it wasn’t so easy to use.   There have been other Online Pin Boards sprouting up: We Heart It and Wanelo – I find these to be more Gen Y, fashiony & younger, Pinboard – this is not free and labels itself as ‘Social Bookmarking for Introverts’.

Where would a social media site be without its Apps?? Nowhere!   Apps just complete the experience and cater to the mobilisation of the user.  With the Pinterest App, you can upload images to your boards, add the location to the image, follow the activity on the go.

• Apps for iPhone have been available for at least 6 months but you could not ‘Pin’ until the new ‘Pin’ app was released January 2012 at a cost of 99c.
• The iPad ‘Pin’ App was released January 2012 and costs 99c.
• The Android App was released December 2011.  I find the iPhone App limiting but I am sure they are working on it.

FIND ME ON PINTEREST, please click here

 This is the first of 2 articles on Pinterest. The next installment, ‘Pinterest for Business’ can be viewed here.

I found myself in Macquarie Street Sydney yesterday and visited The Sydney Mint Museum & Cafe and The Hyde Park Barracks….and got lost in a time gone by AND learned a lot about the buildings and about life back then.

Walking around @The Mint & Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (Hyde Park Barracks) you need to look up AND down – who needs a podcast when you can use all of your senses!!

There was a tour guide (who I later discovered was a volunteer!) regaling travellers and locals with tales of life when Sydney was born (did you know that Run was the most popular refreshment??) I wanted to join them!!

As  I moved through the building, I realised that while I ALWAYS visited historic buildings, museums and landmarks in my travels, apart from the major galleries in Australia’s major cities, I did not know and had not been to our very own historic jewels!!  As a kid, my parents took us to them but as an adult my appreciation is so different.

Of course I HAD to visit the store and was pleasantly surprised for 2 reasons!  1. I knew the person working in the store, she used to work in an old customer’s store, from Paper Magnolia days.  2. The products and assortment are REALLY great!  We have all been in Museum or Historic Building stores that were ‘twee’ and a little cliche and what I found was a mini ‘The Met’ store!

Inside The Mint store – they use the old gold safe, made by Chubb, for the books and cards!! Sooooo cool!!

I also discovered that Members have a lounge they can use any time with refreshments – an oasis in this crazy glorious city.

The Mint building is so lovely, I realised how important the Historic Houses Trust is, they preserve these valuable parts of our history from exploiters and commercial greed!

This and many other buildings, museums, collections and events are managed by The Historic Houses Trust.  Check out the Historic Houses Trust & their Museums, Buildings, Stores & learn about our history online here.

More pictures here or on Facebook here.

Inside The Mint store - they use the old gold safe, made by Chubb, for the books and cards!! Sooooo cool!!

Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney