Five Software Suggestions for Retailers

Todays' post is courtesy of Michael Koploy from SoftwareAdvice.com.

I found his suggestions and recommendations for retailer resources very informative, and thought you would as well!

Many retailers are looking to upgrade their retail software from old-fashioned QuickBooks and cash register systems and make the plunge into a point-of-sale (POS) software investment. For small retailers that only manage one or two stores, there are a limited number of choices that won't break the budget.

Here are a list of 5 choices that are deployable for under $2000 for software. The original guide can be seen here: Point of Sale (POS) Systems for Small Business | 5 Affordable Solutions

CAM Commerce Retail STAR: This system includes the following applications: POS, CRM, merchandising, inventory management, e-commerce, and WMS. Includes both touch-screen and single-key input support. Retail STAR is a good choice for numerous specialties, including auto parts dealers, furniture stores, and pawn shops. CAM Commerce offers data conversion, retail consulting, up-front pricing, and a subscription program. Retail STAR much be deployed on-premise on a Windows-based system.

Comcash POS - This system includes the following applications: POS, customer relationship management (CRM), e-commerce, and inventory management. The touch screen integration make it a good choice for food service and convenience stores. Software can be deployed on-premise or hosted by the software vendor. Comcash POS can integrate with QuickBooks.

GoldTech Retail Manager - This system includes the following applications: inventory management, CRM, merchandising, warehouse management software (WMS), and POS. The inventory system can be organized with the included SKU database for apparel retailers that need customer color/size differentiation. Software can be deployed on-premise or hosted by GoldTech. Retail Manager can be purchased with up-front payment or by installments.

Microsoft Dynamics RMS - This system includes the following applications: inventory management, CRM, POS, accounting, and e-commerce. It's a great system for book stores, electronics stores, industrial supply stores, and firearm dealers. Offers both an individual store version and main office version, making it a good choice for retailers with growth in mind. This software system must be deployed on-premise.

POS Prophet Systems - This system includes the following applications: inventory management, retail accounting, POS, CRM, and e-commerce. Ideal for both start-ups and medium-sized retailers. Well-suited for many specialities, including (but not limited to): gift shops, food service, and furniture stores. Must be deployed on-premise on a Windows-based system. POS Prophet Systems can be paid for in monthly installments or in one up-front payment. The system also includes QuickBooks and Peachtree integration.

For more information, contact Michael Koploy at Software Advice

(512) 364-0129 . michael@softwareadvice.com

Selling in an Antiques Mall #101

'Selling in an Antique Mall: A Beginners' Guide'

written by Inis Lovely and Sue LaLumia,

is a new e-book available on Kindle through Amazon 

{click book title above}.

It's just $9.95 

and is a great resource of information and inspiration

for vintage/Antique dealers, or those of you who want to be!

This would be a great Holiday read - just in time for the new year.

Find out more info on their facebook Page and blog

"There's An App for That!"

Have you been taking my advice on where to get unique, inexpensive props for your displays?
If so, there's a new resource available online that can help you find garage sales, thrift shops, and flea market sales in your area! Check out Garage Sale Tracker online.

AND, to help you make locating great sales even easier, they've created an iPhone App!!!

To promote it, they are GIVING AWAY AN iPHONE! 

Click here for details on how to win, via Twitter and Facebook. 

Contest runs May 4 to June 4, 2010.

I am not involved with the company or the contest, 

they just asked me to help promote it. ;0)

{Image credits: GST; used by permission}

A New Retail Display Resource

In the retail field, we are always searching for resources and ideas to amp up our visual merchandising knowledge and practices. The combination of inspiration with how-to information is invaluable to a busy and cost-conscious retailer. My most popular seminars & articles over the years have been of the 'How to Create Innovative Displays Inexpensively' variety, with as many ideas as I can fit into the time or space allotted. Trade shows and merchant associations have requested my '100 Fast, Cheap, and Easy Display Ideas' seminar topic more than any other subject.

It is my pleasure to share a new retail display resource with you:
My friend and fellow visual merchandiser & public speaker Linda Cahan has written a new book: "100 Displays Under $100" . Linda has gathered inspiration and information from many sources, and combined them to present a soup-to-nuts compilation of great ideas and the help you need to create them yourself.

This full color book is filled with photos of fun, creative, interesting and inspiring displays from designers all over the world. Included in the book is a list of must-have tools for your display toolbox, some excellent vendors, and a short section on the basics needed to make the magic happen. Each display featured is under $100 and most will work for a huge variety of merchandise and types of retailers. 

This is written in a recipe book format: There is a brief introduction and then a "Need" and "Sequence" section explaining exactly what you need to pull each display together and then, how to go about doing it.

This is a great resource for your store, or as a gift for a friend with a store. If you want to learn more about display and visual merchandising, you'll learn a lot just by going through this book.

"100 Displays Under $100" is available online in a PDF format for $25.00.

It is also available in a soft-cover, spiral bound paper format for $39.95 + $5 shipping (within in the USA, extra for overseas.) 

Either can be purchased via PayPal or US checks.

Combine it with Linda's DVD "Visual Merchandising 101: The Basics of

Excellent Presentation" and you have a good beginning course in display and VM! ($59.95 + mailing - overseas extra.)

Order through: lindacahan@verizon.net

Visit Linda's Web Site: www.LindaCahan.com  

{image credit: Linda Cahan 2010; All Rights Reserved}

{Linda provided me with the details about her book,

and the content of this post. I don't have a copy yet!}

Design Resources from Gingko Press

 

Today I received an email from Karen at Gingko Press, 

asking me to help them promote a new book release. 

More on that coming soon!

As I searched through their web site, I found a large selection of books that they have published that I consider valuable resources for the design of retail spaces. From fashion to food and brand image, these compilations of work by designers from around the world is sure to inspire and educate you.

Each title below links to the book's information page 

on the Gingko Press web site.

Super Identity
In Your Sight & In Your Mind
First impressions count. As that first perception is the most important one in real life, in the competitive world of commerce it has the potential to make or break a brand. Be it the visual identity for fashion branding or traffic signals, service industry manifestations or restaurants and food boutiques, Super Identity – In Your Sight and In Your Mind, unveils the ever changing, cutting edge of this visual language. 

Structural Displays

A brilliant collection of simple, novel and out-of-the ordinary packs and displays, this book illustrates perfectly how to showcase a product to its best advantage.

Nice To Meet You, Too

Visual Greetings from Business Cards and Self Promotion
Artists and studios featured range in their specialist fields from direction and design of moving image projects to product packaging, typography, event promotion, interior design, fashion, music photography, illustration, graphics, film, exhibitions and interior and product design.

Growing Graphics

Design for Kids
There is a visual universe that children immediately recognize. Enter a bookshop with your children, and you can be sure they will quickly be drawn to the department aimed at their own age. Growing Graphics – Design for Kids opens a window to this visual universe of children at different ages, presenting a multitude of graphics aimed at them: Logos and characters, corporate identity, packaging, labels, catalogs, brochures, posters, invitation cards, books, educational material, web and multimedia design, exhibitions, signage etc.

Design Taste
Graphics & Interiors for Bars & Restaurants
In a frenetically paced, time poor world 'dining out' has become a frequent activity and accordingly, patrons of restaurants, hotels, coffee lounges, clubs and bars have become more discerning. To succeed, each requires its own particular brand of ambiance and an image with which its guests can readily identify, from the soft and subtle to the bold and daring. Design Taste is a brilliant collection of identity designs covering everything from external signs and entrances to logos, menu cards, tableware, uniforms and interior design, and how to visually create a unique experience for the patron.

Stay tuned for information on their latest release here...

{Image and All Book Descriptions 

property of Gingko Press; 

All Rights Reserved}

Name's Luxe. RotoLuxe.

The most jaw-dropping prop I used onstage for my YMN Conference seminar was a selection of plastic pots. Not just ANY pots, mind you! These are brand new to the market  - I discovered them at Seattle's Northwest Flower & Garden show in early February, and two weeks ago they were launched at the Las Vegas show. Fabulous shapes, intense colors, interior lighting, and waterproof construction make them perfect for SO many retail & event uses. They are bonafide superstars!

Take a look at the SIZE of that white one! 

The Vazon 'Methuselah' is 41" by 44" in size. MASSIVE in scale and impact. In the photo above, you can see me sitting in a chair onstage just to the left of the huge white pot. THAT's how big they are! The others are Vazon 'Magnum', 23" by 23".On the other side of the stage, a white Chumbo 24" by 12" size is shown in a lateral position on top of another table.

These illuminated pots acted like a magnet in the dimly lit conference room {hence the not-so-incredible photos here}, drawing attendees to the stage to oooh, ahhhh, and snap photos. Every last flier and business card provided by the company was snapped up in record time, as well - I think these very smart people knew a great thing when they saw it!

I'd like to offer a huge thank you to Hans Lammersdorf, owner of Rotoluxe and all-around generous guy, who lent me these to make my seminar stage displays really stand out. He didn't know me from Adam and yet he trusted me to promote his product and make his company look good. {I think you'll be happy, Hans!}

From outdoor decor to window displays to in-store displays or fixtures, these products are a no-fail way to catch the  eye of passers-by and customers in an instant. There are so many shapes, colors, and sizes available that they will meet a wide scope of needs for your visual merchandising. With a wide selection of colors available, you'll be able to find at least one of your 'Brand Palette' colors for your store!

For complete information on products and pricing, please visit the company web site at www.Rotoluxe.com.

There are a million ways to use these in a retail setting - from topping them with a glass round to create a tabletop surface, filling them with loads of product, tipping them to provide an optional storage or display compartment, or stacking them willy-nilly to attract attention - and they'll be workhorses for years of successful merchandising.

www.RotoLuxe.com

Support Your Local Bistro...

The 3/50 Project is at it again - championing local communities! 

Check out their new 'eat local' campaign

{image linked to 3/50 Project web site

go there to print your copies }

Get the 4-1-1

Retail is Change. I say it all the time.

And oh MY is change upon us, my friends...

Check out what the NY Times is reporting now, 

and get yourselves dialed in.

Deb's Video Series

 

Are you a retailer who sells product at home shows?

A wholesaler who sells products at gift shows? 

A dealer of handmade, vintage, or antique goods 

who sells at antique & vintage barn shows? 

Are you a first-time Farm Chicks Show vendor, 

wondering what you've signed on for?!

I have a great resource to share with you:

In 2008, I filmed six videos at the Farm Chicks show, 

to be broadcast on the Gift & Home Channel for retailers.

The videos contain information about successful visual merchandising, 

combined with interviews of some creative women 

who are very experienced & successful in this area of business:

Serena Thompson & Teri Edwards, The Farm Chicks

Heather Bullard, of Present Past Collection

Bari J. Ackerman, of BariJ Designs

Tammy Gilley, of Tammy Gilley Studios

and me!

You can view all six of my videos on my web site

www.DebiWardKennedy.com

{scroll to the bottom of the page to see the six embedded video players}

Oh, and I wasn't a brunette until December of last year... ;0)

Image Credit: DWK images 2008; 
Thank you to the Emmy-award winning video crew from Peak Video Productions in Spokane, Wa.

By the Book - a Giveaway!

Have you read this book, 'The Martha Rules'? 

I'll admit I don't watch the Martha show much, but I do have a few of her holiday decorating books. I highly recommend THIS one, which is geared specifically toward women entrepreneurs.  In it, 'The Queen of Domesticity' sheds that crown and puts on her business suit to share insights, plans, guidance, and perspective on being a business owner. This is the book that Martha wrote while serving time in a womens' prison a few years back... and that experience is referenced in the book. {I actually like the fact that she's included it, too.} If you have a business already, you will find some helpful practices in this book that will help you grow & expand.

I have several brand new hardback copies of this book, and would love to share them with a few of you...so let's have a giveaway, shall we? Call it an early Valentine. ;0)

Leave a comment on this post telling me why you'd like to receive a copy and you may get lucky! I'll choose the three best answers next Monday, February 8th, and post them here.

**And don't forget that I am still looking for props & fixtures for my seminar in March - read the post below this one for more into!**

Anatomy of an Entrepreneur

I found an excellent article about Entrepreneurs today on Daily Finance - click here to read 'Anatomy of an Entrepreneur' by writer Alex Salkever. He shares some research findings about just who entrepreneurs are, which blows a lid off of some generally-held perceptions. I think you'll all see yourselves in there!

{check out the last sentence in paragraph seven. Proof positive that you are not alone in your concerns about the economy.}

'OneCoast Advisor' Resource Changes

 

The OneCoast Advisor has become the SnapAdvisor.

In March, OneCoast will be launching the OneCoast Resource which will focus on retailers, trends, events and merchandising ideas. Enjoy the SnapAdvisor and stay tuned for the Resource! Go here to sign up for the monthly e-newsletter, filled with helpful resources & information for retailers.

Image credits: OneCoast/Snap Retail web site

Deb's 'Retail Display Challenge' Article in OneCoast Advisor

Another of my recent articles is appearing in the OneCoast Advisor Newsletter and web archives today. The 'Display Challenge' article that I wrote for Country Business Magazine has been split into a three-part series, and will run in concurrent issues of the advisor. The first segment mailed today, and you can access it here.  You'll find great information and inspiration for your store displays in these three articles, as I review three stylist's designs using the same product lines. All three of them offer excellent merchandising & sales techniques that you can learn from.


Thank you, OneCoast and Country Business Magazine, for sharing this information with more retail readers! For more information about OneCoast, and to sign up to receive this free newsletter filled with helpful retailer resources, visit their web site at www.onecoast.com.


Image Credit OneCoast; used with permission.

myOWs (no, I don't need a bandage!)

(Image property of & copyright myOWs.com; used here only for promotion of myOWs)


Today I received a hot tip in an email from my friend Randy (thanks, Ran!) about a new web tool on the horizon. 'myOWs' is a web service for helping creatives to protect the copyright on their original works.

'myOWs' is an acronym for 'my Original Works', and the site was set to launch in August of this year. Developing a new concept often takes longer than expected, and the service rollout is still  on the drawing board. However, it's set to be the next big thing for creative artists of many mediums, and I'm on board to support it wholeheartedly!

I've added the site link to my right sidebar, along with other tools to help you with copyright and online content theft issues. I'll pass along news about the launch as soon as I hear something.

Check out this Interview with Max Guedy, founder of this incredible concept, on Frisk Design's site to learn more about myOWs and how it can help YOU protect your creative property.... and thanks, Max, for sending me this COOOOL 3-D image of your logo! (He said I could be the first one to share it!!!)

Craig Ferguson read this post and sent a comment in, along with a link to his interview with Max. Thanks,  Craig! The more we all spread the word, the more we people we can help Max help!

Deb's Article in One Coast Advisor (link added)

One Coast is the largest U.S. sales rep agency for merchandise in the retail gift industry. Their website is not only a wholesale sales venue for those products, but also a resource filled with information that helps retailers succeed and a hub that connects people, ideas, and products. It's no wonder that they are known as much for their educational videos, podcasts, and articles as they are for the products they sell - and with many categories of subject matter, the information is helpful to retailers no matter what kind of products you carry.

One Coast contacted me about running one of my blog posts as an article in their biweekly e-newsletter, 'OneCoast Advisor'. It's nice to be asked, for one thing, and it's also nice to be recognized as a resource that can benefit retailers and help them..... yep, you got it: ...'Build Better Businesses'! I'm thankful for the kind acknowledgment of my value ("You have great insights that our retailers would like to read") and am looking forward to this opportunity for exposure to the One Coast reader base. (Thanks, Vicki!)


The most recent newsletter has been broadcast, and my article in it has been added to the OneCoast Advisor Archives. Read it online here.


For more about One Coast, their product lines, their large resource library, and to sign up to receive the 'OneCoast Advisor' newsletter (so you don't miss my article!), go here: http://www.onecoast.com

Image property of One Coast; used with permission.
No renumeration or payment received from One Coast for post reprint or promotional post.

Successful Show Booth Design Resource from Deb

Last June, I presented a seminar to the vendors selling their wares at an antique show. Following a very harried day of setup for everyone, I shared some tips & tricks of visual merchandising and show booth design. Since most of their booths were already set up at that point, much of that information was intended to help them at their NEXT show. I provided them with handouts filled with everything I spoke about, and more, so they could refer to it later.

Because I know that this information is helpful to all kinds of dealers, artists, artisans, and others who present products at shows in various industries, I want to make this resource available to all of you. I have converted my seminar handout into a Google document. It's available here for you to view, print, and use in the practice of your own business.

To be clear, this is my original copyrighted material.
I am sharing this information here FREE for your 'personal use only'. I ask that you please do not print and distribute more copies of it, nor sell it, nor use it as content on your own blog or web site or in your book, seminar or store, or in any way profit from it.

I could limit access and sell this info, as many people do on their blogs, but I'd rather just get it out there to the new show vendors and my faithful readers so it will benefit you all. So let's all play nice, shall we? (I think that about covers all the bases.... and I think everyone who reads my blog knows what will happen if that request is ignored. SMILE.) If you want to spread the word about it, feel free to link to this post. No problem with that!

Breaking Retail Trade Show News

There is a lot happening in the trade show industry, with sales, mergers, acquisitions, and closings taking place everywhere. Locally, the Seattle Gift Show has been sold to Atlanta-based Urban Expositions - ditto for the San Francisco International Gift Faire. From what I've read, big improvements are in store. (Hallelujah). Read more here.

The Portland Gift Show has been placed back into the capable management hands of Western Exhibitors, tho ownership remains with Canadian company dmg/GLM. It has also seen a reschedule to a fall date, which will combine it with the existing fall cash & carry market. Read about that here.

For more information on all kinds of trade shows in multiple industries, check out this web site.

Retail IS Change.... and Retail Is Changing

My dear friend Sue Kirby has a tagline that I love: 'Why Do when you can OVERdo?!' (and you really have to hear Sue say it in her own inimitably enthusiastic way to appreciate it!). When it comes to visual impact, I'm in total agreement. Go big or go home. Go Overboard. Retail is Theater - Entertain them. We've heard those mantras for years....

But in the midst of our changing economy and retail landscape, there is a debate underway. It has to do with how far retailers should go to either scale back and slim down their approach to selling OR ramp it up and encourage spending. The author of a retail blog on the Visual Merchandising & Store Design (VMSD) web site, Kristen D, Godsey, addresses the question of what direction retail design should be heading:"Muted and serene, or financially obscene?"

In her opinion, "The design landscape needs both."

It's a very interesting subject with two vastly differing viewpoints. Ms. Godsey presents them in perfect balance... check out her post here. Great reading for designers and retailers alike, as the basic concepts discussed here extend beyond retail store decoration, and should get you thinking about what products to carry and how your customers are shopping, decorating, and living these days. Ready for another mantra? 'Knowledge is Power'.

Photo Credit: Image from Anchini Retail, of L.A. Store

Featured Member Business

I'd like to offer a big thank you to Dori & Steph for featuring my business on the Women Take Wing! blog this week. The new 'Featured Member Businesses' sidebar rotation is an easy way for new WTW members and Facebook & blog followers to find me, and I do appreciate the promotion!

If you are a woman entrepreneur with your own business and you seek a supportive community of likeminded women, give Women Take Wing! a look-see. It's not a marketplace, and it's not a 'networking' site for marketing your biz like so many others. Rather, it is a place for discussion, sharing, learning, and connecting with other women who understand what you are dealing with in these trying times. And don't we ALL need more of that?!

Inspiration

Thank you to my friend Randy Smith for sharing this video with me.... we all need to be looking at possibilities instead of limitations right now!