Post extensively on social channels, and pin your hours post to the top of your page Your small business has times when you need to change your hours either for holidays, staff issues or (my favorite) extending into evening hours. How do you retrain your customers so they notice the change? Let’s look at a […]
TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now
Remember the Retail Apocalypse around 2017? In a media interview this week, I brought up that it was actually Retail’s Big Split, not an apocalypse, and it’s ongoing. The reporter asked me to explain, so here’s my update for today’s retail landscape. “Everything gigantic in American life is about to get smaller or die.” […]
How one town stopped business owners and staff from parking in front of downtown businesses
Without making people mad! One common small town parking complaint is business staff taking up customer parking. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this brought up in discussing downtown businesses. Sometimes business owners or business employees park right in front of their business or along the Main Street. They might park out […]
Seasonal businesses: post signs year-round
Marketing tip: keep signs up year-round even if you’re a seasonal business. When I toured several small towns in Washington and Idaho with the Inland Northwest Partners, I noticed many part-time and seasonal businesses did not have signs up during their off season. In the town of Deary, Idaho, (population 500) there is a wine […]
