How to make sure your customers want to come back

How many times do your customers leave your business because you’ve trained your staff to guard your products but not sell them?

How to make sure your customers want to come backHow often do your customers leave your business without buying because your staff is ill-trained? I had just climbed the steepest part of the hill and was out of breath when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dog sprinting out of the driveway toward me. My heart was already racing, and…

Reduce your customers’ risk to increase your sales

Building trust and consistency can improve your sales and increase your profits

Reduce your customers’ risk to increase your sales“If only our customers would buy more from us.” This resounding phrase is heard throughout many businesses as the demand for sales increases in order to offset rising costs. While we may wish to create more revenue by selling more, our customers are facing rising costs at the other end of the spectrum. They’re looking…

Befriending self-checkouts seems inevitable

Consumers used to love to hate these machines. But things have changed

Befriending self-checkouts seems inevitableSelf-checkouts have long been an unloved tool in the world of retail. In the beginning, nothing worked as it should, especially at the grocery store where an order for 20 items brought a new form of despair. But even if the mere presence of self-checkouts bothered many consumers, Canadians have apparently befriended them in some…

How to turn your next tradeshow appearance into $50,000

The key to success is to have a plan

How to turn your next tradeshow appearance into $50,000Tradeshows are coming back, and while many people are looking at reconnecting with people within their industry, it’s often difficult to identify whether there’s value in going to a tradeshow. Yes, there’s the relationship building, the new products and the parties. But have you ever wondered if it’s worth your while to show up in…

Helping small businesses succeed in the digital economy

Going digital is “kind of a life-or-death situation for small businesses”

Helping small businesses succeed in the digital economyA group of students led out of the University of Alberta School of Business is helping small businesses get ahead of the pandemic-induced warp-speed retail overhaul that is pushing customers online in droves. The students are at the heart of the new Digital Economy Program (DEP), a free initiative that sees a team of U of…

Dark stores on the rise as part of the campaign to deliver groceries

SkipTheDishes is building 38 dark stores across the country to support its online food delivery strategy

Dark stores on the rise as part of the campaign to deliver groceriesWe recently learned that SkipTheDishes is building 38 dark stores across the country to support its e-commerce renewal. Its strategy includes selling food online like any grocery store. Company CEO Kevin Edwards claims the online food market will be worth $120 billion in a few years. That number is a little ambitious, but many observers…

The rise of the once-silent, once-hidden food worker

Given our heightened consciousness about food systems, workers have more political capital than ever

The rise of the once-silent, once-hidden food workerWorkers across the food supply chain are expressing concerns about their livelihood. Last weekend, workers at the online grocery retailer Instacart went on strike for better conditions and higher wages. Instacart is a symbol of the new gig economy in food – you use a phone app to have someone else pick up your groceries…

Is your company being ripped off by your employees?

Ten ways you might be cheated and what you can do to reduce your risk

Is your company being ripped off by your employees?James and John came into my office one day and were noticeably shaken. James had just come from the accountant and learned that his business had lost $400,000 in the previous year. In obvious disbelief, he asked if I could help him figure out what the problem was. In our discussion it came out that…

How to create more affordable housing to meet rising demand

Housing regulations often limit people to Tesla-level homes or nothing

How to create more affordable housing to meet rising demandI’m an economist, so I’m not flattered by those who say you could teach a parrot to be an economist. The bird would need to know only two words, the joke goes: supply and demand. When the supply of any good or service increases, its price goes down. If the supply decreases or is less…

Restaurants face a great reset, thanks to COVID-19

Canada’s food service industry has suffered. But the pandemic may be exactly what it has been waiting for to make things better

Restaurants face a great reset, thanks to COVID-19It was certainly a year to be forgotten for the food service industry. Statistics Canada numbers told us this week that food service sales dropped a whopping 32 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the same period in 2020. The food retail/service ratio, a key metric to assess how important food service…
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