The group will discuss and design new creative ways of increasing profitability without the need for major new investment. One of the groups main purposes will be to save our Towns and Cities retailers and offer a better customer experience to shoppers when they visit.

Join the group @ www.linkedin.com/…/Dimension-88-Retail Troubleshooter

Together we can help Britains Retail.

Kind regards

Michael Coe

Retail Specialist

“There is just not enough time in the day to do all the jobs and tasks that I am being asked to do.”she thought.

To the outside world Andrea was performing to extremely high standards but her Area Manager began to notice that Andrea was not her usual bouncy self. Behind the scenes all was not well and the staff were unmotivated,bored and not completing their jobs properly and store standards in certain places were beginning to slip.

Her Area Manager was concerned and began a conversation with Andrea to find out why she was tired and why jobs and tasks were not being completed properly. It transpired that Andrea was trying to do everything on her own. She had decided that she could not trust any member of her team to do the jobs required as they would not meet her standards.

Andrea’s Area Manager asked about the TRAINING and development of her store team. Andrea had replied,

“I have too much to do and TRAINING is just not a priority. The delivery comes in on a Thursday am. I have staff on holiday,I have to cover the shop floor and put out the delivery as only I know where the stock goes. I have a huge list of jobs to do and then I have to serve customers to meet my sales targets. The staff are lazy and disinterested. It’s a miracle if they turn up to work on time. If I ask them to complete a task I find it is not completed properly.So I am better off doing it myself!

Andrea’s very wise Area Manager said that they would investigate further and asked to see the store team. The stores supervisor was out spoken and known for honest criticism.

“Andrea does not train us. We have not had staff training for weeks. We all want to help her but we do not know how to. We all feel left out and the information is not passed on to us. It is not that we are lazy it is because we have not been shown. Is there a TRAINING programme?

Andrea’s Area Manager went back to her with the findings. I know exactly how to help you Andrea, but it will involve you TRAINING your team. Lets put in place a regular training day and conduct staff training sent out by Head office. Your team are willing to learn and develop and it is your responsibility to ensure this happens.

“Do you agree?”

Andrea agreed to a 3 month turn around and planned in staff training on a regular basis each week. Over the 3 month period Andrea was less tired, the store standards excelled to even higher standards and the store team were very happy.

I am so pleased I have trained my team thought Andrea, as it lets me get on with other exciting duties.

Are you Andrea?

In todays business world organisations need to understand Branding and Brand identity. I am convinced that up and down the country and even the world, HR and Training professionals are discussing their business Brand and what it means to loyal Customers.

Brand names and what they mean to consumers can sometimes be under estimated by Small Medium Enterprises. A brand name has to distinguish your business offering to consumers within a particular industry or sector by not using or including the service or location you operate in. A brand name has to be individual and unique to the service you provide.

What role does HR and Training play in the use of Brand Names?

To compete with increasing competition a brand name is essential to highlight your business and services to stand out from the crowd. HR and Training professionals have a key role in ensuring a company brand is fully understood and its reputation is protected by all employees who work for an organisation. HR and Training departments have to educate employees to understand what is behind a brand and protect misuse of company Trade Marks and Logos.

Brand names are they valuable?

A brand name for your Small Medium Enterprise is very valuable and can protect your businesses Intellectual Property Rights. Registering your business at Companies House does not protect your IPO or brand name.

How do I choose a brand name?

Selecting a brand name needs to take time. Advice should be sought from a professional Marketing consultant who can help you with clear suggestions of what makes a good brand name in their opinion. Any brand names you choose must not be similar in any way to registered brand names that are registered Trade Marks. If you have a brand name similar to a registered Trade Mark you could face legal action and be forced to remove the business name you are trading under.

I have an excellent name for my business what should I do?

Once you have come up with a suitable Brand name that could be possibly registered as a Trade Mark, try not to advertise it to the world as your competitors may get to register it as a Trade Mark before you do!

I need advice who can I ask?

Get advice from the Intellectual Property Office (ipo.gov.uk) or find a Trade Mark Solicitor who can check the name to see if it can be registered as a Trade mark.

Your Chamber of Commerce can also help you!

Go to any town or city and walking around you will see empty shops either boarded up or abandoned. Look inside and you can see how they were left when the employees were told they had lost their jobs.

There is however hope for our High street towns and city centers. It is not all doom and gloom. It is time to make changes and fight back. As retailers we need to get together as a community to provide a better retail experience all round.

We need to attract customers by having a clean, tidy and welcoming environment. Visitors and customers should feel safe and have easy access to all facilities. The customer offer should also incorporate the towns unique features and make them a tourist destination for tourism as well as local residents to shop and be entertained.

Town centers need to have active town management and groups of retailers who can adapt to change and develop new services. We need to understand our town and fall in love with it all over again.

As retailers once we have some of the above in place, then it is time to work towards creating an environment where people want to shop,meet friends and stay into the evening for entertainment. Our High street towns should be open 24/7 , 7 days a week.

It is time for change,lets work together as a community!