One of the most common questions that I get asked is “Hey, I'm a brick-and-mortar retail location, how can I begin to work with you in a way that doesn't cost me anything up front yet allows me to still explore options that we might be able to implement to elevate my business?”. Yes, it is amazing how well structured this common question is asked so the most succinct answer I can come up with is let's curate together!
One of the things that I really like to offer, which is also a component within the overall concept of curating communities, is to have the people within a community bring forward a selection of different types of products that ultimately get showcased within local retail locations. This is not the only component as this brings in its own logistical challenges, but we try there first, within our own community. From there we have built relationships with product wholesalers that also support many local brands and provide their frontend management to consolidate orders across multiple brands they offer. In combination we discuss a designated space to curate new offerings on display for your customers. Maybe that is your way to introduce new things while sharing profits and paying nothing out of pocket!
The only out of pocket comes in when you are ready to move forward and even that can happen in many forms. You may just allow us to refer you to our wholesalers for your own relationship, after all you do already have an established store. In that case we get a referral fee from the wholesaler and maybe we work out a consultative relationship to continue sharing ideas and taking advantage of other offerings I provide ;) In many instances a business owner already has a list of pain points so we typically start there, but no matter what the outcome we are striving for we are often looking for no cost, low cost, or predictable cost options, in that order!
If we had to describe other examples without giving away all of our secrets I would say that our higher concept is to bring various offerings that bridge the gap of understanding between the technologies shifting buying trends and how to best maneuver within a mainly traditional retail curation structure. Pathways forward and strategic decisions are no longer built on calculated metrics, but rather now, a series of failures until success makes up for all of it when something goes viral. And even if success strikes, can you be prepared for the influx of short term customers and then capture a member base for longer term success and hopefully replicate another viral push improving each time you implement? It even sounds like a daunting task reading it out loud and that is why few get it right!
Fortunately there are many ways to shape a business. Fundamentally it is listening to your customers, open mindedness and awareness to bring NEW into the environment, and a compassion for the community you reside to treat it's people, your customers, fairly with a welcoming atmosphere. The engagement model and the tools used to facilitate that engagement is the thing that will differentiate your business in a way that connects you to the customers you want to target.
This also serves as a great framework of continuous improvement towards a successful business model and that is where I come in! All of these pieces of a larger conversation with a more holistic view of your business and how it fits into your overall lifestyle are the puzzle pieces to organize in such a way that it provides the picture of your best outcome. I use my combined skills, aggregated over a few careers, to refine or revamp processes and from there leverage or create tools to enhance communication and visibility around opportunity!
Let's get started and see where the fun leads…
We are excited to hear about your local projects or how you are thinking to grow your business so please drop us a line at support@curatingcommunity.com!