July 30-Aug. 5
STRATEGY What’s the biggest problem facing your store today? Now what is the smallest thing you can do to respond to that? What are you waiting for?
Aug. 6-12
SALES Your back-to-school promotions should be in full swing by now. If your appointment calendar isn’t full of young people, ramp up with reminders on social media, plus phone calls, emails and text messages to clients with school-age children.
Aug. 13-19
OPERATIONS Next time you’re out shopping, pick up a small mirror to put next to your office phone. Check that you’re smiling before you pick up the phone.
Aug. 20-26
marketing Design a postcard for Grandparents’ Day (Sept. 9) directing customers to your website for special promotions.
Aug. 27-Sept. 2
MARKETING Social media may seem casual, but to be effective, it needs to be planned. During this holiday week, schedule events like Facebook contests, holiday promotions (“stocking stuffer ideas”) and year-end priorities (“10 ways to use your flex-dollars”). Max it up and include visuals.
Sept. 3-9
OPERATIONS If you’ve kept the door open a lot this summer, there’s likely to be a nice layer of dust that’s settled over windowsills, in floor corners and elsewhere. It’s time to clean up.
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Sept. 10-16
MANAGEMENT Just about everybody believes they need to improve their speaking skills. Christy Fletcher from QVC advises recording yourself, but don’t play it back immediately. “Allow time to separate yourself from what you have recorded, so you can be more objective,” she wrote for eHow.
Sept. 17-23
MARKETING Start working through your customer data to identify your best customers for a special Christmas promo such as $50, $75 or $100 gift cards.
MERCHANDISING Plan for at least one trunk show in the last quarter: A ladies’ night, a new designer line, Black Friday … Try shaking your routine up this year.
Sept. 24-30
OPERATIONS Need help setting up your desk? Consider the P-L-A-C-E system, as described in How To Set Up A Desk, to give yourself a clean, organized control center: There’s a detailed outline here:invmag.us/071802
