Building Careers at Specialty TRE 2023
Zoom In and Zoom Out
I read an article in Harvard Business Review about a good leader’s ability to ‘Zoom In and Zoom out’ on their business to establish proper perspective. Zooming out allows leaders to see the big picture and the overall direction of their business in a competitive landscape. Zooming in allows leaders to address specific issues in areas of business that can affect the big picture, positively or negatively.
The skill requires quick refocus, like a telescopic lens.
The article reinforced the CEO job description we’ve talked about for years.
1) Articulate the Vision (zoom out)
2) Intercept Entropy (zoom in)
3) Define the Culture (zoom out). Properly sequencing the ‘in and out’ is vital.
Too much time zooming out, and an owner can lose touch with key issues or opportunities occurring daily that can make a difference. Too much time zooming in, and an owner can let the tyranny of the urgent consume them and lose sight of vision, culture, and strategies required to move business ahead.
The article got me thinking about a key distinction between leaders and managers. The telescopic nature of zooming requires leaders to focus on multiple planes. Conversely, managers thrive when they utilize a wide-angle lens across a single plane. Effective management connects the many moving parts of a business using a 360-degree view which establishes order instead of chaos.
Both leaders and managers are essential in any organization, and healthy businesses have key personnel who are more gifted in one discipline. Is it possible to be both a good leader and a good manager? Yes, but to do so, you must consciously determine which lens you are using so you get the right picture.
Who are the natural leaders or managers on your team? Are you more of a wide-angle or telescopic lens type of person. With whom should you surround yourself to make sure all perspectives are delivered?
Consider these questions and the skills required to ‘zoom in and out’ or to have a ‘360-degree view’ when addressing your team and your business.
Specialty Run Compensation TRE 2022
The Long View
The #1 question we’ve been fielding at Karnan Associates over the past 60 days is, “How long is this going to last?” Of course, every business is up compared to March-April 2020. That was a forgone conclusion. But a surprising number of stores experienced their biggest March in history, and April didn’t slow down the way it often does after a big spike. What appears to be happening is a series of waves crashing into specialty running stores in succession resulting in sales growth that will continue at least through the 3rd quarter and probably into next year. Wave 1 was another round of stimulus payments. Wave 2 is the vaccine rollout. Wave 3 is the anticipation of a summer vacation. Wave 4 is the promise of fall events, and wave 5 is a bona fide back to school. If you just read these opening sentences, and it sounds like you are living in a different economy, don’t fret. Most likely you are in a colder metro market. The course of the sales growth trend began in rural markets and is moving to urban and began in warmer climates and is moving to colder. High levels of consumer savings are genuine, and the spending will hit your market. A recent New York Times article reported that household savings is $4.1 trillion today compared to $1.2 trillion before the pandemic.
So, what can get in the way of a record year at specialty? There are several factors to keep an eye on. Some we can control. Some we can’t.
1: Redirected consumer spending on Services—Spending on goods rose 5.4% in the US while spending on services only grew by 1.1% in the first quarter.* The pent-up demand on services and entertainment may get the lion share of disposable income this summer. Americans have had some opportunity to revenge spend on consumer goods since last June. They have not had the chance to do the same on travel, entertainment, and services. When this spending is unleashed, there may be an inevitable slowdown on the sale of goods. Travel and Leisure has generally favored the specialty running store. People wear what we sell when they travel. More importantly race participation makes up a part of this untapped demand, which benefits specialty retailers directly. There is enough good news here to believe that our industry will continue to grow in Q2 and Q3, but it is good to recognize that shortly we will not have the undivided attention of our customer’s disposable dollar.
2: Supply Chain Scarcity—Can you imagine trying to forecast this year’s Q3 and Q4 demand last August? Our vendors needed that crystal ball, but it was murky at best. Wildly optimistic forecasts would have seemed irresponsible, and so the most bullish suppliers placed cautiously optimistic PO’s with their factories for Fall ‘21 product. Currently, stores are experiencing growth of 20% over pre-pandemic levels in markets that have ‘heated up’. As the rest of the country follows suit, demand will outpace supply until the vendors can adjust. Scarcity will help margins and keep our industry from overheating, but it could also prevent us from reaching 2021 potential. The appropriate action for product line managers is to stock up now if you have the capacity to do so. This advice is contrary to conventional inventory management practices. RIA members will remember a great discussion a few months back about the right inventory footwear turnover for our industry. The range varied from 4 to 8 turns annually, but the consensus was that product velocity is important to maintain cash flow. Today, a bird in the hand is more important. With the long runway of summer ahead of us, an extra month supply of top sellers that may not be available down the road is a good investment for your business.
3: Inflation—The financial world is divided today about whether inflation or deflation is a greater economic threat. I am not an economist, and when I pretend to be one, I get in trouble. However, in the spirit of simplifying a complicated issue there are two opposing thought groups. People in the inflation group believe that money supply, household wealth, loose central banks, and supply shocks will wash through the economy and push prices up. Those in the deflation group believes that money hording, household fear, loose labor markets, and excess capacity will drive prices down. The initial reading on our industry’s first quarter performance indicates that the inflation group might be winning the argument. While shop owners can’t control inflation, they can set themselves up for it. For starters convert short-term high interest rate debt into fixed rate long-term debt. The SBA recently increased loan limits for EIDL loans allowing for business owners to apply for loan increases or get an initial loan at a 3.75% fixed rate. If there is no short-term debt to convert, a fixed 3.75% interest rate is still cheap money if inflation is on the horizon.
4: Inertia—We got it done last year. From online to appointment and from courier to curbside, we adapted our businesses to meet the customer any way they wanted. As industry consultants, the Karnan Associates team witnessed your pivots, responses, and investments. You didn’t just survive. You thrived. Over the past 60 days in-store transactions have been ahead of typical March and April levels. Slamming Saturdays are back. Directing store leadership’s attention to the showroom floor makes sense and is only natural, but not at the expense of the nimbleness you established in 2020. At Market Week in January, the content focused on 3 next-level objectives which remain keys to long term growth.
Marketing as a Core Competency at Specialty Run
Streamlining Omnichannel Experience
Continuing Team Development
As you plan your summer projects, keep the long view. Experience is the retail differentiator and the way to achieve this is through personalization and seamlessness. Spontaneous purchases are giving way to considerate purchases as consumers carefully select who they want to shop with based on how they connect with the brand. Multiple convenient shopping platforms, timely and personalized messages, and brand communications that express your core values all weigh-in to this selection. We don’t have much control over some of the factors listed, but our efforts can be a force that changes inertia.
As an industry we have a lot to look forward to. The next few months will be fast paced and will bring new highs to many stores. Sales growth remains an important indicator of success, but the next level requires looking beyond today’s growth. If you really want this to last, invest in the people and infrastructure that will differentiate your experience in the years to come.
Parker Karnan
Parker Karnan, founder of Karnan Associates, has worked in the specialty run industry for the past 30 years. Parker and his team spend their days working with specialty run retailers across the country doing their part to help each store Run Great! Question for Parker? Email at parker@karnanassociates.com.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Best Practices - Basic Foundation
Search engine optimization (SEO) is often about making small modifications to parts of your website. When viewed individually, these changes might seem like incremental improvements, but when combined with other optimizations, they could have a noticeable impact on your site's user experience and performance in organic search results.
Prior to implementing an SEO Strategy, the following access is necessary to conduct an in-depth website audit and determine a baseline for where we are and continue tracking progress from adjustments.
Access to Google Analytics for your Website
Access to Google Search Console for your Website
Login Information for your Domain Host Account (i.e. GoDaddy, Bluehost, etc.)
Suggested Implementation to Begin an SEO Strategy:
Perform an audit of your website; review KPI’s in Google Analytics to understand where you are currently and where there are opportunities for improvement
From the website audit, prioritize opportunities and adjust and optimize accordingly
Do keyword research to understand the search volume and opportunities to rank
Determine what topics and keywords you want to rank for in search
Adjust/Curate content on your website to work towards ranking for preferred keywords
Proactively implement link building strategy
Basic SEO Checklists:
Title Tags are unique to each page and include the page’s keyword (Avoid duplicate title tags)
Include Metadescriptions on all pages (Avoid duplicate copy from page to page)
Create content that is relevant to your keyword/keyword phrase and place the keyword in the first sentence of your page content in addition to 3-4 times throughout the body of the content.
Use “internal linking” where applicable (link to other pages of your website from your page) and use good “anchor text” i.e. use “brand new shoes” as the link text versus “click here for additional information”.
Use Header Tags and avoid duplications from page to page
Use Image Alt Tags (briefly describe the image you’re using. If it’s multiple words to describe, put a dash between the words rather than spaces).
Website Audit Information:
Free online website audit tools (please note there is limited access and functions in the free versions)
include SEOptimer, SEMrush.
Helpful SEO Checklist Tools:
Yoast SEO for Wordpress, Google SEO Starter Guide, Bing Webmaster Tools
Helpful Content Curation Tools:
Interested in what topics people are searching relevant to a keyword? AskThePublic | PeopleAlsoAsk
Need a quick, cloud-based content builder with templates? Canva.com
Keyword Research Tools:
Ubersuggest, Reddit Keyword Research Tool, Google Ads Keyword Planner
Writing Copy
Prior to writing any copy, it’s important to know your audience and who you’re wanting the message to resonate with. Your copy and messaging should be answering your audience's questions, bring value to their lives, or relate to something they’d understand.
Please keep in mind, Facebook copy is NOT weighted as high a priority as the image you’re pairing it with. The key to writing copy on Facebook is brevity, speaking to your audience, complementing the image, and including the call-to-action (clickable when possible). Please note if putting copy in your actual image, it’s best to limit this to less than 20% of your image.
That said, the business best practices for copy on facebook, include:
Tie your text to a visual
Create different copy for different audiences
Tailor your message to the audience - choose a character for your audience and talk to them
Be recognizable - stay on brand with your messages
KISS - Keep it short and sweet and focus on one thing you want to iterate to your audience
Stick to one call-to-action
Mention price (when appropriate) - this is a motivator for people to purchase
Include a time frame (“now” “this week” to create a sense of urgency and limited time)
Please note, the above is specific to Facebook Ads and Paid content. It is encouraged to experiment with your organic posts and post content that is performing well and resonates best with your audience. Long form content can perform well if it connects with your audience.
For Instagram:
Put the important content at the beginning. Be punchy in the first 125 characters.
Include a call-to-action
Use Hashtags
Use Emojis (when applicable)
Be creative in the copy and let the visual and copy complement each other
Tag other people/brands if in the image or when cross-promoting
Website/Blog:
Depending on the context in which the copy will be placed, length will vary. If you want your reader to move quickly through a page toward a goal, include informative, but brief sentences or bullets. If you’re hoping to engage a user to spend more time with your content, a general rule of thumb is to plan for 1,000 quality words.
Begin with the main purpose of the article/blog in the first sentence
Speak to the target audience by answering questions they are seeking around the topic you’re writing about
If there are people in your niche you have access to that are experts in the topic, consider having them guest write or interview them and bring in quotes
Promote Your Content:
Cross promote your content through your other social channels and any guest featured writers
Consider posting links to the relevant content you’ve created in forums such as local
facebook groups related to your niche, reddit or quora when folks are asking questions
that your copy/content answers
Blogging Best Practices
Prior to starting a blog, please consider the following:
Who is my audience, what questions/problems do they have, and how will my content help them?
Create a list of your audience groups and define what questions they may have
What product/service/event/expertise do I have knowledge about that I can share with my audience(s) that will directly answer their questions?
Create a list of topics you can write on (please note blogs should be at least 1,000 quality words) that will appeal to your audience(s)
How often will I create new content? *Consistency is key*
Schedule time to create your blog posts and insert this into your content calendar strategy
You understand your audience, you have a list of topics you can discuss, and you’re ready to begin:
Keyword Research
Put yourself in your audience’s perspective… what terms/queries would they type into Google where your blog would come up? Type those queries/words into your Google Ads Keyword Planner or for broad trends, Ubersuggest and/or Google Trends
Use the main key word and long-tail keywords you want to be indexed for in your Header (H1 Tags), in the first paragraph of your content, and at least twice in the article (do not overstuff as that will negatively impact), in your metatag description, and in any image alt tags where applicable.
Have a click-worthy title (you can use this free tool to check - 70 or higher is great)
Write your meta descriptions
Describe why the content is relevant to the audience and what your page has to offer
Use Blog Tags to provide a better user experience and allow them to search through your blog content based on category (i.e. running, cycling, swimming, rehab, etc.)
Use links throughout your content
Link to other relevant internal web pages when they’re referenced or products when applicable.
Have great content
Use optimized images for your featured image and throughout your article. Tools like TinyPNG or WPSmush are free options to optimize your images prior to uploading. When naming your image, use dashes to separate words (i.e. best-running-techniques)
Have a call-to-action (sign up for newsletter to stay informed, purchase products, etc.)
You’ve created your blog post. Now what?
Promote
Share it on social
Share it in your email newsletters
Pass it along to influencers within the niche community your post is relevant to see if they’d be open to sharing it or backlinking to it from their websites
Backlink Building
Continue to link to the post when relevant and ask other community members to link to it when relevant
Analyze
After you get a sense for the content your audience is consuming, adjust accordingly and continue to create and share what works.
Promoting an Instagram ONLY Ad
Navigate to your Facebook Business Ads Manager
Create an Ad
Choose your objective
Create your AdSet
Scroll down to “Placements” and choose “Manual Placements” (Automatic is chosen by default)
Deselect all except Instagram
Continue to create your Ad
Publish your Ad
Your Ad will now be submitted for review and upon verification, will be delivered only on Instagram
Social Commerce on Facebook and Instagram
The following are required prior to launching the Shop Feature on Facebook & Instagram:
A Business Instagram Page
The Facebook Business Account and Instagram Page Linked
Create a “Commerce Account” in Commerce Manager
Prior to beginning, ask yourself the action you want the customer to take
Be directed to your website to purchase (recommended)
Send you a Direct Message about the Product
How to Create the “Shop” Functionality: Click here for an overview.
Navigate to Facebook Business Manager’s “Commerce Manager”
Either Create Your Commerce Account if you don’t already have one or Upgrade Your Shop
Add Manually (Recommended)
Ensure your Instagram Account is Linked to the Shop
Click Settings in the Commerce Manager
Click “Business Assets”
Click “Instagram” in the Ad and Sales Channels Section
Add the associated Instagram Account
Wait for Verification (can take a few days)
Save and Publish your Shop
You can now create posts with “Tag Products” on Facebook
Go to your Facebook Business Page and however you choose to post, choose “Tag Products” and choose whichever products you created in your shop as the post.
Once Verified on Instagram, you can create clickable shop posts.
Go to your Instagram Profile Page
Click the Settings Tab (top right three lines) and click Settings Again
Click “Business” then tap “Shopping”
Select the “Product Catalog”
Click “Done”
Now that you’ve enabled Shopping, you can use Shopping Tags in posts and stories.
Helpful Resources:
Using Hashtags
What is a hashtag, and why is it important?
#thisisahashtag
They are used to categorize content and make it more discoverable. Hashtags are clickable. Anyone who clicks on an Instagram hashtag or conducts an Instagram hashtag search will see a page showing all the posts tagged with that hashtag.
How do they help?
When you use a hashtag, your post will appear on the page for that hashtag. If you use a hashtag on your Story, it could be included in the relevant hashtag Story, which also appears on the hashtag page. People can also choose to follow hashtags, which means they could see your hashtagged post in their feed even if they don’t follow you (yet). Using relevant, targeted hashtags on your posts and stories is still one of the best ways to get discovered by new audiences on Instagram. And this can translate into more engagement, more followers, and more customers for your business.
They always start with #
Make sure your accounts are public
KISS - keep it short & sweet
Stay relevant and be specific
Limit the number you’re using (there is no specific number, but suggested to stay between either 1-3 very specific, brand or context based hashtags, or between 8-15 if the photo is relatively generic and can relate to several hashtags)
Instagram suggestions for getting discovered:
Hashtags indicating your product or service
Hashtags indicating your niche in your industry
Hashtags for Instagram communities in your industry (#[your brand community])
Hashtags for special events or seasons (#nationalrunningday, #blackfriday, #[insert race hashtags])
Hashtags using location (#[find popular hashtags used for your city and within local communities)
Daily hashtags (#mondaymotivation, #tuesdaytip, #wellnesswednesday, #throwbackthursday, etc.)
Hashtags with phrases relevant to what you do (#[yourtaglines])
Hashtags with acronyms (#qotd = quote of the day, #ootd = outfit of the day)
Hashtags with emojis (#shoes👟 or #🌞)
Tools:
Facebook & Instagram 101
Prior to posting on social media, ask yourself the following questions:
Does what I’m about to post:
Align with my brand
Give value to my audience(s) in the form of education, inspiration, information, relevance or entertainment
Have the potential to be perceived negatively or controversially? (double check this prior to posting, and if so, readjust)
When posting to Facebook:
Take advantage of the best times to post (when your audience is most engaged)
Go to your Facebook Page and click “Insights”
In the “Insights” tab, click “Posts” and view the top graph showcasing the peak times your audience is online
Post 30-45 minutes prior to the peak times
Share the content your audience most resonates with
In the same “Posts” tab in “Insights”, get an understanding for the content your audience prefers
When posting to Instagram:
Ensure your Instagram Page is a Business Profile (this will allow you to see analytics)
Use Hashtags
Tag your location (preferably the city so the post populates in that tab)
Tag any people who are in the photo
Content Creation:
Stay on brand (use similar color schemes, use tone of voice on branded messages)
Be relevant (create messaging around global/national/thematic events that align with brand)
Share value (think of your content as 80% inspirational, educational, entertaining and 20% pure promotions)
Maintain consistency (create a schedule that will allow consistency). It’s recommended to post at least 3 times per week and no more than 2-3 posts per day (unless you are documenting an event as it’s happening)
Understand your business rollouts and create content around those products in a content calendar
Measure results:
Create quantifiable goals for your organic and paid efforts (New followers? Higher engagement rates? Direct conversion acquisition? Cross Promotional Partnerships?)
Understand the insights tab and export metrics into an excel sheet to easily see aggregated data month over month and year over year to begin understanding consumer behavior with your content
Adjust content and marketing strategies based on results
Taking Great Photo & Video From Your iPhone
Jenny Sanborn, a former news photojournalist and current Marketing Director hosted the first Future Track Webinar of 2021 by sharing tips and tricks for taking great photo & video on your iPhone.
Karnan Associates has a select group of Future Track Stores each year that receive 1:1 marketing strategy sessions to discuss content, product launches, events, and digital campaigns. The webinar series is one aspect of KAMRUN our Future Track stores benefit.
Market Week 2021
Scroll through our presentations below or Download the .PDF’s by clicking the links below:
The Next Level
I am convinced that we will come out of 2020 stronger as an industry, and we will look back on this period as a time that launched us to the next level. However, optimism is not a strategy. The reason for my optimism and the strategy is what follows.
Next Level Objectives for 2021
Establish Marketing as a core competency for specialty run
Enhance Omnichannel sales as a seamless business practice
Continue development of store team leadership
Marketing as core competency: Among the 5 business disciplines of Sales, Marketing, Product, Operations, and Finance, specialty running stores have traditionally had the least sophistication in marketing. Why? Because event driven marketing has effectively grown store business for three decades. We know how to grow sales through events. It’s a natural fit for us. Without events in 2020, stores have found new ways to communicate. Many have dedicated more employee hours to marketing and have explored the use of new tools provided by companies like Upper Quadrant, Drive, or the Karnan Associates marketing suite called KAMRUN. By necessity stores shifted attention to enhanced marketing methods that can pay dividends down the road. We can begin recruiting for marketing expertise, dedicate more hours to the discipline, and raise our external communication to the same levels of personalization that we have created within our showrooms. Specialty stores need to own personalization because relationships and community building is what differentiates your business from Dick’s and Amazon. Specialty cannot out-convenience or out-price larger format stores. You can out-serve and out-personalize them.
Seamless Omnichannel sales: One blessing of 2020 is that running stores now sell online. According to an RIA dealer survey, running stores with e-commerce sites jumped from 3 in 10 in February to 9 in 10 by July among members. Thanks to specialty run focused e-commerce platforms like Fitted and the Run Free Project store owners found turn-key solutions that catered to their business. In April and May online sales accounted for up to 40% of sales for those stores that got online early but have dropped to 1.5% of sales in August and September as traffic patterns reverted to status quo. It’s easy to think of a seamless transactional experience between online and B&M as a convenience strategy—and it is for our large format competition, but for specialty run it’s a service strategy that will allow us to interact with the customer on their terms without sacrificing the quality of the interaction. The recipe is one-part tech, one-part personnel investment, one-part digital expertise, and one-part care. In 2020 Karnan Associates worked with stores that had some of these ingredients. It’s time to put it all together in 2021.
Leadership Development: Next level businesses require next level people and creating a career pathway for talent is a continued emphasis for running retail. If you discover someone who is humble hungry & smart, a lifelong learner, and loves the running industry, find a way to keep them. A thriving wage matters but just as important is a trajectory. Providing visibility on where they can go with you and what they will learn along the way attracts people with the attributes mentioned earlier. If you are a smaller business with limited leadership roles, invest in continued education and polish your talent. If employees feel they are developing on your team, they are more likely to stay. When it comes to wages, invest in output. The revenue per hour specialty best practice on the sales floor is $150/hour per employee. A superstar staff can flex to $200/hour on a busy day (albeit not every day). If three can do the work of four, you can afford to pay them 25% more and your payroll budget remains intact. Finding next level people requires you to know what you want. Write specific job descriptions for positions you need and post jobs that combine sales floor hours with these desired skill sets (e.g. marketing, apparel buying, event planning). A job posting for an apparel product line manager who also merchandises and works the floor attracts a different candidate than a posting for a part-time associate.
We’ve weathered a lot this year as an industry and our resourcefulness put us in great position for 2021. Paul Epstein, owner of Running Wild in Pensacola said to me today, “Before I felt like I was missing key pieces to the puzzle. Now I have all the pieces, and I just need to put the puzzle together.” Paul, I’m quoting you because I couldn’t say it any better. Here’s to our industry and taking it to the next level in 2021.
Parker Karnan
Adapting to Change
Last week I was on a call with one of our clients. She was describing her weekend and mentioned that she loved hearing the wind blow as she sat outside with her family. As she spoke, I couldn’t help but visualize the picture that she was describing to me. It was peaceful and calm. Then in an instant, my mind grabbed hold of “the wind” she mentioned. I could actually hear it and see it.
Have you ever watched a tree bend or sway gracefully when the wind blows against it? It does not stand rigid, resisting the flow of energy. It does not push back. The tree accepts the strong wind as a blessing that helps it grow.
As I thought about this more, it made me realize that this is what so many of businesses that we work with have experienced this year. The winds have blown hard. They began when Covid-19 blew in, then came the storms of social injustices and riots and followed by the natural disasters of hurricanes, floods and fires. Any one or all of these things could have broken their spirits or business. But like a tree, they have weathered the storms.
Like so many, my client has moved toward change with an open mind and heart. These strong winds have allowed for personal growth, learning and progress. I am proud to say that it has been a blessing to be a part of this journey together. Strength has arisen through the process. The outcome is that the business is stronger. The team is stronger. The community is stronger. She is stronger. We are all stronger.
The hard and rigid will break. The soft and flexible will remain.
Tao Te Ching
- Midge Good, Karnan Associates
Are You Approachable?
Bob Wallace was the inspiration of this article written in 2008. Bob sold his stores in 2012 and was enjoying his retirement in Colorado Springs when he learned he had brain cancer in 2019. He passed away in his home on July 21st. He was a friend and colleague to many, and he will be missed. He was a lovable grouch whose gruff persona was overmatched by his generous spirit. Over the last decade Bob’s vision of approachable running stores has become a model for successful growth across the country. Thank you, Bob, for pioneering your vision so others could follow.
At the first ever Running Event held in New York City, Bob Wallace, owner of RunOn! in Dallas, addressed the audience and challenged the group with a million-dollar question. He commented, and I paraphrase, “Every specialty store owner has a woman who drives by their store every day. She is 30 pounds overweight, out of shape, unhappy about it, and wants to change, but she has no idea that we are here to help her. She doesn’t even consider walking in our door. How do we appeal to her?”
Most specialty stores I have visited over the years were founded on the “for Runners by Runners” approach. Most owners have a running background and originally set up their businesses to appeal to like-minded people. As a result their customer base primarily consists of those people who consider themselves runners. The NSGA reports that 20.6 million people in the US identify themselves as runners--less than 9% of the adult population. Over time, most savvy owners have recognized the need to reach a broader audience. They recognize that many people who exercise don’t consider themselves runners and as a result, stores have been positioning themselves through educational seminars, clinics, diva nights, beginning running groups, and other marketing tactics to attract a broader clientele. But does marketing that you are approachable make you approachable? It is the difference between talking the talk and walking the walk.
What prompted me to write this article was a trip I recently took to a shopping destination in the southeast. As I window shopped the retailers on the main strip, I passed by a local specialty running store. The sign in the window made me stop in my tracks. “Help Wanted, Experienced Runners Only”. An approachable staff mirrors the customers it desires to attract. Running experience is a plus but certainly not a mandatory requirement unless a store wishes to confine its customer base to 9% of the adult population. I realize that my comments will rub some readers the wrong way and will be dismissed because in many minds store authenticity is established by having a team that models the running lifestyle. My contrarian position comes from a core belief that at specialty, the aspirational philosophy of establishing authenticity should give way to the approachable philosophy. The aspirational philosophy implies that customers aspire to adopt the attitudes and lifestyles the store presents. The approachable philosophy takes the customer where they are and offers customized solutions suitable for the individual. Aspirational branding works for electronic or automobile companies because it doesn’t matter what you look like to be a part of the brand. However, much of the country believes that in order to step into a running store, you must be fit. Have you ever delayed your annual doctor visit so that you could lose a few pounds first? Well, double that for someone who is out of shape and considers walking into a running store for the first time. Although effective for certain brands, the aspirational philosophy can polarize because it has the potential create an ‘us versus them’ mentality and intimidates those who feel they haven’t arrived (most of us).
Intimidation is perhaps the biggest foe of specialty retail shops. It starts with the name of the store. Most have the words run, runner, or running in the store name; others imply quickness by using words like speed, pace, or fleet. The woman that drives by your store every day may never want to run and has no desire to go fast, but you want to help her, and you know you can. I do not recommend that you change the name of your store. I do recommend that you take a hard look at the way you present yourself. Look at your staff. Are they diverse? Look at the products you offer. Do they cover a broad range of athletic abilities and body types? Look at your fitting benches and dressing rooms. Are they comfortable for all ages and allow for modesty? Look at your store posters, art, and décor. Do they feature health and community, or do they feature Prefontaine and ‘the lonely runner’ brand campaigns? Specialty running shops throughout the country have steadily grown over the years and have helped millions of people get the advice, service, and products they needed, but there are so many others out there who don’t know you exist. They drive right by without a consideration that you might be right for them. By taking a hard look at your business and assessing your approachability, you can open a whole new world of customers and find your own answer to the million-dollar question.