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CREATIVE INSIGHTS INC. |
Keynote and Other Presentations
We continuously develop new sessions based on client feedback, trends and research. Also, we update our presentations for each audience to ensure that the content is relevant and provides the maximum take-home value for the participants.
The goal of our keynotes and presentations (typically 60 to 75 minutes) is to stimulate thinking, evoke reaction and motivate while providing a solid dose of up-to-date information. Both informative and entertaining, this format works well for conferences, conventions, trade shows and larger corporate events.
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Forget Everything You Know About Entry Level |
Learn to fish in a different labor pool. Fundamental workforce changes have left many businesses in a constant struggle to find and keep skilled staff. And with endless turnover, they start to suffer and lose customers. It’s likely that these businesses still think of “entry level” employees as young people just entering the labor force. And find that recruiting these people is tougher today as a growing number of employers compete for a decreasing number of candidates – an imbalance that will last for years.
This keynote offers an innovative staffing solution that is being embraced by some of the world’s best retailers. It challenges businesses to change the way they define entry level and shows them how to harness the huge number of experienced and capable people in their 40s and 50s that are now available to employers. Laid off and downsized in mid-career, these people are anything but senior citizens. Includes the changes that most companies must make to attract and keep these reliable, productive employees.
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Give Customers What They Want |
A glimpse into the minds and hearts of those who matter the most. The companies that thrive – and survive – are those that best respond to the changing needs and wants of consumers. Sounds simple but it isn’t, because 95 percent of purchase decisions are subconscious. This keynote zooms into the mindset of today’s consumers on the emotional journey called shopping. It explains many distinct behavior patterns including why today’s bipolar marketplace confuses customers; why they shop for the lowest price instead of seeing an advantage in quality; and why they fly through the malls on auto pilot yet expect retailers to raise the bar each year. Includes best-practice solutions.
| On-Brand Customer Service |
The new competitive advantage. Every business seems to emphasize customer service, yet dissatisfaction with service is at an all-time high for many customers. Often this is because the service does not match the brand. For a customer, a brand is not a logo, a name or a product – it is a feeling, a reputation and a consistently delivered promise. And for a customer, service is always personal. This keynote shows how and why on-brand service – not breaking your brand promise on the most personal level – is now more crucial than ever. Session reveals ways to improve the total customer experience and deliver it consistently.
| Soaring on the Wings of Superior Service |
Unleash on-brand service. Only one retailer in a given market can have the greatest assortment or the lowest price, and everyone else must compete by offering reasonable levels of those plus superior service. This session explains how a business can harness the spirit of service – one of the most fragile and perishable of all corporate assets and one that customers often still find lacking. Covers the basic truths about service and value, service and branding, and the issues of price and loyalty. Shows how a business can soar on the current trend to EST retailing.
| The Psychology of Today’s Customers |
Why they sometimes turn left when we expect them to turn right. Most of us would agree that people are not behaving today like they were even ten years ago. This is because the world has changed and people have as well – especially their shopping habits and needs, and the way that they assess stores and prices. This session focuses on the underlying psychological changes that are making customers behave in new, unpredictable ways. Suitable as a conference keynote for a variety of audiences, it includes the reasons why people buy, the differences between men and women as customers and the influence of groups. Also includes a fun, challenging “Psych 101 Test.” Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
| There’s No Business with No Show Business |
Things we can learn from the entertainment industry. Retail strongly parallels entertainment because both are built on performance and communication with the public. When the doors open, the “actors” are on stage in a performance that will last all day. This presentation looks at the crucial art behind the science of retail. Drawing on creative examples from several of today’s top entertainment companies, it illustrates how retailers can offer a show that is consistently superior – no matter when the customer arrives. An entertaining and motivating conference keynote that includes great multimedia examples, this topic can also be an interactive workshop.
| Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business |
With all of the changes in the retail business over the past several years, it can be hard to separate the short-term news from the long-term trends. This keynote outlines the need for retail advancement and a new way of thinking in response to these significant trends that can play havoc with any retail business: China, price transparency, demographics and the need to take sides, demassification, customers as carp and technology creep. Learn what these mean and how to prepare your company, people and stores to thrive. Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
Designed for manufacturers and wholesalers Sell to others as you would have them sell to your real customers. Today’s retailers must focus on the customer and this keynote challenges manufacturers and wholesalers to do the same. Adopt a win-win-win mindset in which they sell to retailers the same way they want their brand sold to consumers. As one example: retailers are customers and should not have to think for themselves. Most are busier than ever, which gives suppliers an opportunity to add value and provide service by doing things such as interpreting industry trends and analyzing inventory. This session proposes that not all retailer “customers” should really be customers. Unless a supplier competes primarily on price, it is better off without dealers who claim they support the concepts of brand and quality – but not enough to pay a premium price. Encourages sales reps to have a passion to learn and excel, to be open to new ideas and to give retailers three good reasons to buy from them: selection, price and a relationship that considers the long term. |
Designed for non-retailers Ways to stay competitive in the toughest marketplace ever. This keynote is designed for non-retailers – companies in any industry that are struggling to understand, and succeed in, today’s complex consumer marketplace. Every company that serves customers is dealing with issues such as demographic polarization. This is forcing companies out of the middle so that being “everything for everybody” is no longer an option. Even more important is the issue of value, because if you don’t add value, customers will judge you on price – and any possibility of loyalty will vanish. But what exactly what is “value” to the customers of today? This eye-opening session gives answers from the “front lines” of the marketplace – retail companies that have to face these challenges head-on every day. It includes both the factual and the emotional drivers of today’s demanding consumers and, most valuable of all, shows what every business should learn from the successes and failures that retailers have had. Lessons include demographic drivers, key retail and consumer trends, supplier relationships, price transparency, the total customer experience, globalization, value, trust and loyalty. |
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A Bad Attitude is Contagious |
But a dose of teamwork can help. The worst thing a retail staff can catch is a bad attitude. When one person develops it, the rest will be exposed. Before long, everyone starts to show symptoms. The cure for this is teamwork – crucial to the success of any business because it provides an environment in which people voluntarily do their best. This session shows why a good attitude is both powerful and sustaining. Touching on empowerment, leadership and motivation, it shows what a manager can do to prevent his or her team from catching the wrong bug.
| Challenges of the Future |
The rebirth of small independent retail in America. Over 95 per cent of all retailers in the United States have only one store. Yet this segment is under tremendous pressure from larger competitors. This ground-breaking session is based on a study of successful independent retailers who are beating the odds and their larger competitors. Learn how they are doing it with practical, low-cost tactics that let them not just survive but thrive in this world of hyper competition. Session includes the six big challenges facing independents, new-solution thinking to deal with these, and real-life “best practice” examples. Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
| Five Measures that Will Change Your Business Forever |
Are you really focusing on the key drivers of your business? Do you know the three most important measures of productivity and how to compute them? Do you know how to make sure that everyone in your store is producing every day? Learn these top three hourly measures and the top two annual measures of success that will change your business. You will not only learn what they are, but also how to improve them – and your profitability. Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
| Harnessing the Wave of Experience |
Demographic trends are creating a shortage of younger workers, and a growing number of employers are competing for a smaller number of candidates. Fortunately, the aging of the baby boom is providing an alternate labor pool for businesses that understand and can implement innovative staffing solutions. This thought-provoking session, shows how to take advantage of the huge number of experienced and capable people in their 40s and 50s now available to employers – for the first time in 75 years.
| It Takes More Than “New and Improved” |
Ways to brand-match your service. Managing the total customer experience – and making it match the expectations of customers – is still one of the biggest challenges facing retailers. Companies invest large amounts of money enticing and attracting customers through media messages and physical settings, yet customers end up confused, disappointed and not buying. This presentation looks at the key areas of customer communication, and shows how to build sales, profit and customer satisfaction by focusing on the total shopping experience. This topic is also offered as an interactive workshop.
| It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas |
Things you can do now to build sales and profits. For most retailers, the last three months of the year represent the biggest chunk of sales and almost all of the profits. This means that during the Holiday Season, selling and service skills are more crucial than ever. This fast-paced session, geared to both managers and staff, explains how the customers this Christmas will be different from the customers of five years ago – and why everyone working in the retail business should care. Highlights what customers define as high-quality service, and offers tips on delivering what they expect.
| Most People Still Choose Value Over Price |
The bad news is that 25 per cent of all customers now shop on price alone, and they happily do it at a “vending machine” store. The good news is that 75 per cent of all customers still care more about value – what they pay in relation to what they receive. This presentation shows what it takes to build a core of loyal customers who will return often, refer others and pay more for the relationship. Includes the reasons why people buy, what they like and dislike, and the ways they define selection and convenience. Topic also works well as an interactive workshop.
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| On-Brand Service for a Competitive Market |
Although their stores look different, most retailers compete by offering some combination of specialized selection and personal service. In today’s over-crowded service segment, this requires a reality-checked understanding of what “service” means from a customer’s point of view. This presentation covers the issues of trust and loyalty, and explains how the Internet has redefined the notion of service. It also shows why a retail business must match its service with the brand promise and support its service philosophy throughout the operation, not just at the front end.
| Price Doesn’t Always Have to Be Lower |
Learn the secrets of pricing that no one ever told you about. Do you often just take the cost price and double it? Do you blindly accept the “Suggested List” price? Do you regularly take mark ups (or always mark downs)? If you answered “yes” to even one of these questions, then you need to attend this session! Learn how a one-per-cent increase in price has more effect on your bottom line than any other action you can take. Session highlights the things that customers will pay for, and shows how some successful retailers are following that lead. Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
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| Sell More of What You Have to Customers You Already Have |
Retailers often complain about a lack of traffic and sales, but this presentation identifies ways to increase your business by over 20 per cent with the customers who are already in your store. This is a fun, challenging and proven session that explains the difference between “vending machines” and true service retailers. It will also help you quantify and measure the somewhat fuzzy notion of “customer service.” At a time when business can be tough to get, the good news is that the answer to higher sales probably lies within the four walls of your store. Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
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| Start and Run a Retail Business |
Based on the book by Jim Dion and Ted Topping, this presentation provides practical instructions and solid advice on how an owner-operated retail business needs to be organized and managed to survive and prosper in today’s highly competitive retail environment. This program is like having a personal retail consulting session and, like the book, it is just as useful to retailers with established businesses as it is to people who are just starting up. Depending on the needs of the audience, this session can be tailored to emphasize any of the book’s chapters:
The basics of retail • Merchandising • Buying • Personnel • Sales management • Using computer technology • Customer service
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| The Customer is Not Always Right |
Customer service strategies for survival today. Not too long ago, we were taught to believe that the customer was always right. Learn how that may not be the case anymore – and how believing that it is could lead you to bankruptcy. You will be able to tell “Carp” (customers who are bottom feeders) from your best, most profitable customers. See why most retailers may be spending money protecting the wrong assets. Session includes seven critical questions that every business needs to answer before it can succeed – and seven “easy” steps to customer loyalty. Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
| Thirty Things to Do When Business is Tough to Get |
This program could also be titled Retail 101. It is a fast-paced look at basic tactics that any retailer can use today to increase business – and none of the strategies involve discounting price. A great presentation for store owners, managers and sales associates that includes the prime selling locations, effective merchandising techniques, people management and motivation, ways to increase sales, good promotional strategies and sharpening your competitive edge through better products and service. Developed originally by Dionco Inc.
Harness the spirit of service – match it with your brand |
A motivating keynote that looks at the crucial art behind the science of retail |
Most customers choose value over price, and you can use it to build loyalty |
Steps that make closing a sale a natural outcome of serving customers |
Don’t reduce prices, learn what customers will pay for |
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| Start and Run a Retail Business | Associates |
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