fbpx The holidays are the busiest time of the year, and this is definitely the case if you’re a multi-store business owner. There’s a lot to think about –  from inventory to employees to reaching your year-end goals. Let us help you make the most of the holidays and have success across all of your stores. Over the next few weeks, this blog series will offer tips to help make this season “the most wonderful time of the year” for your business. Consistency is crucial Consistency across stores is very important to ensure you are sending the same message about your business and brand. During the holidays, your brand is more visible, so it is important that your customers are getting similar experiences regardless of which location they are visiting. To make sure you are providing an experience that shoppers can rely on and trust, you should decorate your business to evoke emotion, have exceptional customer service, and utilize social media. Decorating for the holidays will make your stores more inviting and unique! What can you do to stand out from other retailers and make consumers want to come into your store? Maybe you could serve hot chocolate and cookies from a local bakery as a way to keep your customers happy while they are shopping around. Decorating your store will help you create an emotional brand experience that will help your customers enjoy their time in your store. Create a unique experience for your shoppers during the holidays that is consistent across all of your stores. Customer service is an important aspect of any business, but during the holidays it is essential that you can continue to deliver exceptional service to your customers. Because it is such a busy season and you need to make sure you have enough staff on hand ahead of time. Social media is a great way to increase brand awareness and get people to come into your store. You should have different social accounts for each of your store locations, but make sure they are promoting the same deals and have similar content across each channel. Reach out to the customers in your area and create incentives for them to visit your store. Because the holidays are so busy, you want to make sure you are more on top of your game than ever. When you own multiple stores, you have even more to keep track of and think about, but creating consistency across your stores should be a priority to help you have a successful holiday season. Stay tuned for next week’s blog post for holiday tips! In the meantime, click here to learn how to outshine your competitors this holiday season. In a few short weeks, we will be headed to Austin, Texas for The Running Event! Will we see you there? The Running Event is a conference and trade show for running specialty retailers. Every year thousands of specialty run retailers ascend on Austin for the four day event filled with education, interactive exhibits, and plenty of bonding time with fellow retailers. On December 1-4, more than 250 exhibitors will gather and you will be sure to see the newest technology and learn the latest trends for running specialty stores. What they have planned for this year’s event will be nothing short of exciting and informative. During the event, there will be opportunities to attend different speakers whose topics range from competing against the big box stores to growing beyond traditional running. You can look forward to hearing from: The schedule is packed with sessions and breakout discussions so you can learn tips about how to become a better running specialty retailer. You have to be sure to check out the TRE Experiential Zone or participate in some of the other events: It’s going to be a busy few days, but you definitely have to spend time on the trade show floor. Some of the big name exhibitors include Brooks, Nike, and New Balance. Be sure to stop by our booth at some point! We are booth #1530 and will be offering demos, special promotions and giveaways. We looking forward at seeing you there. Click here to learn more or check out our tips for managing a running store. When evaluating RICS as your potential inventory management solution, one area not to overlook is the four service level tiers that are currently offered. RICS offers a Limited, Standard, Professional, and Elite level of service that are all options available to every RICS client. Without getting into the details of each service level offering, I want to highlight the role of the Account Manager that comes into play when a client signs up to take advantage of the Professional or Elite service packages that RICS offers. When a RICS client signs up for the Professional or Elite package, the client will gain access to a single point of contact to help guide them through the transition process of moving over to RICS. A single point of contact can be essential as we have often found that our biggest competitor in the inventory management market is not Company X or Company Z, but rather the fear of change. A RICS Account Manager can help ease that fear of change through the strategic process created by RICS Executive team. This strategic process begins with an introductory call as soon as the clients sign up to the Professional or Elite Level. From there, the clients enters the onboarding process in which the Account Manager will be a part of each training session, again allowing for a single point of contact to document, understand, and address any concerns that come up as the organization transitions to using RICS. Furthermore, during your transition, the RICS Account Manager will have eight strategic checkpoints to help further educate and discuss best practices for the client to understand and potentially implement as their go-live date approaches. Once live with RICS, the RICS Account Manager will continue monthly checkpoints, offering additional strategic tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your RICS system. This Professional or Elite level of service comes to the client in addition to our RICS Standard level of support, currently offered 9:00 am – 9:00 pm EST. This additional line of support is valuable because the RICS Account Manger can help escalate enhancements or issues and provide a more in-depth understanding of current symptoms your organization could be experiencing. After using RICS for a few months is great time to review some of the current processes in place with your account manager. Whether you are a brand new store using the RICS system or you’ve been around for 30 years and have just recently made the transition, it is always beneficial to review current processes with the RICS Account Manager (e.g. Frequent Buyer Program, Mailing Lists, Customer Information Gathering, etc.). Reviewing these processes can allow for greater efficiency inside your organization that can enable you to become more profitable. RICS is a tool that enables retailers to manage their inventory in an efficient way that allows them to save time and money and become more profitable. With the assistance of a RICS Account Manager, the value of RICS can be realized faster than our Limited or Standard service offerings. Want to learn more? Visit www.ricssoftware.com or give us a call at 800.654.3123. The 4th quarter of each year for most businesses marks the start of strategy-making, planning, and budgeting. Some business leaders simply adjust last year’s budget by a few percentage points and impose it on their teams, but that’s an antiquated approach that’s sure to alienate team members and result in more of the same outcomes. Business leaders can and should do better! Planning is equal parts science and art. There’s not a right way to do it, but the act of planning is often times what generates the positive business results (not the plan itself). That’s good news for novice planners because you can start preparing for 2016 by reflecting on a few open-ended questions.
  1. What are the top 3 most important challenges our business will face next year?
  2. What are the revenue and profitability expectations?
  3. What resource changes are expected next year?
  4. What external conditions are changing in our market?
  5. What do my employees need to be successful next year?
Answering these questions will create a basic perspective on your organization’s future that can serve as an important foundation to creating awareness, understanding, commitment, and buy-in from your team. It’s important to be transparent with your organization about the upcoming year’s objectives so teams and individuals can align their goals and behaviors accordingly. If your people are unaware or don’t understand the organization’s goals, then you cannot be disappointed if they aren’t meeting your expectations. The best way to put your plan into action is to ensure your people are prepared to help!

How to manage your money so you can make more

As a business owner, managing your cash flow is one of your most important jobs. As a retailer, it is particularly critical as it goes hand in hand with managing a flow of goods that you hope to sell before you pay for it. Many of us who have been in the retail business for a long time have seen the ebb and flow of the economy over the years and how it has had a direct correlation to our bank accounts. We’ve seen our cash reserves fluctuate, and in turn, the amount of attention we give to what’s coming in and going out may become more or less focused. We know how important this function of our job is. The real question is how can you most efficiently manage your cash flow? Like I find most things in life, a detailed analysis and continued awareness will directly result in better preparedness and coming out on top. While my wife may find this trait annoying when it comes to planning a vacation, in business it is what separates those who are more profitable from those who just get by. So, what specific tasks do we need to accomplish to manage this process and plan effectively? Step 1: Create a purchasing budget. We know we can roughly prepare a budget by looking at past performance. However, how do we break that budget down? We must look at a ‘Sales Analysis’ by Vendor, by Class, and by Store if managing multiple locations. RICS Software makes these reports easily available to you and contains particularly important metrics like ‘ROI’ and ‘Inventory Turn.’ Step 2: Plan the flow of those goods according to when we’ll need them and when we’ll want to pay for them. That requires more analysis of what sells when and what you have on order. Since most of us receive discounts for placing future orders, we are planning delivery of goods 6-12 months in advance. Step 3: Balance the deliveries so you don’t get stuck with a ton of bills due at once. Running an ‘Open Purchase Order Report by Month’ in RICS will keep you keenly aware of how much you have on order for each month. It can also be set to reflect what you have due for payment each month based on information you enter. This can be dissected by Vendor or Class and will help you balance the flow of goods and keep you keenly aware of how much you will be spending on vendor invoices each month. Face it, most of us have been the bookkeeper, head marketer, primary buyer, number one salesperson, and chief janitor in our stores, all at the same time. Utilizing the best tools for achieving more efficiency in these roles is the only way to survive. It’s stressful and it’s not easy. Yet it can be, and is done by thousands of retailers everyday who are using RICS to be more profitable. Click here to learn how. We are excited to announce that we have made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America for the fourth year in a row! This year, we are ranked #3103 with a three-year sales growth of 112%. We were distinguished as one of only four Indiana-based software companies to make the Inc. 5000 list. “The story of this year’s Inc. 5000 is the story of great leadership. In an incredibly competitive business landscape, it takes something extraordinary to take your company to the top,” says Inc. President and Editor-In-Chief Eric Schurenberg. “You have to remember that the average company on the Inc. 5000 grew nearly six-fold since 2012. Business owners don’t achieve that kind of success by accident.” We are very excited about our continued success and growth as a company. “We are honored to be recognized by Inc. Magazine for our growth and achievements now four years in a row. Our people at RICS, clients, and partners work so hard together. It’s fulfilling to see that effort be materialized and rewarded.” – Jason Becker, COO. Check out Inc.com or read the Inc. 5000 Press Release. The RICS Team celebrated the end of the summer by having a “Back to School” party on Wednesday, August 5th. One of the main events during this party was a corn hole tournament, where everyone was randomly paired with another RICS team member to compete for the championship title. We also had people playing giant Jenga, ping pong, and other social games. We had a lot of great snacks including root beer floats, cheese and crackers, and the most delicious homemade cookies by our very own Holly Hammond. Brian Graham, one of our Business Development Managers, is a home brewer and supplied us with two of his favorite homemade beers (you can find his Brewery here!). When the tournament officially started, bags were flying and the crowd was roaring. Which team would go all the way and claim the prize? After several rounds of blood, sweat, and tears, we made it to our final four teams. At this point, we announced the prizes: the second place winners would get tickets of their choice to Symphony on the Prairie, and the first place winners would go home with 3rd row tickets to a Colts game later this fall. Not only were reputations and bragging rights on the line, but now these tickets were too. The competition became fierce, but only one team could come out on top. Tensions were high and breath was held, but it came down to Betsy & Josh vs. Aaron & Brad in the final game. Everyone was expecting a close and exciting game, but it ended at a shocking score of 21-4. While Aaron & Brad left the game with their heads hanging low, Betsy & Josh were celebrating their win and their awesome tickets. Our “Back to School” party was a great thing for our company culture. It was nice to have an excuse to hang out with everyone and get to know one another better. Check out some of these tips for having a fun company event on a budget: Looking for ways to boost your company’s culture? Check out this blog post. DSC_0465DSC_0468DSC_0469DSC_0471DSC_0480DSC_0511 RICS Software was recently selected for the 2015 Best of Indianapolis Award in the Software Company category! Each year, the Indianapolis Award Program elects successful companies that positively impact Indianapolis and model what local businesses should look like. Their mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy. Some of the criteria that is considered when selecting a winner for this award include the companies who: • Enhance the image of small businesses through customer service and community • Achieve marketing success in their local community and business category • Help make the Indianapolis area a great place to live, work and play RICS is honored to accept this award and will continue to strive to have a positive impact on the Indianapolis small business community! Check out the press release here. While work is a place where stress is usually more prevalent than happiness — especially in the world of retail — there is no reason you can’t change that. In fact, you can actually learn how to be happy at work with a few easy steps. As seen on the Today Show, the numbers 5, 3, and 1 can have a positive impact on your health and happiness. Let me explain how… First, you should spend at least 5 minutes a day meditating. It doesn’t have to be deep meditation, but just taking the time to focus on your breathing can diminish stress and help you to relax. “In as little as 30 days, 20 minutes of this kind of practice strengthened and built more grey matter in the brain’s pre-frontal cortex, which is the area of the brain associated with attention, emotion regulation and executive decision making,” psychologist Shilagh Mirgain found. The second step is to write down 3 good things that happen every day. When you think about the positive things that happen instead of the negative, it is likely to improve your mood. It’s definitely worth a try, considering it takes less than a minute to do! Overtime, this will help to train your brain to focus more on the positives than the negatives. Lastly, perform 1 act of kindness everyday to increase your happiness. By extending kindness to others, you are more likely to receive it, and in turn, you will feel more fulfilled and happy. From something as simple as throwing away a coworker’s trash to buying someone’s coffee, acts of kindness can be contagious and benefit everyone involved. These tips will help you to become happier overall, whether it is while you are at work, with your family and friends, or just living your life. I recommend that you try these three simple steps and see for yourself if you feel happier. It is 2015… does your retail store have a social media presence yet? In this day and age, it is safe to say that most shoppers have some type of social media account. You’ll want to make sure you’re keeping up with your customers! Here are some quick tips for engaging your customers through social media: Instagram Facebook Twitter And of course, encourage your customers to follow you on all of your accounts. If you’re still stuck and not sure what to do, you can look up some of the other retailers in your area and see how they’re using social media to their advantage. And then take it to the next level. Looking for more tips? Check out this post: 8 Ways to Enhance Customer Experience . Having moved to Indianapolis four days before starting at RICS, I was ready to jump right in. The time leading up to my first day was spent frantically unpacking, building an Ikea bed, meeting my fellow Orr fellows at onboarding, and celebrating my 22nd birthday. Nothing says it’s time to grow up like moving to a new city, starting your first job, and turning one year older, all in the same week! I was ready to face the real world. While I was feeling a little anxious before getting to the Bunker on Monday, my first day was even better than I could ask for! I was warmly welcomed by my coworkers on the marketing team, handed a new laptop, and some RICS apparel. I quickly picked up on the friendly, relaxed culture that RICS has. It made me excited that I was going to be working with people that I would also be friends with. After meeting with Betsy and learning about RICS as a whole, the two members from the marketing team that weren’t out of town joined in to talk about the marketing team’s structure and goals for 2015. Although I wasn’t getting the typical onboarding experience due to some absences in the office, it worked for me! It was clear that RICS has seen a lot of changes in the last few years, which makes it a fast-paced and dynamic environment. I definitely had a lot of questions about all of the specific marketing terms and abbreviations, but quickly caught on. The more I learned about the team and the types of projects they work on, the more excited I was to get started! The four of us took a lunch break and enjoyed a delicious meal at Taste, where we were able to have conversations that didn’t revolve around work. On returning, I explored the impressive website and familiarized myself further about what RICS does. All in all, it was a very smooth first day and I was eager to come back the following day. While I still wasn’t entirely sure about what my role would consist of, it was clear that my colleagues were going to be a positive part of my experience at RICS.  

An Interview with Josh Ford and David Rose

How long have you been working at RICS?

David: I started working at RICS on August 20, 2012. I started off on the QA Team and transitioned to the Support Team in March of 2013. [David claims that he joined the RICS team shortly after he tried out for (and was cut) from the Buffalo Bills, so he needed to pursue a new career path.] Josh: I started working at RICS in April of 2014 and has been on the Support Team ever since.

 What’s it like being on the Support Team?

David: It gives me a good perspective of what our clients go through every day. Josh: I feel like I’m still learning every single day. There are so many aspects of the Back Office that I might not know about until a client brings it to my attention.

What is one of the most frequently asked questions?

Josh: Question: How can we unlock our users? Answer: Create a user with the “Admin” role, so that user has access to unlocking all other users. [This is especially helpful if you get locked out during non-support hours!] David: Question: Is there a way I can find the answers to my questions without having to call the Support Team? Answer: Yes! We’ve created a Help Center to do just that. [The Help Center can be found here. You can also check out some of the highlights of the Help Center in this blog post.]

Do you have any advice for our clients?

David: Pay attention to the Message Center in the Back Office because that is where we will try to relay all of the important information you need to know. Josh: The Sales Analysis report is the most frequently run report that can help you make purchasing decisions based on your sales.

And now for the fun stuff…

What do you like to do outside of work?

Josh: I like to play golf, try different types of beer, and watch sports, preferably the Pirates and the Steelers. [Those are the teams that Josh’s dad cheered for, so they naturally became Josh’s favorites too.] David: I like to ride my bike, swim, play disc golf, and go camping. I just love being outside. I also like playing ping pong in the break room. [David is currently the “Golden Paddle” Champion in the office right now. Watch out, world.]

Why do you #LoveIndy?

David: It is fun to have all of the different sporting events come into town – the Final Four, the Superbowl, the NFL Combine, plus all of our professional sports teams. Josh: I agree. There is also a lot of “Hoosier Hospitality” – we’ve been told that we’re very good at hosting these large events because we’re very welcoming and accommodating. Everyone is always really nice and willing to help each other out. I also enjoy all of the different microbreweries in Indianapolis.

And finally, do you have any interesting facts about yourself?

Josh: [Although he won’t admit it, Josh LOVES to clean.] David: I can juggle. And I can stand on my hands. [Most people would call that a handstand, David…]   Thank you for all of your hard work, Josh and David!   Josh cleaningDavid Handstand The RICS team has been hard at work revamping our Help Center. With all of the new resources available, I’d like to take a moment to share a few of the areas I find to be most helpful: Physical Inventory – We know that taking a physical inventory can seem daunting, and we’re here to help! This resource contains step-by-step instructions to walk you through the process, all the way from counting items to committing your finalized inventory. Reporting Best Practices Guide – Want to assess salesperson performance? How about analyzing the effectiveness of promotions? This guide shows you how to get the results you want out of RICS reporting by telling you how to set up reports and what action to take based on the results. Create Purchase Orders – Purchasing is an essential part of your business. This resource provides you with everything you need to know when generating Purchase Orders. Check it out – even seasoned veterans might learn something new! Manage Non–Sellable Inventory – RICS’s Non-Sellable Inventory feature allows you to manage returned and defective merchandise effectively. This article gives you all you need to do so, from creating return codes to completing non-sellable batches. Cashier Training Guide – Training cashiers just got a little bit easier. This guide covers the basic functionality of the POS in order to get new hires up to speed and ringing sales on day one. Use the above articles as a starting point to acquaint yourself with the new Help Center, but don’t stop there! Feel free to look around and search for any topics you might be curious about. We’re actively working on adding new material, so keep checking back! People love incentives. Incentives are defined as “a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something.” Loyalty programs for your customers work as an incentive to keep them coming back to your store. Loyalty programs, such as frequent buyer plans, allow stores to reward customer loyalty by offering discounts to customers who have purchased multiple products from the store. Maintaining customer loyalty programs are almost a necessity to stay competitive in the retail market.

Here are three major benefits of loyalty programs:

1. Retain existing customers.

Returning customers spend about 67% more money than first-time customers. You’ll want to incentivize your customers to keep coming back by rewarding them for their purchases.

2. Increase customer spending. 

The closer a customer is to a reward, the more they’ll want to spend to receive and use the reward.

3. Establish positive word of mouth. 

Your loyal customers are more likely to refer your store to their friends. Need some ideas for a frequent buyer plan? Here are five frequent buyer methods that are available within RICS: Looking for other ways to keep your customers coming back to your store? Check out this blog post. It is important to be able to define your company culture; it’s the one thing that makes your organization unique from others. Company culture is both how other organizations perceive and interact with your business, and how your own employees interact with each other. When you have an outstanding culture, you’re more likely to recruit other talented and fun individuals for your exciting work environment. About a year and a half ago, I started looking for jobs in the “real world.” With each website that I perused, and every interview I entered, I made sure to have this one crucial question answered: “What is the company’s culture like?” It was very important to me that I would feel comfortable and fit in at my new environment and really enjoy coming to work. I’ve loved and appreciated the culture of RICS since the day I started. All of the employees are hard-working individuals, but also know how to have fun and enjoy themselves. We’re encouraged to take breaks and have Nerf blasters, a ping pong table, and plenty of snacks for when we hit road blocks. We’ve also had some fun events that provide a nice change of pace from the regular work day. The entire RICS team took a half day this past fall for a scavenger hunt around downtown Indianapolis (some of us even made it onto the field of Lucas Oil Stadium!); we have an annual chili cook-off; we recently had a “Chips, Dips, and Sips” party where people brought in different dips to share, and we also celebrated Pi Day. We even have a few people who brew their own beer and are nice enough to share with the team every once in a while!

Here are some ideas to take your company’s culture to the next level:

• Recognize employees’ birthdays. It doesn’t have to be huge – but it makes people feel special. • Provide meals for your employees. This will naturally bring your employees together and enable them to get to know each other better. • Do team building activities. Team building should be fun and is important and beneficial to everyone. • Celebrate random holidays. National Pizza Day, anyone? • Allow and encourage your employees to volunteer. Both your employees and the community will appreciate it. • Have competitions. People love to show off their skills… give them an opportunity to do so! • Bring interesting speakers or webinars to the office. Because everyone can benefit from professional development.

Looking for more ways to engage your employees? Take a look at this ebook: How to Motivate Your Employees

Team Building in Indianapolis

Team building on Handle Bar Indy

RICS Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt Selfie

 
On the field of Colts Stadium

On the field of Lucas Oil

Birthday Lunch

Birthday Lunch

  The local purchasing movement has grown over the past few years to the point that “Buy Local” stickers can be seen frequently on cars outside of the Whole Foods parking lot. Farmers markets have been revived, niche bookstores have opened their doors while larger chains have failed, and buying organic food from the co-op down the road has become popular. (more…)