Our Hardware Innovators are dedicated and determined to see their hardware stores succeed, stay relevant, and continue to thrive well after they leave the store. That’s why they show up consistently, are present, and are willing to tackle the hard questions. This call was no exception!
Marketing Mastermind Takeaways:
Do you struggle to drum up internal buy-in for store employees to create marketing material? How about the ol’ duck and hide when store employees see you walk around with a camera?
You’re not alone!
If you’re struggling to get content for marketing, don’t be afraid to use incentives! Something as simple as a $10 gift card to the first five employees to send over content for a specific topic can be a great way to flood your inbox with images and videos to use for social media and make it a friendly competition for your employees.
You can also try leading with curiosity. One of Mojo’s secret tricks for interviews during on-site photoshoots is asking these questions of department leads or associates:
- What’s the most common question you get from customers?
- What’s the most popular product in the aisle?
- What’s something you wish people knew about _____ department/product?
Now, they aren’t doing an interview; they’re talking about what they know better than anyone!
Make sure you make them look good, and they will be ready for your next request!
Are you struggling to get everyone on the same page with events, sales, and company-wide celebrations? One Hardware Innovator decided to create a weekly internal newsletter. He makes it fun, regularly highlights employees, and includes behind-the-scenes jokes that only his employees would know. He’s been impressed by the team’s participation in the newsletter.
Starting an internal newsletter may be a great stepping stone to grabbing external content for your store. When they get into the habit of sending content for internal communications, it may be an easy transition to send content for external communications like social media.
Not only is an internal newsletter great to get your employees engaging in marketing but it’s also an amazing platform to highlight store goals or progress towards accomplishing that goal. For example, if you want to hit 500 new followers on Facebook, you can encourage your staff to invite family and friends to like the page, and if the goal is completed, then they win a gift card or a team bonding event like a trip to the bowling alley.
Helpful Resources:
- Save yourself some time and grab a month’s worth of content in one day! Here is a shot list template to get you started!
- What the Heck is EOS by Gino Wickman
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General Managers Mastermind Takeaways:
What does your organizational chart look like? In this month’s call, we discussed key roles, responsibilities, and opportunities to outsource. We also dove into the topic of EOS and the importance of scorecards. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry! Keep reading, and we’ll explain it all!
Here’s a loose organizational chart that we came up with during our call:
Owners – Are the go-to resource for your leadership team, who implement new processes and lead the store with overall goals and culture.
GMs – Translate the direction of the store(s) from owners and turn that vision into action steps that store managers can implement.
Store Managers – It can be challenging for store managers to get on the same page with the owners and then trickle that information down to their team. It was recommended that the EOS system be implemented to ensure that everyone, top to bottom, is on the same page and rowing in the same direction.
Ops Directors – Look towards Operations Directors for succession planning. These are likely your next GMs, so take them under your wing and provide that direction and coaching to empower them to move up within your store when it’s time.
Finance Team – While this shouldn’t be the solution for all stores, some stores are automating their financial process and outsourcing, which reduces team numbers by up to 50%. If you outsource, you can redeploy those team members in other departments where they may thrive.
Sales Team – One of our innovators recommends that GMs spend at least an hour on the floor a week interacting with them and coaching them to use the same sales methodology. This way, you can set measurable KPIs or metrics for B2B and be able to know what employees need additional support and training.
Now, when it comes to scorecards and tracking metrics – the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) was recommended several times by Innovators to get your team all on the same page and rowing in the same direction. If you’re facing personnel conflict, slow growth, or profit issues. EOS can completely change the game by having weekly meetings, being transparent in profit and sales, and so much more. If you’re interested, take a look at these books: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business and What the Heck is EOS.
Helpful Resources:
- Need IT support? We Recommend DilSe.IT
- Traction by Gino Wickman
- The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
- Interested in outsourcing your bookkeeping? One Innovator suggested Thrive Financial Services
- Great productivity and prototyping tool (similar to Trello but cheaper)
- Learn more about goal setting
- Example of an Ace store scorecard from one of our Innovators
Does the idea of a monthly meet-up with other retail hardware stores sound valuable to you? Would you like to share resources, ask questions, and participate with your peers on-demand through an exclusive Slack channel?
Email us at hello@hardwareinnovators.com to get access to the Slack Channel! The best part? It’s 100% free and puts you in touch with hardware store general managers and marketers to ask questions and get immediate feedback from what worked at other hardware stores!
Join Us on October 16th for our Next Mastermind
For September, we’ll have two groups that meet: marketing and GMS.
Need help signing up? Send us an email: hello@hardwareinnovators.com
Are You On Board?
Does the idea of a monthly meet-up with other hardware stores sound valuable to you? Are you interested in sharing resources, asking questions, and participating with your peers on-demand with an exclusive slack channel?