Trying to figure out what people really want

Posted by Rick - The Owner on 6/12/2011 to From the Owner

Let me start this post with that this post is not a complaint, however a mental release of what is going through my mind at the moment. Not sure if I should be putting it in writing, but what the heck.

One of the greatest challenges that I have had since owning a brick and mortar business is trying to figure out what people really want from us as a retailer. Like any good business owner, I want to grow my business into something more than what it is today. I am a dreamer and can't help it. But as most know, that also takes customers and sales to make that happen. We do get our fair share of sales out there, and I am very grateful for all of our customers, however I always feel that there is more that we are not getting and most of it is in our own backyard.

Over the past 2 years we have had to change the way we do business like most businesses have had to with the economic times, and I am happy that we have been able to make it through this challenging period. I have struggled through expanding our presence with opening up more locations, making a very hard decision to close Salem and then the decision to open a new one again in Beverly. I guess I am a firm believe of no risk, no reward. Either that or I am just insane, but I guess those are one in the same.

So the questions I keep asking myself is what more can i do, who else can I email, what "good" ads can I place that will allow our presence to become more known. These are some of the questions that keep me up at night. Now for what I do know. I know we have a great store with the best merchandise. I know I have a great staff. I know that we have loyal supporters of our business. We just upgraded our website to be easier to use for our customers. We revamped the newsletter to be more informative to our customers. Etc, etc, etc. But is that enough? Is there something more that I should be doing?

I am also a firm believer that our customers are our greatest form of advertising. Make one person happy, and they will tell the world (hopefully) about their experience. This is what lead to my last newsletter article about creating an experience to remember as well as one that prompts people to talk about it. Do we have that experience? Do customers remember and refer us? Do we have what people really want? Again, these are the questions that constantly challenge me.

So why do I stay in this business? I have even asked myself that question on more than one occasion and I always come back to the same thing. I love it. I never knew I would love the baby gear business as much as I do. Now there are some things that I will also admit I have less interest in, but for the most part, I love it all. I love to play with the strollers and car seats and explain them to customers. I love bringing in new toys that light up the eyes of the kids that come in. I love the feel of the bamboo baby swaddles and there is not a customer that I have not shown these to that have not purchased them. I love hearing about the play groups that happen in the back room. Most importantly, I love working with all parents, grandparents or soon to be parents with choosing the items that are right just for them. The look on a couple when they finally get there stroller is something that is engraved in my memory. It is amazing.

So with so much love for something, how could I ever consider not wanting to be in the business. I can't! So what can I do differently? Maybe writing this blog entry and entries to follow is it. Maybe I need to express more of what is on my mind so that our customers know more about the person behind Hip Baby Gear. I have never been a status quo person and love to think way outside of the box, so maybe I should start doing just that. Maybe I should stop holding back and just do the first thing that comes to my mind and not try to be so calculated. What is with all the "maybe"'s? I just need to do it!

So where do I go from here? Tomorrow is a new day and I have learned to take this business one day at a time (while also thinking a little bit ahead). I may wake up and feel refreshed about what I wrote here or I might wake up thinking what the heck was I doing, but what I do know is that my passion will start to flow through more in one form or another. Through words, through visual, through whatever I feel at the time, I will just have to wait and see. But who knows. I have no idea if anyone is ever even reading this post, so for those of you that do, let me know you did. If there are any spelling or grammatical errors, I apologize as I have not gone back to read through this, just typed it away. This is as raw as one can get.

OK, that is about all I have to express today : )