This is the sixth of 10 articles to help you increase your retail or restaurant sales or profits by 25%. These ideas are in no particular order.

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Tip #6 Be More Than A Store (Or Restaurant). Be a Brand.

Every store or restaurant needs a brand.

A brand is more than just a name or logo. A brand defines every aspect of your store or restaurant.

I prefer to say that every store or restaurant needs BLING.

I'm not exactly sure what BLING means. According to Wikipedia, BLING is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps. The concept is mostly associated with rappers.

I'm not sure that you need that type of bling, but every store or restaurant needs some type of flash or bling to keep your customers coming back and in order to attract new customers.

Let me give you some examples.

We have many local dry cleaners in my town. Just one of those dry cleaners has the bling. The owner knows every single person who enters by name. The store has a reputation for always doing it right (dry cleaning is done on premises). Your shirts are never returned with a missing button. Our local police force and other uniformed workers use this dry cleaner because everything is always done right. Every person who enters is recognized.

Augusta, NJ has a restaurant called the Chatterbox. They serve hot dogs, hamburgers, salads and other items.

They attract a local crowd, but also attract customers within a radius of 100 miles. Motorcycle riders come from all over the state just to eat and "hang out." People come to show off their classic cars on Cruise Night (Saturday Night). The little league comes after their games. They have an in-house DJ. The food is great. To see the bling of The Chatterbox, go to:

http://www.chatterboxdrivein.com/

There are so many hardware stores that are closing. Why go to a hardware store when you can go to Home Depot or Lowes? But, you can still find one local hardware store that is thriving. That's the store that has the bling. Everyone knows the owner, the workers, and what they will do to help customers with their projects.

Why are some convenience store/gas stations busy while others are not? That's because those that succeed are those that offer their customers good service, good variety, and a complete positive customer experience.

According to Doug Fleener, "Profitable retailers know that successful stores have personality, which is another way of saying successful stores have brands. Brands are not just for huge companies -- your store needs a brand, too. So much more than a logo, your store's brand character defines every aspect of your operation."

pcAmerica has integrated bling into Cash Register Express and Restaurant Pro Express. Use Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare to add more bling to your business.

Be more than just a store. Read the complete article at:

Be More Than Just A Store

Can you believe it? Pac-Man is 30 years old

It was released in the U.S. in October, 1980.

Selling over 7 million copies, Pac-Man was the #1 game release for the Atari 2600. Although the #1 game, it was disappointing for Atari who had produced 12 million copies of the game.

It was a great game. I was able to understand how to play it and teach my kids how to play. I'm really good with computers. I just don't understand how to play any of the new games. They are really complicated.

If you own a retail business or restaurant, perhaps you want to have a special Pac-Man 30th Anniversary Promotion which should add some BLING to your business (see the above article). Maybe even add a Pac-Man game to your business to keep the kids (or adult employees) busy.

Want a Pac-Man Arcade Game for your store or restaurant, it's available for only $2995 at Brookstone:

http://www.brookstone.com/pac-man-arcade-game-machines-25th.html

For those of you who are too young to remember Pac-Man, read the history at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_(Atari_2600)

If you would like to play Pac-Man online, go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_(Atari_2600)

You can go to the Pac-Man site at:

http://pacman.com/en/

Pac-Man is about to make a comeback by releasing a new IPad version.

Here are six simple actions you can take to help someone be more productive today (from Doug Fleener).

1. Challenge her. From time to time we all need a little bit of extra motivation and
focus. Challenge a person who has a $200 average sale to strive for $225 today. At the
very least she will be more aware of where her average sale is that day.

2. Observe and give feedback. Take a few minutes to watch your employee with a
customer. Afterward, share with the employee one or two ideas he can try with the next
customer. Even better, continue to observe the employee so that you can give him
feedback on how he applied your suggestion.

3. Teach him. We often take for granted that our employees know everything they need
to know to be productive, but just because we've taught it doesn't mean they learned it or
remember it. Ask yourself what is the one thing you can teach an employee that will help
him/her be more productive. Then do it. There's nothing wrong with quick refresher
courses.

4. Show him. Most people learn better by watching rather than simply being told. If
you want an employee to improve his add-ons (or as we call it, enhancing the sale) you or another employee can demonstrate the expected behaviors.

5. Reward them. Contests and spiffs are a great way to increase productivity, but don't
expect the motivation to continue after the end of the contest or spiff.

6. Tell her. Sometimes you just have to tell someone that her productivity is below your
expectations, and you expect her to do better today. This only works if you know the
person has the skills to do what you're asking.

Here's what doesn't help someone be more productive today.

1. Hoping they do better.

2. Spending time in the office.

3. Thinking about what they need to do.

4. Putting it on your to-do list.

5. Avoiding the person you need to talk to/work with.

6. Doing it yourself.

To read or print this entire Doug Fleener article go to:

http://www.dougfleener.com/2010TWREPDF/TheWeeklyRetailExperience05192010.pdf

To learn more about Doug Fleener and subscribe to his free newsletter go to:

http://www.dougfleener.com/2010TWREPDF/TheWeeklyRetailExperience05192010.pdf