United Hardware Web Forum

Looking for How-to Projects and ways to Save?

2012-02-10T09:17:00.003-06:00

Have you checked out our new WordPress blog Doityourselftoday?

Lots of consumers now a days are looking for more resources online and doing more projects on their own to save money. Are you sharing How-to projects on your website and social networks? Spread the word by talking about your online resources in your store as well.

We have created a variety of blog posts for you to use. Feel free to copy and paste and use however you would like. Did you have a project in mind? Please let me know and I will do my best to execute.

You can also check out Hardware Hank's Facebook page to share blog posts with one click.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to assist you.

Happy Friday Dealers! I hope you all have a great weekend.

- Allison
agoebel@unitedhardware.com

Collecting Email Addresses

2011-11-01T07:32:00.007-05:00

Collecting email addresses is an important step in developing your online marketing. It is important to try to give your customers an incentive to join your mailing list. We want to add value to your email marketing by offering your customers "Exclusive Online Offers Only". When the customer knows that they will only get these offers electronically, that will give them incentive to want to join your email list. It is important that you only offer these incentives online, otherwise your online marketing loses value.

As Darwin taught us, it is not the strongest that survives, it is the one that adapts. These email addresses will help in many different ways in your marketing plan in the future. United Hardware will have many new options for you starting in 2012.

The first step when collecting email addresses is to ask your customers at the register or when they are walking in to your store. You can have cards at your register for the customer to fill out. United Hardware also has a signage package to get you started. Just ask!

Here are a couple other ways for you to collect email addresses in your store:

Have a contest - You can collect email addresses when your customer signs up for a promotion, contest or give away.

Join RepeatRewards - Having a loyalty program is a great way to make your customers feel like they are getting something in return.

Have a newsletter - Send out a monthly newsletter with current events in your community along with other exciting news you would like to share.

Facebook Fan Page - United Hardware can get you started on adding a tab on your Facebook fan page to collect email addresses straight from one location. This is a great tool for those of you who have already started a fan page on Facebook.

There are many other creative ways you can collect email addresses. The most important fact to remember is to make sure your customers know that they are "opting-in" to Exclusive Online Offers.

If you have any questions, please let me know and I will be happy to assist you.

Have a great day Dealers!
- Allison

Practice the art of listening

2011-09-11T19:45:00.007-05:00

So much of advertising and promotion, even on social technologies, involves shouting, one-way communication. What about the lost art of listening? While traditional media don't offer many opportunities for listening, you can do so on social platforms (and even in your store). Ask questions and let your customers talk. By giving them a voice, they will provide ideas for your store.

Now, not every idea will be a good one or even something you can implement, but listen intently and sincerely. You'll gain insights into your customers, and they'll feel appreciated as a shopper. Social technologies simply provide the venue for listening and discussion, but that's it. Facebook is just a portal; it doesn't ask questions or listen. You do that. When you're implementing a social media strategy, consider how you'll listen.

One thing's for sure: you'll never know what your customers want, need or think if you never listen to them.

- Brian Sonnenberg

Preventing Employee Theft

2011-08-29T06:19:00.003-05:00

Employee theft has been a problem for retailers since the beginning of retail… which roughly dates back to the beginning of commerce. Unfortunately, we still haven’t solved the problem. Employee theft can range from the pilfering of store supplies to elaborate schemes in which thousands of dollars disappear before the very eyes of the business owner. In fact, in the retail industry, one study by a forensic accounting firm cites employees “out-stealing” shoplifters.

Despite the disturbing facts surrounding employee theft, it’s not helpful if you simply assume the worst from your employees and create an atmosphere of distrust. That said, there are certain measures you should consider to limit your exposure to dishonesty. Your POS system can provide you with tools to both detect and prevent instances of employee theft. By using them, and by showing your employees that you are paying attention to their work, you can go a long way toward “keeping them honest.”

Tips for Using Your POS System to Combat Employee Theft:
• Make sure every POS user has a unique user ID and/or password to log into the system.

• Run a report each day or each week to review voided items, and do the same with returns. Make a point to ask questions regularly about any transactions that don’t make sense. Contact your POS vendor if you need assistance finding or using these reports.

• Require that your employees enter a specific reason for any voided sales.

• Do a physical inventory check on any high dollar returns. Did the items really get returned?

• Require a customer name, Driver’s License number, and phone number for returns exceeding a certain dollar amount.

• Watch returns on non-diminishing or non-stock items carefully.

• Look for payment types on returns. Flag any returns where the refund payment differs in type from the original payment (i.e. purchased with a check and refund given in cash)

• Promote accuracy with your registers, and reward your employees when the registers remain in perfect balance for a certain period of time.

• Review stock adjustments. Limit the entry of stock adjustments to employees who have an inventory management role.

• If you have a camera system, make sure each cash drawer is visible. Reports from your POS system coupled with video footage can tell the story of what is happening in the register.

If you suspect that an employee is stealing, trust your instincts and investigate. If you have good processes in place, your POS system can facilitate both the prevention and investigation of employee theft. To read more in this topic, take a look at the following resources online:

Kessler International Report

NRHA Loss Prevention Training

AR = Attention Required

2011-08-15T08:36:00.000-05:00

The Accounts Receivable (AR) functions in your POS system are designed to help you serve commercial customers efficiently. If you haven’t paid much attention to them, it’s worth taking a few minutes to check them out. What payment terms does the system provide for? What kinds of discounts can be calculated? Can you offer discounts for prompt payment? What are the statement printing options? Can you customize the messages that print on your statements? Can you email statements? You might find features you didn’t know about, and therefore more options for managing credit with your customers. If you find there are features you don’t understand, ask your POS vendor to explain how they work.

On its own, your POS system will keep track of customer charges and payments. But without the required attention and proper maintenance, these functions can cause major headaches. To use AR effectively you need to open new accounts carefully, utilize credit limits, get proper documentation for each transaction, and reign in past due accounts.

By opening an account for a new customer, you are literally loaning part of your cash flow to them. Start this process by providing a credit application (consult with your attorney regarding the language in the application) and consider requiring a personal guaranty for commercial customers. Obtain documentation for tax exempt accounts, and maintain a paper file for documents related to each account. Finally, establish a checklist each time you set up a new account in your POS system. Forgetting to enter a credit limit or clicking a sales tax flag could lead to problems down the road.

Your POS system should be set up to trigger a credit hold for accounts that are past due or over their credit limit. You may also have the option for certain employees to override this hold at the cash register. It can be helpful to allow a manager or other trusted employees to override credit holds, but you should be sure to establish and communicate a policy that limits how much further any customer’s credit can be extended in your absence.

All customers charging on an account should be expected to sign for their purchases, either on paper or using an electronic signature pad connected to your POS system. In addition, the name of the person charging should be typed in or selected from a list by the cashier. Even if your customer does not require this information on invoices or statements, having a typed name will be easier than deciphering a signature if there is a question or problem with a transaction later on.

Monitoring your receivables carefully will ultimately help your cash flow. Choose a day early in the month to make phone calls to past due accounts. Make sure you’ve applied any checks you’ve received up to the current day. Then, generate a Trial Balance to identify the past due accounts you need to call. Make a friendly phone call to each account with a past due balance. You might feel uncomfortable making these calls at first. However, you will quickly find that one “reminder” call to a customer can lead to many timely payments in the future. Document each phone call either in your POS system or in the paper file for the account.

Finally, keep in mind that AR represents your money, which you are allowing your customers to use. Extending credit is a risk, but it is also a helpful sales tool. For more tips on managing credit, check out this article from the University of Missouri’s Extension service.

Handling Multiple Facings with a POS System

2011-06-22T15:48:00.002-05:00

Do you have new plan-o-grams coming from the June market? Did you order in a clip-strip assortment to do some cross-merchandising? These always look good at the market, until you’re back in the store trying to figure out how to manage one SKU on multiple pegs or in two different locations. From a logical standpoint, it’s tempting to eliminate the duplicate locations to avoid the inevitable challenge of managing the inventory in your POS system. Don’t give in! We are in the retail business, and multiple locations sell more product.

Here are a few ideas for handling items that have multiple facings and/or multiple locations:

1. For shelved items (i.e. motor oil), invest in some colored plastic strips that fit the shelf rail. For each SKU, cut a length of the material and install it where you are merchandising the product. Slip your bin label in on top of the material, and center it under the merchandise displayed along the plastic strip. Be sure to use colors that enhance your display and don’t clash with the actual product on the shelf.

2. A second way to handle shelved items is to use the same concept as in #1, but instead of using plastic inserts in the rails you can use white (or another complimentary color) electrical tape on the horizontal surface of the shelf, up close to the front rail. Center the bin label on the rail below the area that the tape spans, and spread out your merchandise along the tape.

3. For items that hang on multiple hooks or are merchandised in multiple locations, try using a small colored dot on the bin label to indicate the product has multiple locations. They should be inconspicuous to the customer, but serve as a flag to your employees that the item has multiple locations. This technique also works for overstock items.

Once you’ve developed a system that you like, train your employees to understand it and use it. Everyone who merchandises new items, stocks shelves, maintains the presentation on the sales floor, and counts inventory needs to be on the same page.

Do you have other ideas? Click the comment link below and share your thoughts!

If You Dislike CHANGE… You Are Going to Have a Hard Time Coping with Irrelevance

2011-06-21T18:19:00.003-05:00

WE HAVE A CRISIS IN RETAILING TODAY AND IT’S ALL ABOUT CHANGE.

Maybe Charles Darwin, the great British Naturalist and author of the Theory of Evolution in the mid 1800’s, holds the key to our success. He said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

This week Rick Segel did a webinar on the power of Inbound Marketing and it made me think of the changes that have already occurred and those changes that are yet to be.

Read these facts and you might be in awe as well. Many of these are just subtle shifts in behavior that we have all become part of.

Check out the full article

Social media principles existed long ago

2011-06-19T14:10:00.012-05:00

For centuries, humans have participated in 'social media' in one form or another. We've always recommended businesses or products and shared photos just in a different manner.

Harvard Business Review looked into the archives and found a 1966 study discussing the principles of "social media."

Now, the vehicle has changed. Without question, Facebook and Twitter make it easier to share and recommend certain products or brands, but social media principles have been discussed...at least four decades ago.

So, if it helps, realize that the vehicles have changed slightly (Facebook, Twitter), but social media has existed for centuries.

Get connected to gain POS expertise

2011-06-14T10:04:00.001-05:00

Take a minute to think about how you and your employees gain product knowledge. Maybe you attend seminars once in a while, or even use a formal training program. Both provide an important foundation for learning, but there is no substitute for experience. Most of what you learn, both inside and outside of your store, comes in bits and pieces from your own experiences combined with the others’ experiences. Your hardware product knowledge grows each day as you solve problems with customers, and talk with vendors.

When it comes to your POS system, the situation is different. You might have a user manual, and hopefully you’ve attended some user group meetings at the Markets. At times you may contact your vendor’s support line if you have a specific problem. However, despite the fact that your POS system is the information backbone of your store, your knowledge doesn’t grow very quickly if you’re not connecting with other users.

The opportunity to connect is just one click away! There are numerous blogs and online forums that can connect you to others who may have the same questions you do, or who can offer their expertise in solving problems. On the other hand, you may hold the answer to someone else’s problem. Most importantly, it doesn’t take a lot of time. You can usually sign up to receive emails when there are new posts, so you don’t have to visit a web site regularly. You can read when you have time, and delete or ignore when you don’t.

Blogs and forums administered by vendors (like this one) are usually monitored by the vendor, and often times they will answer questions and participate in the conversation. Independent forums, such as the Hardlines Digest, deal with POS questions relating to many different systems along with other topics. You may have to be a customer to use some of the vendor-specific forums. Here’s a short list to get you started:

AgVantage Forum: Private vendor forum for AgVantage users

ARS Blog: Public Blog sponsored by ARS, mostly related to ARS system features

DBMS User Forum: Private vendor forum for DBMS users

Pacsoft User Forum: Private vendor forum for Pacsoft users

Hardlines Digest: Public forum, requires registration. Content covers all aspects of hardware retailing including POS systems. Recent posts relating to Activant and RockSolid POS systems.

Do you know of other online resources for retailers with POS systems? Click the comment link to share them!

Consumer behavior online

2011-06-02T11:02:00.002-05:00

Pinpointing consumer behavior is like trying to catch a fly with chop sticks; however, occasionally, statistics provide insights.

Via comScore.com, Shop.org administered a study looking at consumer behavior and attitudes toward 'social commerce.' They broadly defined commerce to include not just purchasing, but also posting comments or conducting product research on a variety of social media sites.

It's interesting research and something to think about as you wade into social media.

- Brian Sonnenberg

Is your POS system protected from severe weather?

2011-05-17T09:07:00.003-05:00

Spring is here! Hopefully your registers are getting a workout. As the days grow warmer, the likelihood of severe weather increases too. As you probably know, power surges from severe weather are a natural enemy to your Point-of-Sale system. This threat isn’t limited to items plugged in to electrical outlets – electrical spikes running through telephone and cable connections can also have damaging effects. Can you imagine the nightmare of losing your POS server to a lightning strike on a Saturday morning in June? Too often there is a tendency to add or replace equipment with the idea that “we’ll add some surge protection later when we get time.” Don’t wait for lightning to strike… NOW is the time to check your equipment and be sure it’s really protected.

The 15 amp breaker in a standard power strip will protect the wiring in your store from being overloaded if you’re drawing too much power, but it won’t protect any of the equipment that is plugged into it from power surges. All components of your POS system should be powered through a surge protector, or better yet through an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). This includes the computers, monitors, network switches, routers, modems, charging cradles, cash drawers, and printers that make up your POS system. You should also check your fax machine, stand-alone credit card terminals, paint computer, color-match equipment, and mobile phone chargers to be sure they are protected as well.

UPS units provide surge protection, but they also provide your equipment with a few minutes of power in the case of a power outage. You won’t be able to run your POS system all day on a UPS, but if the power flickers or shuts off for just a few minutes your system will continue to run on the UPS’s battery power. In the case of a longer power outage, you will have at least enough time to finish some customer transactions and shut down your system properly. A basic UPS unit costs around $90.00, and will provide you with 5-15 minutes of battery life depending on the power that is being drawn from the unit. If you only buy one, use it for your POS Server. If your equipment is protected by a UPS already, make sure the battery is still good. Replacement batteries are available for most units. Most retailers that carry computer equipment will have UPS units available, and you can also find them online.

At bare minimum, you need surge protection. Prime Wire & Cable makes a surge protector that will accommodate phone, data and cable (RG6) lines along with eight three-prong electrical devices (Hank and TW SKU 070-151). Running your phone and/or cable line through this unit along with the electrical connections will provide the best protection. Here’s an added bonus: when you’re done checking and updating the surge protection for your own equipment, talk to your commercial customers about it. Chances are they have similar equipment that needs to be protected, and you can point them to the surge protectors you carry in the store.

Do you have additional tips or comments? Have you lost equipment or data due to power surges? Comment below.

Google changes, even small businesses face consequences

2011-05-16T11:19:00.007-05:00

Selling products online has its challenges: catalog maintenance, fulfillment, customer payments, etc. There are many moving parts, and it requires much strategic thought.

You may not sell merchandise online now and perhaps never will, but NPR ran a story about a small New York company that was adversely affected by a Google search tweak.

Even though you it may not affect you directly, it's good to know some other challenges to online retailing, and that while gigantic, Google can affect your business.

- Brian Sonnenberg

Facecrooks

2011-05-10T05:45:00.002-05:00

Have you heard of Facecrooks?

If you are worried about SPAM and your online safety, you should definitely become a Fan of Facecrooks on Facebook.

Facecrooks provides current news, educational resources and alerts on social media privacy, safety and scams.

Check out Facecrook's Fan Page for more!

GoGreen Promotion

2011-04-18T09:31:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone!

The GoGreen promotion has started and I just wanted to remind everyone who participated to update your Facebook Fan Page and Website!

All of you should have received marketing materials via email or on our UH Private Group on Facebook. Please let me know if you did not receive the materials and I will re-send them to you! :)

It is important to have your Website and Facebook Fan Page consistent. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will be happy to assist you!

Have a great week Everyone!

- Allison

Website admin portal videos

2011-04-01T11:54:00.007-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone!

I hope you are having a great week.

I just thought that I would let you all know we have How-To Videos for the Website Admin Portal. There are a couple different options and I would recommend looking at all of them :)

Click to view the Videos

I am also working on a little User Guide for all of you! Please let me know some of the problems you are having so I can answer all your questions.

I am here to help, so please contact me via email or phone and I will be happy to assist you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Allison

Continuing the Facebook discussion

2011-03-21T14:13:00.009-05:00

The Harvard Business Review posted an interesting blog regarding some tactics for capturing new customers. Interesting growing trends (crowdsourcing and check-ins) foster even more interaction between business and customers. Check-ins, in particular, will become more popular as smartphones proliferate the market.

Additionally, Facebook will probably reach their tentacles into two other areas: online video content and ecommerce. With online video content, Facebook plans to compete with Netflix and Hulu (among others) to offer streaming video of movies and television shows. We'll see if this is just a feeler of if they aggressively pursue content rights.

On the ecommerce side, some larger retailers have created online storefronts on Facebook. JCPenney, for example, put their entire catalog on Facebook.

- Brian Sonnenberg

8 Powerful & Inexpensive Desktop Design Apps

2011-03-14T10:05:00.003-05:00

Click to check out great ways to update photos and other promotional materials.

What are your thoughts? Do you think you will use these Design apps?

Happy Monday Everyone!

Have a great week,

Allison

Do you have an app for that?

2011-03-10T09:51:00.011-06:00

Over the past several months, many of you have asked about apps for the iPhone and other devices. While United Hardware doesn't have a specific app, many vendors do!

I just got an iPhone last night and started exploring. Perhaps you could share a few of the apps below with your customers. Here's the incomplete, short list:

Valspar 'Project Paint'
Customers can search for colors, plan a job and find a store (free app).

Scotts 'My Scotts Lawn'
This app details the Scotts lawn program and shares video tips. Customers can also keep a profile for their lawn (free app).

Weber 'On the Grill'
The app shares hundreds of recipes, and also allows customers to form a grocery list or start a grill timer (cost, $4.99). See Weber's online description.

Many, many more probably exist. In fact, you may find helpful, third-party home improvement apps not necessarily associated with vendors. Share them with your customers on your website and via social media. It'll empower your patrons and position you as the expert.

If you've found other useful apps, comment on this post and share them!

- Brian Sonnenberg

Twitter: Tips to increase your following

2011-03-03T11:46:00.003-06:00

Twitter is a little newer although it has gained momentum quickly. The social media site has been 'branded' (so to speak) as a microphone for celebrities; however, it could provide a more functional benefit.

Twitter is a great public relations/educational tool. Educationally, it organizes information efficiently for users by allowing them to sift through posts and explore personally relevant ones.

To help you, here are 10 suggestions to help you increase your Twitter following. And, you may want to avoid the 'bonus tip.'

- Brian Sonnenberg

UnMarketing: Stop Pushing and Praying, Start Pulling and Staying

2011-03-02T13:03:00.003-06:00

Click to read full article.

Thoughts? Ideas? I would love to hear them!

Have a great day! :)
-Allison

WANTED Coupon Ideas!

2011-02-24T10:29:00.002-06:00

We are Looking for Coupon Ideas!

I was thinking of designing template coupons for you to use. I will set up the design, size, and product. Then I will save for you to edit in your Paint program. In Paint you will be able to add your price and anything else you would like. Then you can upload your coupons to your Facebook, Website, or Rewards Program.

Below are a couple template coupons that I made for the GoGreen promotion, these might give you a better idea of what I am thinking.

Click to see 2pk Sponges
Click to see Free Hardware Hank Bag

What do you think? Any other ideas? I want to hear your thoughts! :)

I hope you are having a great week!
-Allison

Timberwolves Promotion with Hardware Hank

2011-02-22T12:26:00.000-06:00

Briggs & Stratton Smart-Fill

2011-02-15T10:52:00.000-06:00

NRHA Young Retailer of the Year

2011-02-15T10:48:00.000-06:00

A New Way of Marketing

2011-02-09T12:24:00.002-06:00

I ran across a great article on marketing. This article describes the difference between old marketing methods known as Outbound Marketing and new marketing methods now known as Inbound Marketing. The craziest part is that Inbound Marketing is 61% less expensive than traditional marketing!

Click here to read A New Way of Marketing . Trust me, it is worth your time!

Have a great day!

-Allison

LeVahn Brothers Inc. - Maple Grove, MN

2011-02-08T13:05:00.000-06:00

Ice dams, roof rakes and roof melt

2011-02-08T12:58:00.000-06:00

New Twitter Accounts!

2011-02-08T09:00:00.002-06:00

Good Morning Everyone!

I just wanted to give you an update on our Social Networks. We now have Twitter pages for Golden Rule and Trustworthy! Please make sure we are connected online for great promo ideas, graphics and help problem solving!

I hope you all have a great week! :)

-Allison

26 Tips for Enhancing your Facebook Page

2011-02-02T08:34:00.002-06:00

Need fresh ideas for your Facebook? Click to take a look at 26 steps for enhancing your Facebook. Use these great ideas to help you take your Facebook Fan Page to the next step!

Let me know what you think! :)

Have a great day everyone!

-Allison

January Market Recap

2011-01-25T13:46:00.002-06:00

Are we obsessed with Facebook?

2011-01-24T08:51:00.001-06:00

Via: Online Schools

Market Re-cap Email

2011-01-20T08:48:00.002-06:00

Good Morning!

I hope all of you received the January Market Re-cap email earlier this week. The email consisted of many resources for you to use. Including "Common Ground" for your social networks, links to websites done through United Hardware, a link to the Facebook Seminar presentation, website information and contract, email marketing, as well as links to our social networks through United Hardware. Using these resources and connecting online with United Hardware and other Dealers have many advantages.

When connecting online we will be able to supply photos for you, interact and help you problem solve. We want to be able to make updating your website and fan page as easy as it can be. If you have any ideas just let us know! We want to hear your feedback!

Have a great rest of the week!

Retailers Look Ahead to 2011

2011-01-18T10:59:00.000-06:00

You don't have to be a social media guru

2011-01-12T17:59:00.004-06:00

Based on the Market, many of you are considering jumping into social media. You don't have to be a guru to develop/manage a successful Facebook page for your business. It just takes ideas and a little elbow grease!

Check out the slideshow associated with the link in the first paragraph. It reinforces many things discussed at the advertising seminar, and jump into social media without hesitation! You don't need to be a guru!

Steve Draeger from United Hardware Looks Ahead to 2011

2011-01-11T08:52:00.000-06:00

Thank You!

2011-01-10T07:50:00.003-06:00

Good Morning!

I just want to thank every one of you for coming to the January 2011 Market! It was great to hear all of your thoughts and ideas for the upcoming year.

You will be receiving an email this week with links to our Social Networks, Common Ground and the Social Media Seminar Presentation. We will also be starting up Social Networks for Trustworthy and Golden Rule Lumber soon!

If you have any questions just let me know!

Allison Goebel
agoebel@unitedhardware.com

Happy New Year!!

2010-12-30T14:52:00.002-06:00

2010 is almost over and we are excited for what 2011 has in store. I hope you are all as excited as we are. This is the time of year that we look back at what has happened, learn from our mistakes and celebrate our success. It is also time to look into the future. We want to make every year better and better, so to do that we set resolutions. These goals are to help us grow and learn to become better professionals.

I hope all of you have a safe weekend and wish you all nothing but the best in 2011!

Happy New Year!

Setting your 2011 Business Goals

2010-12-27T14:08:00.002-06:00

We are fast approaching 2011 and it is time to set our New Year's Resolutions! What are your goals for 2011? Maybe you need a website? A Facebook page? Twitter account? No matter where your business is at, you need to think of the next step. What does your business need to do to get to the next step?

You should be setting short term and long term goals. When we set goals, sometimes we think of the big picture too much. We need to break down our goals into what we can do day-by-day or even week-by-week. You should come up with a consistent process that works for you. Everyone has their own way of working, you just need to find your balance. Once you find your balance, you will reach your goal.

A pixel ruler will help you size pics for the web

2010-12-17T09:36:00.003-06:00

Getting pictures sized correctly for the web can be a struggle without photo editing software.

On the web, dimensions are measured in pixels. Therefore, we found a pixel ruler for you to download. You can use this tool to measure the space on your web site, and then adjust your pictures based on what you measured using the pixel ruler.

It's a safe, free download, and it'll just sit on your desktop. It'll help you greatly as you're trying to correctly size photos for your web site.

Competing with the big boys

2010-12-13T10:35:00.003-06:00

The North American Retail Hardware Association recently posted an article from the USA Today giving small businesses tips for competing with the Big Box stores.

Along with finding your unique selling proposition, the article also suggests Social Media tactics for attracting customers.

Google's possible acquisition means something for small business

2010-11-30T10:11:00.006-06:00

For those of you exploring online advertising, Google's potential acquisition of Groupon could indicate a transformation in how small businesses promote online.

Google expects a decrease in spending for paid keywords especially among small businesses, which is why they see potential value in Groupon. While it's a large acquisition, it has consequences for small business because it's an indicator of a growing trend. The future of small business online advertising could be targeted e-mail messages.

Whether through the Loyalty Rewards program or your own efforts, start building your customer lists!

Interesting Facebook commentary and stats

2010-11-29T13:59:00.004-06:00

When it comes to interacting with your customers through social media, an article from Ad Age discusses how relevance may be redefined in terms of what you put on Facebook. Consider this as you post things on your page. You could try a more subtle approach, other than strictly product/promotion, to engage your customers on social media.

Here's an obvious point: Facebook isn't going anywhere (at least for the foreseeable future). Facebook now accounts for 25% of the page views in the United States. Facebook and Google are quickly on the way to web traffic domination.

Valuable social media tools

2010-11-25T22:30:00.006-06:00

The Internet makes everyone's life easier; however, at times, it may not seem that way. With all the social media outlets, it can be difficult to conceptualize how they can work for your business.

There are several FREE tools available to help you manage your social media presence. Click on the link, read the blog and decide which tool would suit your business best.

These options provide a much easier way for you to manage content on your social media sites, and they're FREE!

Twitter account for UH Web Forum

2010-11-24T08:59:00.007-06:00

Since new media offers great synergistic opportunities, I just started a Twitter feed specifically for our group of web dealers. Posts on this blog will feed directly into the Twitter account.

Although celebrities and athletes receive the most attention for posting on Twitter, it can be extremely valuable not only as a marketing tool but also as an educational tool. When you choose who to follow, do it wisely because you will receive the information they "tweet" some of which can be quite valuable to you.

Even if you never post a "tweet," Twitter is a great way to monitor trends in your industry. What a great educational tool!

Small changes go a long way

2010-11-22T11:42:00.003-06:00

Updating your web site is important because it keeps things timely, and your customers will respect the information on your site because they can see that it's getting updated.

However, in addition to frequently changing the homepage and other pertinent pages, plan to go through your web site every three months or so to make a change on every single page. Search engines like to see that changes are made to a web site.

For example, the "Contact Us" page probably doesn't need frequent changes, but every three months, plan to make a small change to that page.

The search engines will smile upon you favorably.

Google your store

2010-11-19T11:37:00.008-06:00

You might be surprised what you can find on the Internet these days...or maybe not. There's a lot of information available, and it's not all correct.

Try a Google search for your store and see what shows up. You'd probably be surprised to see a lot of information on sites with which you have no affiliation. You'll see name, address, phone number, hours of operation, products and services and maybe even a review or two.

Periodically, perform a Google search for your store. See what's out there because some of it may not be correct (like your hours of operation), and if possible, you'll want to correct that information. You'll also want to monitor customer reviews that are posted on these sites and respond to them whether positive or negative.

So, Google your store and take inventory of the information available online because it's important to monitor and manage this part of your business.

Social Media Connection!

2010-11-15T15:36:00.007-06:00

Social media has infected just about every aspect of society, and as it spread, business was swept up as well. Many small businesses have effectively leveraged Facebook and other social media to develop an even stronger relationship with their customers.

If you'd like to start a Facebook page or Twitter account, let us know. We can help you get started, and more importantly, we can put a link on your web site to invite customers to interact with you on Facebook.

If you already have a page, let us know because we'll provide the Facebook logo, and link it to your page!

New Web Site Launch in Austin!

2010-11-11T09:30:00.003-06:00

Austin, Minnesota has a new web site! Congratulations to Austin Builders Supply, a Golden Rule store, for completing their web site.

They chose a tier 3 web site, and we created a new catalog interface with them. We now have the ability to embed the catalog in your web site. We would still need an export from your POS system to show your store's pricing, but at least when it's embedded, it looks like your catalog and won't navigate away from your web site. Check out either Adams or Austin's web site to see how it looks.

As far as cost, if you're a tier 3, it would cost slightly more. It would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 more than the cost of a tier 3 site, which would put the total cost between the tier 3 and 4 sites.

November Web Coupons

2010-11-03T10:59:00.009-05:00

Below are a few sample coupons for November. To upload them to your web site, you just need to click on the picture and save it to your desktop.

From there, you can upload the picture to the web site, so that it appears to your customers.

These are just sample ads that we've taken from the corporate circular in November; however, please let me know if you need them to say a different price and we can certainly adjust it to your specific pricing.

New Web Site Launch in Adams!

2010-10-25T13:09:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Adams Builders Supply in Adams, Minnesota!

They just lauched a tier 3 web site which allows them to make their own changes through an admin portal.

Welcome them to the forum!

New Web Site Launch in Huxley!

2010-09-23T10:25:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Quick's Hardware Hank in Huxley, Iowa!

Quick's Hardware Hank is a tier 3 web site, and it's completely new construction. They wanted a web site for a while and purchased a name! Now they're up and running!

Is Your Business Credible?

2010-09-16T08:50:00.005-05:00

YES!

It sounds like an unnecessary question, but I pose it to start a deeper discussion. Knowing your stores as I do, you all run credible businesses. Customers respect your knowledge of the business; therefore, you have a solid reputation in your community.

For a second, imagine that you stopped bringing in new products, remerchandising departments, adding Power Programs, training your employees and providing great customer service. Customers would start to question your business' credibility, and they go somewhere else to buy hardware.

Think about your web site like that. If it's not updated or new or exciting, customers will not view it as credible. They will stop visiting your web site and go to another one.

Consider your web site another storefront. It's connected to your business but is a somewhat separate entity. Keep it updated; keep it current. Your customers will notice, and then, your web site will enjoy the same credibility that your business does.

Generic Web Banners Ready

2010-09-14T08:56:00.002-05:00

We have developed a large stock of vendor web ads. We will upload these to your servers, and rather than reinvent the wheel, you can use this database. We will also commit to uploading/updating the ads periodically.

We're close to launching a few more web sites, so look for those announcements coming soon! We can welcome them to the user group!

September Web Coupons

2010-09-02T15:55:00.011-05:00

Here are web coupons for September. You can click on the photos to open them in a new window. Then, you can right click and save them to your computer. Once they're saved, it's just a matter of uploading them to your web site.
Note: We uploaded them in two formats with a red border and without. You can upload them either way to your web site.

Think again about the offer. We're going to come out with more generic coupons that simply give a percentage off a regular priced item, but it'll be a stronger offer than maybe some of these coupons. However, please let us know if you would like these coupons edited to make a stronger offer!

It's All About the Offer

2010-08-30T15:36:00.003-05:00

When considering to put a coupon or special on your web site, think about your offer to entice them. The offer needs to be impressive with as little strings attached as possible. It also needs to be exciting, and absolutely worth the customer's while to print the coupon or visit the store for the special.

Customers always ask: "What's in it for me?" If the offer adequately satisfies that question, they will visit your store.

So, when you're putting a coupon on your web site, think about what offer you can put up to excite your customers. None of this is new information to you, but I just thought I reinforce it.

Look for the September coupons tomorrow! If you would like to use them, you can download them from this blog.

Add Your Web Site to Your E-mail Signature

2010-08-26T14:36:00.002-05:00

In talking to someone who works for a social media company, he passed along a little promotional tip that's as easy as changing your e-mail signature.

Just think about all the e-mails you send and receive each day. Maybe it's a lot, maybe it's not that many. Either way, your e-mail communication will probably increase over the next few years, and you'll probably communicate with your customers via e-mail more and more.

At any rate, consider adding your web site to your e-mail signature. Below, I've used myself as an example of what it could look like:

Brian Sonnenberg
United Hardware Distributing
www.hardwarehank.com

That's a pretty basic e-mail signature, but you could do something similar using your web site. It's another great way to advertise your web site. I'll continue to share more of these simple ideas to promote your web site.

Free Web Sites to Help You Resize Photos

2010-08-19T10:21:00.013-05:00

Pic Resize -or- Web Resizer

Unfortunately, posting pictures on your web sites isn't just as simple as grabbing a photo and dropping it on the site. It can be that simple, but the picture may be too big when viewing it. For those visiting your site, it can cause a slower (and longer) load time which will frustrate them. It can also just mess with the formatting and make for a strange site layout.

Below are just some "helpful hints" (I hope) for making your pictures web-friendly:

When adding photos in the admin portal, always have your "live" site open. Then, you can hit the refresh button to see how the uploaded photo looks on the real site. If it's huge, you can go back to your admin window and resize the picture.
You have some editing capability within the admin portal of your web site. You can edit the size of the photo from the "Image" button. There should be two boxes to the left of your picture preview once you grab the photo from your computer. Those boxes are labeled "Width" and "Height," and you can change one of the numbers and it will automatically resize the other number proportionally. So, you can make your pictures smaller through that function.
Hint: Next to the Width/Height is a "Lock Ratio" button. Make sure you have that locked so your picture will resize proportionally.
You can also edit the photo by clicking on the picture. If you click on it, little boxes will line the outside of the photo. You can grab a corner box and resize the photo, but make sure you size it proportionally.
Lastly, I found two web sites that will help you resize/crop photos for FREE! They're fairly similar sites with a few subtle differences, but you can use the site with which you're most comfortable. Here are the links to those sites: Pic Resize or Web Resizer. They're also listed at the top of this post.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about uploading pictures. I want it to be easy for you to upload web-friendly pictures. You have editing options in the admin portal, but those web sites give you even more options as far as editing.

Sample Coupons for August, September

2010-08-17T09:06:00.002-05:00

We have produced corporate web coupons for August. If you're interested in them please let me know, and I can e-mail them to you. In the future, I would like to post them right to this blog for you to just grab, save and post to your web site.

To create the coupons, we look at the corporate sales. It's the easiest thing to do to for our purposes even though some of you run Dealer's Choice ads. Let me know if you have any coupon ideas or a better way to approach it.

For August, we have created ads for the following vendors: Rubbermaid, Plymouth Forge, 3M, Softsoap-Ajax.

We will have coupons for September shortly. Happy updating!!

New Web Site Launch in Douglas!!

2010-08-09T09:13:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Douglas Hardware Hank in Douglas, Wyoming!

Douglas Hardware Hank already had a web site, but they wanted to give it a little facelift. We took their old site and rolled it into our design and template. They also liked the option to make their own changes, so they went with a tier 3 site.

Web-Ready Hank Characters Now Available

2010-08-06T10:46:00.009-05:00

To help you use properly sized images on your site, I have uploaded the Hardware Hank characters in web-ready format. To find them, go to "Logos & Characters" on United Hardware's web site.

In addition, we will populate your site's server with these images, so when you look to add an image, you will automatically see a folder with web-ready Hardware Hank images.

I formatted them on the larger side, so that you can reduce them. In my experience, it's better to have larger as opposed to smaller images.

New Web Site Launch in Rapid City!!

2010-08-05T09:04:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Rapid City Hardware Hank in Rapid City, South Dakota!

They launched a tier 3 web site yesterday, so welcome them to the group with open arms!

Side note: Stay tuned for further web developments. Tom, Scott and I are working on things to make updating your web sites easier!

Web Update Help

2010-07-30T10:45:00.006-05:00

As you all know, updating your web site consistently is the most important thing you can do. I want to help you plan those updates. I created a spreadsheet that will help you plan your web site changes throughout the year. Below, there's a snapshot of how the sheet looks.

I've already filled in January as an example of what could be done to help you plan your web updates. It will keep you on target for updating your web site consistently. You can modify this spreadsheet to fit specific aspects of your site.

New web sites will automatically receive this schedule; however, I will pass this along to those who have completed sites.

Please use this to plan your web site for the entire year, and use it to communicate with your employees. It'll help them when they promote your site to the customers.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Dedicate an Employee to Update Your Site

2010-07-20T16:40:00.002-05:00

Today, I was on the phone with a dealer who has completed a web site, and she is at tier 1 (static site) and considering a jump to tier 3 (ability to edit every page). Initially, when she signed up, she just wanted a web presence and realistically didn't have the time to update the page consistently. What changed from a couple months ago?

Well, she has a great idea. She plans to charge an employee with the task of updating her web site. She will guide the employee and proof everything before it goes "live," but it will help her keep the site fresh.

You may have already done this, but if you haven't, seriously consider it. You have enough on your plate! In some cases, you may find a trustworthy employee who can take on this task.

How much time would you have to allow for an employee to do this when they punch in each day? 30 minutes? An hour? It may be worth it.

Website 101

2010-07-19T16:24:00.003-05:00

Producing a web site seems like a daunting task, but for some of you, you've already cleared that major hurdle.

Click here for an article that gives you some tips on getting started when it comes to your web site. Even if you have a web site, the article will help you develop your web strategy.

Having a clearer picture of what you want your site to accomplish will make the task of producing one less scary.

When thinking about those things, shoot for the stars...as they say. Your site CAN push product. Don't think you have to settle for a site that just acts as a brochure. You can develop an interactive site and include your customers in the experience, and we have this blog to help you with that.

Database of Vendor Ads - In the Works!!

2010-07-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

Starting next week, Scott, our Advertising Intern, will begin to create vendor ads for your web sites. He will make them generic enough so they can be used year-round by any dealer.

We will start with some of our larger Partnership vendors. Once these have been created, we will share them with you. Look back at this blog to find out when they're finished.

Please comment on this blog post with specific vendors, and we will make sure to create an ad for those that you list in your comments.

Welcome to the UH Web Forum

2010-07-15T13:29:00.000-05:00

Ask and you shall receive. Many of you asked for a blog or meeting area on the web dedicated to the discussion of dealer web sites. Here it is!

I will commit to posting, on a regular basis, anything and everything related to our dealer web sites. It could be new developments on our end or simply new ideas from outside sources.

Please use this blog as an opportunity to share with your fellow dealers. Comment on my posts or let us know how you're using your site, what's working and what's not. This is also an opportunity to share any new ideas.

Just a couple housekeeping issues:

On the right hand side, you can use the Google search function to find things on this blog.
You can also sign up as a follower which means you should receive updates when someone adds a new post or comment.
At the bottom of the page, I've started a "Links" box. I'll just post links to important or useful web sites giving tips or sharing new ideas.

Without further delay, let's get it started!