How can small High Street businesses compete?

It's hard enough for small businesses on the High Street in a recession, but when you factor in the never ending growth of global chains (some of which avoid their UK tax obligations), you really get the feeling that the odds are stacked against the sole trader.

But there is hope. I've already written about good old fashioned customer service like at this brilliant Fishmongers in South London.

Then there's cross category reward schemes to take on the might of Nectar. Ice Rewards is an interesting example i came across recently...

"a flexible customer reward programme whose mission is to mitigate climate change via mass consumer purchase power. The Idea is that by changing small things we do and buy every day, together we can minimise harm to the environment, help mitigate climate change and preserve the ice caps."

...providing a heightened sense of reward for the shopper and a further hook for the retailer.

Now it seems that even Amex is getting in on the act. The notoriously pricey payment method is rarely found in independent stores, so Amex has put a scheme together to tackle exactly that problem and drive footfall for stores in the process.

"Small Shop" aims to support small businesses by offering £5 cash back to shoppers when they spend over £5 in participating shops throughout November. Having received the mailshot, a relatively smooth sign up on line quickly offered me an interactive map. It's incredibly clunky but to my amazement, there are plenty of participating shops, and not just in London, even darkest Lincolnshire can boast a handful of participating retailers.

While the flyer has limited impact, it does do the job of creating momentum which quickly moves online to forums like this.

It's a compelling offer for consumers, and provides footfall for retailers, it's just a shame that the user experience isn't better. Mobile would seemingly be the ideal medium by which to communicate this activity and keep it front of mind. Sadly the mobile experience isn't up to scratch. Yes you can link it to your foursquare account but i imagine that this is simply a relic of past campaigns in the U.S. as the Foursquare user base is still minimal over here in the UK. I would have thought that integrating the map into the existing Amex app or even creating a new one would have been highly beneficial to shoppers without too much hassle in the development phase.

Still, user experience aside - it's a great way for small independents to benefit from increased footfall without having to foot the bill for the awareness raising activity - hopefully it works, and could maybe become a permanent offering at a slightly reduced reward rate. Even double points would go a long way to maintaining this new 'small shopping' behaviour amongst the rewards hungry Amex card holder.

Could travel agents learn from Heston?

Someone sent me a link to this film at the weekend, it's all about a project Heston Blumenthal commissioned earlier this year to build the excitement of a trip to The Fat Duck for his diners.



Like A Kid In A Sweet Shop. from The Neighbourhood on Vimeo.


I thought it was an interesting way of turning the negative of a two month wait from booking to eating into something much more positive, something that can heighten the experience itself when it arrives.

There are a few other similar purchases that you could equate this to; waiting for your new car to be delivered, ordering a made to order piece of furniture, or booking a holiday.

When you consider the increasing pressure on High Street travel agents and operators as booking behaviour evolves to a DIY model, it feels like an opportunity to add much more value to the agent experience. Why stop at a brochure when - like Heston - you could be building anticipation from the moment the deposit is paid until the morning of the trip itself?

It could improve the experience for the customer, and it may even get them into the habit of conversing with the helpful agent (or operator) on a much more regular basis, which in turn makes a post trip review, recommendation and subsequent re-booking more likely to happen.

Some pro-active cruise companies and hoteliers are already taking advantage, instigating and maintaining a conversation that builds anticiptaion and improves the overall experience. The payback for them coming in the form of a stronger customer relationship, a higher chance of a positive customer review and benefical word of mouth occurring pre trip, as well as post.



Encouraging WOM post trip: Hotel reception card prompting a review on Trip Advisor

Would you like a bill with that?

Nice touch from Giraffe on their menus at Gatwick airport. Good example of thinking about how the shopper (or diner) is feeling and what matters most - in this case an enjoyable & short dining experience.

Changing behaviour towards recycling

Changing attitudes is one thing, changing behaviour is another challenge entirely. Take recycling for instance. How do we encourage more people to recycle? We can educate them through all sorts of rational arguments, ones that they will nod along in agreement with, but will it actually result in changing their behaviour? In reality, people are much more likely to recycle if it's made rewarding for them and if it's made easy for them, that is to say they don't have to do much different to usual.

A door step service may be the gold standard but is it sustainable? Recycling sites are the next best option but could they do a better job?  I saw an unfamiliar approach in Portugal recently. Their recycling containers are underground. I'm assuming the approach was taken because of the high summer temperatures, but take a look at the picture below. It looks good, user friendly, almost a fun experience to recycle.

Underground recycling in Portugal

Imagine if sites looked like this in the UK. It would mean we could fit more sites into urban areas, it would mean less NIMBY opposition to sites appearing in more places, which in turn would make it more convenient for people to drop off their own recycling at these extra sites. Not only that, if sites looked more appealing (and maybe highlighted the amount of refuse recycled each month) it would become a more rewarding experience for people.

It's worked in the past, way back in 2006 a Lewisham council scheme encouraged more recycling by making it more fun. They painted the recycling refuse bins black and white to resemble Friesian cows. So now, people weren't just recycling, they were 'feeding the cows'.

The result? It increased recycling loads by 60%. Not bad for the cost of 2 tins of paint.

Feeding the cows in Lewisham 2006