You may not have to look very far to find a good source of customers in these challenging times —  just reach out to your family and friends.  Be sure to include the family and friends of your employees as well, and to be generous in your use of the term "friend."  (Facebook has made that a pretty loose category already, since most of use don’t actually have hundreds of people we would consider close friends.)

REI, the innovative outdoor retailer headquartered in Kent, Washington,  recently held a special one-day savings event for family and friends.  They offered a special discount based on the amount of purchase, and all that was necessary in order to qualify was to present a postcard.  Needless to say, everyone working in their stores was given a large number of cards to hand out.

 There was a time when it wasn’t difficult to lure shoppers into a store by offering a percentage off, but today’s customers are more reluctant to go out shopping.  A family and friends offer makes them feel special, and may be just the thing to get these familiar faces back into your store today.

 Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder