Photography Q & A: Lights and Backdrops
Q- I am looking for input on equipment that we plan to get. We need to buy lights and a backdrop or two. We probably need to wait on the web design before we know what color of backdrop, but...
The Instagram Impact 2: Getting Started with Instagram for Business
Last week’s blog, The Instagram Impact, gave an overview of Instagram, the photography based social media app that has hit the social networking scene with a big bang. This week, you’ll find...
New Year's Resolutions – Social Media, Blogging and More
It’s December 31st, 2012. Time to reflect upon the last 365 days of the year – what went well – and what we’d like to do differently. It’s time to write down on little pieces of paper our Ne...
The Power of Saying I’m Sorry
I’ve noticed a very interesting trend over the last year; executives are realizing the power of saying I’m sorry. The CEO’s of both Netflix and Apple made formal apologies this year for thei...
The Instagram Impact
I admit it, I’m a big Facebook fan and I’m passionate about Pinterest, but now there’s a new social media kid on the block and I am only just beginning to imagine the impact of Instagram. Up...
iPads Make Great Kiosks
In the past, a lot of retail stores have tried using kiosks without much success. In my opinion, kiosks in retail spaces have never really worked all that well as they tended to be clunky, n...
Apps: Walling Off the Internet
Let me say this right off the bat. I absolutely love my iPhone and iPad and the apps that run on them. In fact, I’m typing this blog article on my iPad as I sit in bed listening to Pandora....
Product Photography for Retailers
For retail business owners, one of the biggest obstacles for making the decision to join the e-commerce revolution is product photography. Retailers can often justify other expenses when add...
E-Commerce First Hire
You’ve got your website up and running, now who is going to update content and maintain it. It can be nerve racking for retailers to figure out who they should hire as the first person to he...
Pinterest Gets Better For Business
A month ago, if a business wanted to take part in the social media sensation Pinterest, it was discouraged. The initial goal of Pinterest was to create a social network connecting people wit...
Locking Up Content in Facebook
Let me start by saying I love, love, love Facebook. However, there’s an alarming trend happening that I feel compelled to tell you about, which involves stores locking up all their content i...
Just Do It! (Making Blogging Easy)
Life is busy, we all know it. How do we find time to do things we want to do, much less the things we have to do – like blogging? A retailer’s life is beyond busy – there are always orders t...
Take a vacation for new ideas!
Go on vacation! Take a trip somewhere and rejuvenate your creative side. I do this all the time and it’s not because I’m lazy. I do this to search for new ideas. I like to take myself out of...
ShopTab: Easily Post Your Products on Facebook
ShopTab is an easy to use service that helps you post your products on Facebook. This no-nonsense website allows you to submit your product catalog to Facebook using one of the following for...
Protecting Your Online Reputation
In the not-too-distant past, dare I say the 1990’s, the reputation of your retail business was driven mostly by word-of-mouth with real customers talking to their real friends about your s...
Pinterest for Retailers: How to Make the Most of Pinterest
Recently, I was having a conversation with friends regarding my latest obsession – Pinterest. It’s the latest rage in Social Media, and the fastest growing social platform on the web (over 1...
Website Usability: Don’t Try to Make Every Customer Happy
When it comes to designing websites, I often work with retailers who come to the table wanting every feature possible and all the bells and whistles they can imagine! While it may sound idea...
Dead End. . . ? Not so fast.
Dead End! I love those spooky little words! Much has been written using them over the years. Those words have been used in novels, movies, poems, signs, etc. In your mind, it’s usually raini...
Don't be afraid! Focus on success.
As a person with an entrepreneurial spirit, I also work with many business owners who have a “similar” personality. I can only call it similar because we see eye-to-eye on many topics, but t...
The Importance of POS Integrations with Marketplaces Such as Google, Amazon, Etc.
At Modern Retail, we’ve been integrating with a variety of Point of Sale (POS) systems for a long time now. Over the years, we’ve noticed that while retailers often recognize the operational...