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Gaenor Roberts, who owns three branches of Tlws Jewellers in North Wales, has already tasted success having been awarded Business Woman of the Year in 2008. Her reaction to The Shop Doctors was very positive: “The course made you think and question what you do. It was informal, well presented and we were given lots of good handouts and useful references to other material. Over the years I’ve attended many other courses and I used to be in training too; I wouldn’t change anything about this course.”
The programme consisted of four one-hour long ‘surgeries’ on different facets of marketing: injecting great customer service ideas into business, improving knowledge and use of the web, advertising and promotions and visual merchandising.
Phil Jones, a partner in the Bistre Farm Shop in Buckley was most enthusiastic. “These workshops by Main Marketing are where independent retailers need to be. It’s a really good use of time and I can certainly see the value of this programme for small businesses. I picked up lots of good ideas and was also reminded about things I’d forgotten to do. Retailers can assume their customers will come back but the course taught us that you can’t rely on that – there’s always more you can do to inspire your customers.”
Stephen Hughes, a director of Peter Hughes footwear in Holywell added, “It’s good that local authorities are showing an interest in high streets by running this course.”
Help from the experts
A large number of delegates took advantage of the offer to have a one-to-one session with one of three experts from Main Marketing, either Managing Director Di Jackson the marketing specialist, a visual merchandising expert or an internet advisor. The opportunity to discuss their individual concerns with an acknowledged expert was an outright success.
The owner of Nicola Joanne Florist in Queensferry was delighted: “We’re optimistic that our business will flourish. We’ve got the seeds for growth – we just need the time to get on with things. We had a brilliant 1-1 session with Di Jackson the marketing expert. She gave us a fantastic idea that we’re very excited about and are going to implement straight away.”
The reaction of Ruthin retailer Zoe from Spavens Sweet Shop was clear, “It was so good to talk with people who weren’t trying to sell you something. They were there to give you advice, not make a sale and we all really appreciated that. It was great to get objective and expert viewpoints on my own business.”
Ideas on how to move the business forward
Gardener Charlotte Jones said “The course got us off on the right foot as we were considering some changes but weren’t totally sure. We’ve now got ides on how to move the business forward and we’re all enthused and inspired to get cracking.”
Deeside Aerials owner Gareth Jones told Main Marketing “You were quite right to stress that we should be aware of what your business can achieve and how you can make it grow. You gave me the confidence I needed to move my business forward.”
Any Project Officer or council executive wanting The Shop Doctors to help independent traders in their area should contact ‘Doctor’ Di Jackson at Main Marketing
using the contact details below.
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