What is not surprising are Retailer’s top business challenges. Clearly, surviving the economic downturn is the #1 concern, followed closely by finding new customers. It makes sense. The news is filled with stories about Retailers struggling – even large, national chains that are household names are hurting and cautiously giving earnings guidance to Wall Street. If the big league retail players are hurting, you know Main Street is especially feeling the pain.

Taxes are also a top concern. This trumps concern with retaining customers. The threat of tax increases is very real at all levels of government, but should this top being concerned with retaining customers? I’m puzzled as I visit so many independent retailers and they don’t have a business card, a place to leave your information, etc i.e. a way for your to remember them and visa versa. This is such low hanging fruit for Retailers. I’ll give you an example. I recently stopped by a very cool, specialty coffee house in a trendy area of NYC. I, for once, didn’t want a cup of coffee at that moment, but was drawn into the store to look around and enjoy the atmosphere. The coffee house was located in an area I don’t visit often, so I wanted a business card so I would remember them. They didn’t have one and now the name of that coffee house is long gone from my memory.

Finding and keeping employees is not a huge concern – it didn’t even rank in the Top 5. This has traditionally been a top struggle but is probably muted by the fact that there are a large number of talented folks for hire. If you’re a smart retailer, you’re looking for good candidates now – there are a lot of experienced and mature folks out there. Hire them and reap the dividends from having a reliable employee.

So, if retailer’s top concerns are the economy, finding new customers, and taxes, what are they doing about them? I’ll give you a hint – they’re not waiting for the economy to improve – they’re taking action. Retailers understand how critical it is to get their name out there. Especially the independent retailer, who has to raise their voice above the chorus of the big box retailer. One of the top tactics retailers are increasingly doing is monitoring you, the competition. That’s right – you’re being watched by fellow retailers. They’re also increasing their visibility by leveraging signage, as well as holding periodic sales. Many are leveraging sales to keep their name top of mind with existing customers as well as giving new customers a reason to stop by.

They’re also out looking for new customers. Where are they finding them? Referrals from existing customers and vendors are top sources. More and more retailers are also embracing ecommerce and using email to connect with potential customers. Although most of them have a website, keeping it updated and search engine friendly is a concern. And a significant number of them are building a database of customers.

So, lots of action to address their concerns. What is the common thread? These tactics are all easy to implement and inexpensive.

If you’re a retailer reading this blog as we enter the holiday selling season, you know you need to get your name out there now. Think about what your competitors are doing. Ask yourself how potential customers know about your business. How are can they find you? What are you doing to retain existing customers and find that great new salesperson? The economy is on everyone’s mind, but it is by and large out of our control. What is in our control is how we proactively respond to it.

Are you facing similar business challenges? Or are you facing completely unique ones? What are you doing about them? Please share – we would enjoy hearing from you.

Want to learn more? Have comments? Contact Mike at michael.benedict@deluxe.com

Over the past several years, the word “recycling” has become more of a household name, but there is definitely still some confusion about the topic.

Some common questions people have are…

What is a recycled product?
What is a recyclable product?
What is a biodegradable product?

Below is some basic information answering these questions that will hopefully encourage consumers to recycle and minimize their contribution to our already overflowing landfills.

What is a “recycled” product?

Recycling programs are increasing across the nation and around the world as a means of reducing the amount of landfill space needed for waste, but collecting papers and bottles is only half of the process. Consumers need to purchase products made of recycled materials to complete the cycle.

In the world of manufacturing consumer products, a “recycled” product is…
A new product made from materials that would otherwise have been waste,  broken down (melted or pulped) into a basic substance from which a new product can be formed.

Even though the word “recycled” is commonly used to mean reusing something in any way, legal definitions require the old product to be broken down into its basic material and a new product formed for it to be called “recycled.”

There are three general levels of recycled products that can all be called “recycled”.

Primary Recycling – Reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into the same product, which can then be recycled again, such as a glass container into a glass container or a steel product into a steel product.

Secondary Recycling – Reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into a different, but similar, product. For example, recycling corrugated cardboard boxes into cereal boxes.

Tertiary Recycling – Reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into a product, which is not likely to be recycled, such as recycling mixed office paper into bathroom tissue.

There is much controversy among manufacturers, distributors, regulators, and consumers over what constitutes a “real” recycled product. There are those who believe that only products made from post-consumer waste should be called “recycled.” Considering that for every pound of consumer waste there is twenty-five pounds of manufacturing waste, pre-consumer waste has its place in products called “recycled,” too. Products just need to be labeled correctly so consumers can make their own choices.

What is a “recyclable” product?

A “recyclable” product is…
A product that can be collected and made into a new recycled product.

But when considering the recyclability of a product there are two separate and distinct issues: 1) Can a product or material technically be recycled? 2) In real life, can a product or material practically be recycled?

The difference between these two definitions of “recyclable” is the subject of hot controversy in the product/packaging-labeling world. Some say that any product or material that can technically be recycled should be labeled “recyclable.” Others say that the attribute “recyclable” should only be used on a label if, in fact, it can really be recycled in the community where the product or package is sold. While recyclables such as glass or newspapers can be recycled almost everywhere, other recyclables like plastics or motor oil can only be recycled in the limited number of areas where programs have been set up.

The primary markets for recycled materials right now are aluminum and other scrap metals, glass, paper and plastic. These are easily recognizable even without the word “recyclable” on the label.

A very large portion of our waste is recyclable or otherwise reusable. If we recycled all of our paper and paperboard (40%), all of our metals (9%), all of our plastic (8%), and all our glass (7%), we would reduce our total garbage by 64 percent! If, in addition, we reclaimed our wood (4%), rubber (3%), and textiles (2%) for other uses, we would be down to only 27 percent of our current garbage. By composting yard wastes (18%) and food wastes (7%), we’re left with only two percent of our current solid waste to place in a landfill or otherwise dispose of. Recycling takes work, but it can be done.

What is a “biodegradable” product?

Of all the environmental buzzwords, “biodegradable” has perhaps been the most misused and is perhaps the most difficult to understand.

A “biodegradable” product is…
A product that has the ability to break down, safely and relatively quickly,
by biological means, into the raw materials of nature and disappears into the environment.

These products can be solids biodegrading into the soil (which we also refer to as compostable), or liquids biodegrading into water. Biodegradable plastic is intended to break up when exposed to microorganisms (a natural ingredient such as cornstarch or vegetable oil is added to achieve this result).

By the time many resources are turned into products, however, they have been altered by industry in such a way that they are unrecognizable to the microorganisms and enzymes that return natural materials to their basic building blocks. Crude oil, for example, will biodegrade in its natural state, but once it is turned into plastic; it becomes an unsustainable pollution problem. Instead of returning to the cycle of life, these products simply pollute and litter our land, air, and water.

The confusion about this issue will probably continue for some time, but as consumers, we should be vigilant about using biodegradable products to protect our environment.

Here’s how long it takes for some commonly used products to biodegrade, when they are scattered about as litter:

• Cotton rags (1-5 months)
• Paper (2-5 months)
• Rope (3-14 months)
• Orange peels (6 months)
• Wool socks (1-5 years)
• Cigarette butts (1-12 years)
• Plastic coated paper milk cartons (5 years)
• Leather shoes (25 – 40 years)
• Nylon fabric (30 – 40 years)
• Tin cans (50 – 100 years)
• Aluminum cans (80 – 100 years)
• Plastic 6-pack holder rings (450 years)
• Glass bottles (1 million years)
• Plastic bottles (forever)

For more information on choosing environmentally friendly products, please visit www.worldwise.com