9 Mistakes Local Businesses Are Making and How to Avoid Them

Shop local.  It sounds so simple. In fact, everyone from the Mayor of San Francisco to American Express to your local Chamber of Commerce has recently extolled the virtues of shopping locally. 

But in reality it’s not that easy.  Limited store hours, remote locations, bad weather, online shopping, and busy schedules are just a few of the challenges that can keep potential customers from shopping locally.  With that as our backdrop, let’s take a look at the biggest mistakes local businesses are making today that keep customers from shopping more locally and how to avoid them.

1. Relying solely on location.

Location, location, location.  A ‘great’ location can make a difference.  But a ‘great’ location means very little if your target audience can't find you or doesn't understand what your business actually offers.  If someone hasn’t had a chance to walk pass your location, you basically don’t exist.  Also, what’s someone do if it’s after business hours?
Advice:  Be flexible.  Use a visual marketplace that provides local businesses with a virtual storefront that complements existing marketing efforts at virtually no cost.

2. Relying just on marketing events.

Marketing events are great.  There is a whole smorgasbord of events to choose from. There’s everything from flea markets to festivals to trade shows allowing you to target specific customers and markets.  But events are periodic.  Events get cancelled or rescheduled at the last minute.  And last, but certainly not least, people don’t show up.  Now what? 
Advice:  Hedge your bet.  Use a visual marketplace to showcase and sell your stuff rain or shine.

3. Creating barriers to buy.

People are busy (or at least we perceive ourselves to be).  Most people are looking for a seamless shopping experience where they can shop their local stores anytime they want, buy an item(s) if they like it, and then pick them up at the store while they’re out.  Yet many local shops still don’t offer options to shop at my convenience and buy or reserved items online.  Sometimes people just want to click and collect.
Advice:  Make it more convenient to shop at your business.  Customers should be able to buy from you easily and painlessly.  Choose an online solution where your customers can shop anytime, click to buy online, and collect (pick up) at the store.

4. Having limited or no web presence.

Many local shops still don’t have websites.  Those that do often simply list their phone numbers and operating hours with a few photos, if any.  Many consumers research products on the Web as a starting point to save time.  The lack of any sort of web presence can be fatal for a local business. Users are only a click away from moving on to the next business if yours isn’t out there.
Advice:  Get online NOW!  Pick your top 10 ‘movers’ or most popular items.  Take 2-3 pictures and write a small description for each.  Sign up for an online visual marketplace for locals and post those items online for free.  It’s that easy.

5. Looking at your website as separate channel.

Good news!  You have a web site.  Yay.  Bad news.  There are over 1 BILLION web sites on the internet today.  Just having a static web site is not enough. Your website needs to be visible and interactive.  A great web site doesn’t mean a thing if no one knows about it.  And managing your website as a separate channel can mean a lot more work if you’re not careful.
Advice:  Join an online marketplace that’s free and easy to post and let the web work for your business.  Then add a link to your website so that customers can easily see your inventory.

6. Doing no marketing at all.

We’ve all heard them. “Build it and they will come”.  “Get a great location and business will take care of itself”.  These are just a couple of the old adages that are absolutely untrue.  The competition has increased for people’s time, attention, and money.  Sitting pat and doing nothing is a recipe for disaster.
Advice:  Get started today.  See #4.  It’s a no brainer.

7. Relying on principles.

Local businesses have long relied on product knowledge, personal relationships and personal service as their competitive advantage.  To a certain extent, it makes a ton of sense.  But in today’s economy businesses need to do more.  What good is all your expertise and personal service if you have no customers?
Advice:  Take action.  Let people see what you have to offer by getting your top items posted online on a locally-targeted visual marketplace.  Once customers buy online and come to the store to collect their items, you can ‘wow’ them with personal service.

8. Relying on deals to drive traffic.

Deals can drive traffic.  When used appropriately, deals can give your business a nice boost.  But be careful.  Over dependence on deals or deal sites like GroupOn and LivingSocial can quickly eat up all your profits.  Plus, just because you’re using one of these deal sites doesn’t mean you’re ‘online’.
Advice:  Use sparingly.  Use an online marketplace where you don’t have to sacrifice your margins to drive traffic and additional sales.

9. Relying on email campaigns.

You have a great mailing list.  You’re running daily/weekly/monthly campaigns using Constant Contact, MailChimp or Vertical Response.  Great.  But if your customers are anything like me, they get 100s of email every day.  Emails can get buried or accidently end up being flagged as spam.  And even they if get the message, people still can’t browse online to see what else in your store aside from the items you’re promoting.
Advice:  Diversify your offering.  Use your mailers to include links to your items on an online visual marketplace to enhance your efforts to drive more traffic.

Shopping locally doesn’t have to be difficult.  Retail is local.  People are local.  Most people want to do business locally.  It's good for their local economy, environment, and community.  But if they can’t find something locally or it’s inconvenient, they’ll buy it on Amazon.  Plain and simple.

Don’t let that happen to your business.  Follow the advice above and make local shopping easier and more convenient for your customers.

Well, that’s it for now.  In my next piece, we’ll discuss the benefits of click and collect for local businesses.

#seamlessshopping #visualcommerce #localbuying #clickandcollect

About the Author

Sean Brown is the Founder and Chief Pixan of Pixiboard and an advocate for making local commerce safe, easy and seamless for buyers and sellers alike.

How to Vet Your Sellers and Buyers

Pixiboard^TM is a seamless, safe environment for buying and selling your stuff.  It’s visual, so there is no more wondering what items look like.  Messaging is integrated, so no more exposing your e-mail to strangers.  It’s cashless, so no more fumbling in strange places to make change.

Last time we talked about the advantages of PixiPay^TM, our cashless payment process.  Using PixiPay^TM makes the financial transaction safer.  But how can you make things safer before the purchase?

Pixiboard^TM allows up to fifteen images per pixi so you can really get a good look at an item before even considering a purchase.  PixiChat^TM is our integrated messaging system allows you to vet both the buyer and the seller before a potential transaction.

To maintain your safety and make sure you fully understand what you are buying, do the following basics before jumping into the deal:

1. Avoid sharing your e-mail with strangers
2. Ask the questions about the unstated
3. Determine a safe meet-up

Just as PixiPay^TM never provides your credit card information to a seller, PixiChat^TM never exposes your e-mail to a stranger.  PixiChat^TM allows you to interact with the buyer or seller within the safety of the Pixiboard^TM platform.  You can message back and forth, ask questions, and verify information without providing your e-mail to the other party.  It is all done within the safety of Pixiboard^TM.

ABC to a salesperson means “Always Be Closing”.  We like to think you should also “Always Be Checking” and “Always Be Chatting”.  Online vetting is increasingly being used by potential employers and other acquaintances to vet people's online presence or reputation. It works for them; you should make it work for you.  Once you do your basic research, review the item and ask the questions.  Use PixiChat^TM to do your back-and-forth.  When you are comfortable with the answers and understand what you are getting and who you are meeting, move forward with the deal.  Not everyone is out to get you but there is no sense in getting catfished.

In Pixiboard^TM, sellers are either going to offer to meet-up with you, have you come to their place of business, or ship your purchase to you.  Use PixiChat^TM to get comfortable with whichever option is presented.  Once you have the price, comfort, and delivery method determine, purchase that pixi!

Pixiboard^TM is a safer, more secure place to find local items.  Browse the board to inspect what you want.  Use PixiChat^TM to vet buyers and sellers.  Use PixiPay^TM to complete the cashless transaction.  And, unlike other options, you do this all within the system.  Click, contact, and collect.

#visualcommece #cashlesspayments #safelocalselling #snapitseeitsellit #clickandcollect

9 Misconceptions Buyers Have When Purchasing Locally

Yay, you found a ‘great’ deal!  Or did you?  Our last blog examined safe local commerce from the seller’s point of view.  Now let’s look at common misconceptions that buyers may have that could put them at risk when transacting locally and how to avoid them.

1.    “I gotta to have it now!”

·     We live in the age of instant gratification.  In
our haste to ‘have it now’, it’s easy to forget
to verify things.  Before jumping into the car and speeding off to acquire your new loot, ask
a couple of questions about the item and seller
to get to know them a little bit.

·     Advice:  If you find an item you like, ask a few questions about it.  Use a fully integrated marketplace where you can ask questions without having to expose your personal email or go to some other site.

2.    “Paying in cash is easier.”

     ·     Cash is nice but always think twice.  Cash can
    really be a bit of a hassle.  First, you have to go
    to the bank.  Then, you have walk around with
    a wad of money to meet some stranger.  Finally,
    there is that whole ‘exact change’ concept. 
    There are so many pre-steps and worries with
    cash.  If something goes wrong, you have no
    recourse.  Plus, you do not get airline miles if
    you use cash.  How is this easier?

     ·    Advice:  Use a marketplace with cashless
   payments preferable tied to a point-
                                              based credit card. 

       3.    “I’ll use Venmo or PayPal.  Everybody’s doing it.”

 ·      So you think paying with third party apps is cool.  But what if the seller doesn’t
  have that app.  You could be forced to run to the nearest ATM at the last
  minute.  Hassle!

 ·      Advice:  Use a seamless marketplace with cashless payments baked right in.

4.    “The pictures don’t do it justice.”

·     We’ve all heard it before.  You gotta see it in person to appreciate it.   Caveat emptor (that’s Latin for ‘let the buyer beware’).  Listings without pictures can be a scam.

·     Advice:  Use a visual marketplace to always see what you’re getting first.  The best marketplaces allow for multiple photos.

5.    “Let’s keep this private.”

·     Meeting in secluded areas is risky no matter
what the circumstances.  While we all don’t
like other people in our business, meeting in a private place is a BIG red flag.

·     Advice:  For your own personal safety,
always meet in a public place such as a
coffee shop.

6.    “I’ll share my info to speed up things.”

·     Sharing is not caring when it comes to buying from strangers.  You can open yourself up to stalkers and other bad people if you’re not careful.

·     Advice:  Never share your personal information.  Use a seamless shopping experience that lets you browse, communicate, and pay all within the security of one platform.

7.    “I’m using an anonymous address so my identity is safe.”

·     While the Craigslist-provided anonymous address is great for receiving e-mails, it doesn't conceal your identity when you choose to respond to someone.

·     Advice:  Use an end-to-end solution that protects your email and contact info at all times.

8.    “They’re in the Free and For Sale group so they must be trustworthy.”

·     We tend to think that someone’s presence in a social media group makes them "ok".  Just because they go to the same school doesn’t mean anything when it comes to your personal safety.

·     Advice: Use a marketplace where you can seamlessly interact with sellers to vet them first.

9.    “I know where they live so they won’t rob me.”

    ·     Let’s face it, it can be a little bit scary
   meeting a stranger off the internet for the
   purpose of buying something especially if it’s
   valuable.  You have never met this person
   before.  You’ll probably never see them again. 
   How do you get comfortable before going to
   make the deal?

     ·   Advice:   Besides using a cashless payment
   system, use a solution that allows you to
   vet sellers first.  Then bring a cell phone
   and friend with you to close the deal.

That’s it for now.  Hope this helps you transact safely next time you purchase locally.  In our next post, we’ll provide tips for local businesses to drive more revenue.

#safelocalselling #nohasslesnosketch #cashlesspayments #seamlessshopping

About the Author

Sean Brown is the Founder and Chief Pixan of Pixiboard and an advocate for making local commerce safe, easy and seamless for buyers and sellers alike.

How to Pay for Your Stuff

Pixiboard^TM is your one stop shop for safe local commerce.  Everything you need to close your sale is in the platform.  In How to Post Your Stuff, we talked about how to get your items on the ‘Board and we provided some posting tips.  Well, once you find what you want, how do you pay for it?  How do you get paid?

Pixiboard^TM is a seamlessly integrated experience.  PixiPay^TM is our cashless payment process within the system.  As a seller, you simply enter your bank routing and account number for where you want to get paid.  Your information is encrypted and stored with our third party partner, Balanced.  Pixiboard^TM never keeps your account information and your account information is never shared with buyers.

As a buyer, you provide your credit card.  This information is also encrypted at Balanced.  Pixiboard^TM does not keep your credit card nor is the information ever provided to sellers.  We simply use encryption keys with Balanced to make your payments quickly and simply.

PixiPay^TM keeps things simple and secure.  You enter your payment information once and reuse it until you swap out accounts or your cards expire.  Both card and account information can be provided at the time of the first invoice or you can enter them ahead of the sale by going to My Accounts under your name in the upper right side of the black toolbar.

While a cash transaction seems instantly rewarding, it can also be inherently dangerous.  PixiPay^TM not only enables you to make cashless transactions, you also protect your purchases with your credit card.  And, if you are negotiating on the fly, sellers can change invoice pricing with a few clicks by going to My Invoices/Sent off of the main menu.

Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind when paying or getting paid:

1.       PixiPay^TM is mobile.  Whether you are placing an order and having it shipped to you or meeting someone to pick your stuff up, PixiPay^TM goes where you need it to.  As a buyer, you don’t pay until you are comfortable with the transaction.  As a seller, you get paid immediately.

2.       PixiPay^TM is secure.  There is no cash to lay on the table.  Until the buyer clicks Pay, no money is moving.  Do not click that Pay button until you are good with the deal.

3.       PixiPay^TM is quick.  From the buyer side, you click Pay and the seller is paid.  From the seller side, once the buyer clicks Pay the money is moved right into your account.  For basic transactions, there is no middleman and there is no waiting period.  Your money belongs to you.

4.       PixiPay^TM is safe.  Your transactions are protected by your credit card.  With cash transactions, it’s caveat emptor.  And for larger transactions, Pixiboard^TM is able to employ escrow.

Pixiboard^TM is a better way to buy and sell your stuff.  Images allow you to virtually inspect items before your even consider a purchase.  PixiPay^TM allows buyers to secure their transactions and enables sellers to get paid immediately.

Thank you for your support.  Next time we will talk about PixiChat^TM, which allows you to vet buyers and sellers without sacrificing your personal contact information.  In the meantime, get out there and sell the stuff you want and find the stuff you need!
 

10 Mistakes Students Make When Selling Their Stuff

Safe local selling.  Easier said than done.  If you’re not careful, you can get robbed or worst when transacting locally.  So that you won't find yourself in this situation, below is a list of mistakes that college students make when selling their stuff and how you can avoid them. 

1.     Relying solely on social media.
Not all students use the “Free and For Sale” groups.  They are great for giving stuff away but just scratch the surface for making the sale.  If people miss your first post, there is no easy way for them to find it or even know to look for it.  There is no way to financially close the deal there.  And, you’ll need to continuously re-list your stuff so it shows up.  If you want to get a bunch of clever comments about your couch or deal with a bunch of lowball offers, these sites are for you.  Otherwise, you are better off posting things you want to sell on sites that sell.
Advice:  Use social media for social media not selling stuff.  That said, social media is a great way to advertise that you are selling something.  Make sure to use a sell site that allows you to post to social media.

2.     Posting flyers.
Really?  Is it 1989?  While that year may work for Taylor Swift, it’s highly doubtful that this approach will work for you.
Advice:  Use an online marketplace designed with colleges in mind to sell your stuff.

3.     Using the old standbys.
Everybody has a Craigslist story.  Got ripped off.  Met a creepy character.  Buyer didn’t show.  The list goes on.  Yes, there are millions buyers sitting in their old underwear surfing the net at 2AM to find your stuff.  But it’s sketchy, text-based, and crowded.  Another way to go is EBay.  But Ebay is an auction site that’s not really meant sell stuff quickly or locally.  Plus, they are going to charge you to post.
Advice:  Steer clear.  Find a visual marketplace that does not charge you to post AND fits your needs.

4.     Not posting photos of items.
People are visual.  We want to see stuff rather than read about it.  I don’t want to wade through a dictionary of text to try and figure out what type of bike it is.  Show it to me!  Plus, for potential buyers, items without pictures tend to be considered shady or of poor quality.  Are you really going to take someone’s word on it or do you want to see it yourself?
Advice:  Always include at least two pictures with your listing.


 

5.     Not properly vetting buyers.
In your haste to make a quick buck, you can easily forget to properly vet out who you’re dealing with.  As a result, you can find yourself in an uncomfortable situation or meeting someone who’s smelly, scary, or worse.
Advice:  While there is yet to be a technology advancement to screen for bad BO, there are sell sites that allow you to see who you’re dealing with.  Use an online marketplace that enables you to check profiles and communicate with potential buyers within the system and before the meet-up.

6.     Exposing personal info to strangers.
No one should ever expose themselves to others.  Once you have a buyer on the hook or an item you want to buy, what is next?  You want to chat.  You may be tempted to give your email and/or phone number to ‘speed up’ the process but what this really does is open you up to an influx of spam or unwanted calls from people you don’t know who may never buy your stuff.  Listen to your mother - never give your phone number or email to people you don’t know.
Advice:  Use sites that have a way to mask your information from strangers and, even better, enable you to do the talking and the selling in one place.

7.     Depending upon third party apps for payment.
You have Venmo or PayPal.  Great!  What if they don’t?  Could be a major hassle.  BTW, do you really want to wait up to three (3!) days to get your cash?
Advice:  Use a seamless marketplace where payments are baked in and you get paid NOW.

8.     Using cash.
There’s nothing like a fresh wad of cash.  Bills of different denominations and grimy coins that have passed through thousands of unfamiliar hands.  Do you eat with those?  Beware.  Any one-on-one transaction where money changes hands is inherently unsafe.  Plus, someone may have to make change or, worse, you open yourself up to last second low ball offers.
Advice:  Find a solution where you can make cashless payments and where closing prices can be adjusted on the fly.

9.     Going to unknown or secluded places to close the deal.
Congrats.  You’ve got a potential buyer.  But a deal’s not done till it’s done.  Next, you have to meet.  The ATM on the residential corner sounds safe… until you think about the bushes and the side streets.  Meet above the public transportation rail?  Yes, that’s a great getaway.  Wait,… that’s a great getaway!  Be smart and careful about where and when you meet-up.  You can still get robbed, even with a friend.
Advice:  Pick brightly lit public places when meeting face-to-face.

10. Inviting strangers into homes.
Hard to believe this still goes on.  Many people throw caution into the wind for the opportunity to make a quick buck.  Vampires cannot enter a home unless they are invited in.  Do you want a vampire in your house?  Do you want a vampire to even come to your house?  Yes, I am sure that your buyer, or that seller, you are going to meet is (probably) NOT a vampire but why chance it?
Advice:  Meet at public places if you can.  If you have to meet someone at your home, vet potential buyers as advised in #5.

That’s it for now.  Hope this helps you transact safely next time you need to sell your stuff.  In our next post, we’ll provide tips for buying locally.
 

#seeitsnapitsellit #nohasslesnosketch #cashlesspayments #safelocalselling

About the Author

Sean Brown is the Founder and Chief Pixan of Pixiboard and an advocate for making local commerce safe, easy and seamless for buyers and sellers alike.