 Digital Marketing Post COVID
One constant thing we know about marketing is: it changes. All the gosh darn time. Just when you think you’ve figured it out and got it nailed down, you wake up the next day and bam! Change! COVID taught us all many things. One thing we learned was just how strong our businesses and our customer relationships are. I’m all about marketing trends but I’m even more about how to build a strong, solid, sturdy business that can withstand life’s storms, whatever form they come in. Colleen Lloyd-Roberts of Monkeys In Hats will teach you 5 Post COVID Marketing tips to help you strengthen your business post COVID as and build it stronger and sturdier for the future. Description will be posted soon.
 Customer Loyalty
With the change in the culture of consumer shopping during the pandemic, we can all use a refresher course in customer service. Lisa Mills of Sheriffs Ranches Thrift Stores will share ideas, and some personal experiences, to help you gain customer loyalty. The way we treat and react to a situation can make all the difference in the world. Learn ways to enhance your customer service by expressing gratitude for a customer’s business. What makes you a loyal customer is what makes your customers a loyal customer. Learn to put the human touch back in your business—people appreciate it more than ever now.
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Concurrent Sessions 1:30 PM
Strategies to Avoid Counterfeits
This workshop will cover why counterfeit goods have proliferated in the last decade and show how the pandemic has exacerbated the issue plaguing stakeholders—brands, governments, resale businesses, retailers—worldwide. Further, we will explore how to buy and sell online safely as many resale businesses have been forced to move to online channels due to lockdowns while also addressing tips to avoid buying counterfeits in person. Devin Battersby of Entrupy will help you feel empowered to buy and sell luxury goods online, and to be confident in accepting inventory in person you might have otherwise not considered.
What Hats Are You Wearing?
Owners, are you tired from doing too much? Are you stretched too thin? Are you micro-managing your manager and staff? Have you learned to let go and delegate? Managers, are you pulling your weight? Do you have the tools to make good decisions? Do you know the owner’s vision for the business? Kreta Lee, owner of Another Season Consignments, and her manager, Merra Holmes, will share how they work together to inspire a team of employees. They will touch on building an owner-manager relationship. Kreta believes the key ingredient to empowering a successful manager is through mentorship.
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Concurrent Sessions 2:45 PM
You Survived—Now What?
If you have learned anything from the last year it is that you have to be flexible, adaptable, and forward-thinking. Waiting to implement new processes in the midst of the chaos means that you are already behind. NOW is the time to identify what is possible for your business and start implementing change so that when the next major event occurs you are ready! Dennis Sewell, NARTS President, of StillGoode Home Consignments & Auctions will share strategies to put you in a position to withstand difficult business environments.
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Hiring for Strategic Growth
What separates stores that do well from stores that are amazing often boils down to the employees and operational planning. Choosing the right person for your store depends on the work that needs to be done, so defining the work that drives revenue growth is a great starting point when creating your job description and employment ads. Carolyn Thompson of Resale Global will show you how to attract someone who is committed and dedicated with skillsets that compliment your own. Learn to streamline your operations to align with employee strengths and desired areas of learning in this timely session when so many stores are hiring.
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Tuesday Workshops
Concurrent Sessions 11:00 AM
Building Your Business Through Collaboration
Your store can be promoted to an entirely new customer base by collaborating with like-minded businesses. Working with small businesses, who have business values and goals similar to yours, will help increase your customer base. You'll find that by working together you both will benefit. Glenda Polak, NARTS Vice President, of Caprice Consignment will show you how to look for businesses with a similar demographic to yours and businesses that offer services of interest to your customers. Discover how to determine if a business is a good fit to work with and learn possible ways you can work with other businesses...then watch your $$$ grow!
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Three Things I Wish I Knew
Systems and Planning: Learn how to implement the 5S System of Organization (Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain) to make your work areas more efficient. Change is Good: Explore how to let go of old ways of organizing, merchandising, staffing and embrace new strategies to improve business. Have Fun: Susan Zwart of Second Glance Thrift Store will share how she scheduled her hectic works days, so she and her staff have a little bit of fun every day. Take time to laugh, to do the parts of the job you love, to spread out the difficult moments, and to build in rewards so each day has something positive and fun.
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Concurrent Sessions 1:30 PM
Online Listing Optimization & Best Practices
This workshop will help you decide what items to sell on the Internet vs. in your storefront. David Engle of Upright Labs will provide guidance on which brands to pull to sell online vs. selling in the store. Discover how to train team members to spot certain brands and streamline the process for pulling them for online sales. David will be reviewing the average sale price of certain brands. Learn which categories are the "hottest" in the resale industry. Explore when you should sell certain categories, what they should be priced at, and so much more. Join this session to learn the science of the online sale!
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Facebook+eCommerce=Winning Formula
Have you wondered how to use Facebook Live selling to grow your online store? Krista Tolbert of The Vault Luxury Resale will take you through the steps they used to successfully have two virtual fashion shows geared toward increasing their eCommerce business and ultimately their return rate, conversion % and sales. She will share how this past year taught them to use Facebook for more than just live selling. Learn how you can use social media to Launch, Grow and Enhance your online store. Create exciting events using social media. You will leave this session thinking of new ways to grow your business from brick and mortar to online.
Concurrent Sessions 2:45 PM
Luxury Handbag Authentication 2.0
With the growth of the luxury resale industry comes even better counterfeits flooding the market. In this workshop you will learn how the top brands have changed, tips on where to look to find the faults of fakes, where to find the RFID chip in a newly manufactured Louis Vuitton and the one thing you need in your authentication arsenal that will tell you immediately if a Chanel bag is authentic. Deanna Thompson of Marque Luxury will share changes brands have made to their production lines to thwart counterfeiters, how to have a much better grasp at authenticating, and tools of the trade that you may not even know about!
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Expanding Your Store
Are you thinking about expanding your store? This session will explore the things you need to consider when expanding: Deciding which product categories to add, or if you will offer entirely different merchandise categories from those in your original space. Finding the best way to layout your new space. Learn how to plan for a successful build out. Julie Jankiewicz of Repeat Street will share various ways of connecting with your customers, suppliers and employees to let them know about your expansion and get them excited about it! By the end of this workshop, you will be able to start planning your own expansion.
If you can't attend August 1st-3rd... all workshops & handouts, plus other events, will be available on-demand for you to watch at your convenience!
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