Neiman- Marcus’ Fatal Mistake….was made a decade ago

They were already struggling with cash, market share and foot traffic long before that. For their own reasons, going back 10 years ago or more, they basically ignored the changes that were happening in retail, namely the internet and ecommerce. So for many businesses in the same boat as Neiman-Marcus, this pandemic and the mandated shutdown of businesses globally was the last blow! I suspect we’ll see more bankruptcies of big brands in this sector, e.g. JcPenney & Macy’s.

Businesses are learning a hard lesson, adapt or die. If those brands would have adapted 10 years ago when ecommerce was getting so much momentum, they would actually be thriving in this. Look at Shopify, they are crushing it alongside Amazon of course. But the point is they were in front of the trend that is allowing them to thrive.

Another great example of a huge company that ignored the tech trend in their niche, Blockbuster, was a massive company! They had the opportunity to buy Netflix in its infancy and opted not to; sighting that customer surveys and statistics indicated that their customers really enjoyed the experience of visiting the store to pick out their weekend entertainment. And what happen, almost overnight that company disappeared. They ignored the trends in technology!

Now take your local small and midsize business (SMB Market), on average they can stay shut down about two weeks before being in danger of closing their doors. And many will say they have a cash problem or a credit problem and the reality is they have a “SALES PROBLEM”.

And where most are making their mistake is not transitioning fast enough or, waiting on the sidelines thinking it all will be back to normal…soon. There are a number of ways to transition, but where the focus must be concentrated is creating offers and then marketing and advertising those offers to create “SALES OPPORTUNITIES”. Or, even getting more creative and surveying their customer base to find out how they can help them, essentially asking what do you need or what problem can we solve for you to create revenue for the business.

You might be feeling like Neiman-Marcus, or you may even have started a plan or have some ideas about how to transition. You just need help with the technology and implementing your ideas.

Time is of the essence….don’t wait too long to ask for help!