It’s hard to be original, and very hard to be unique. But, in the most generic time in retail that I can recall in many a year, the originality card is really the only card left to play. So I thought it beneficial to mention a few companies that embrace unique character, original approaches, and personal charm.
The two companies that I will spotlight as examples of the success mind set, are The Candyman Strings and Things and Spicer’s Music. I asked each store’s owner the same two questions: one regarding differentiation, and one regarding todays biggest market challenges.
Let’s find out how these two very successful stores look at these important questions that pertain to all of us.
Candyman Strings & Things (Rand Cook)
What is one thing that you believe differentiates Candyman Strings and Things from other music stores?
Rand: There are several things that I believe set us apart from our competitor’s at large:
A relaxed and open showroom with lots of space, dynamic natural light and wood architectural features. The space is very inviting and provides a low stress environment.
That, along with a customer service philosophy of no pressure, and our staff working in tandem for the benefit of our customers and students.
We also have an unusually broad selection of instruments and accessories for the market size.
But the most important are the people who work here; most are long term veterans . All are professional musicians (performance, engineering and teaching) and have a focus on fulfilling the needs of our musical community. All carefully driven by women leadership and management.
What is Candyman’s biggest challenge in today’s market?
Our biggest challenge is staying front of mind in the age of the internet. Too few people understand the value of supporting the local resources – yet lament when they are gone….
Spicer’s Music (Tim Spicer)
What is one thing you believe differentiates Spicer’s from other music stores?
Tim Spicer: Although we do specialize in a number of niche inventory categories which encourages customers to shop with us virtually from around the country and world, many of the products we stock, and merchandise can be found at music stores everywhere. Carrying much of the same product as our competitors makes it challenging to stand out in the crowd. I believe one thing Spicer’s does very well to differentiate ourselves in a crowded industry is that we lean forward into challenges in a proactive, and often creative way, with the intention of being customer-focused and building stronger customer relationships. We do this by continuously bringing our focus back to the customer’s point of view, and empowering our staff to be creative and work autonomously when applicable. For over a year now, this process of customer-focused team management has been led by our General Manager Jonathan Hendrix. Jonathan’s dedication to the customer’s point of view has played a key role in the continued differentiation of Spicer’s Music.
What is Spicer’s biggest challenge in today’s market?
For our business, sales today just aren’t what they were this time last year. Customers are still purchasing high-ticket instruments with profitable margins, but we are experiencing an overall dip in customer traffic. This decline in overall traffic, both in-person and virtually, has resulted in a dip in sales volume. From what we are hearing, this may be a similar trend at many stores across the country after the years of sustained highs from the post-COVID spending. Our challenge is now to adapt and overcome this decline by staying focused on our customer. Our Sales Manager, Jessie Osborne, has worked closely with our management team to develop creative ideas to combat this decline. With a combination of new customer events as well as basic tasks like handwritten notes mailed to customers, we hope to be proactive and make the best of today’s current market…
In Closing
It’s easy to see from the way these two leaders answer those two questions that many of the problems we face today are universal. I greatly appreciate the honest answers given by both Rand and Tim. In business, it’s the way in which we approach vision, as well as our creative solutions to problems, that affords us the tools to differentiate our business from others, and that paves the road to success.
