Building trust with local business owners

[Exactli]

It appears to be harder and harder to build a relationship with local business owners these days. I have a product that was built specifically to help local businesess and breath life back in to our highstreets. The problem i am having is that these business owners appear to have been mislead by so many companies in recent years it is hard to build the trust required.

Has anyone else experienced this and may be able to offer some advice?

 

[NickGrogan]

What does your product do?

 

[Exactli]

Afternoon Nick,

We offer a Virtual A-Board system that allows businesses to promote/advertise their various products and services. The search results on our system are focused on a users location, meaning a businesses 'boards' will be seen by their community.

I am finding that a lot of our clients have had bad experiences with various discount sites and although that is not what we do it is difficult for them to see past their previous experiencs.

 

[NickGrogan]

So a local business directory, with discounts?

If its location based, then I'll only see offers for the "high street" if I'm on the "high street", which kind of defeats the purpose.

how is it going to help local businesses and breath life back in to our high streets?

 

[Exactli]

Hi Nick,

Thank you for your comment. It is a form of directory but not neccessarily with discounts. A business can choose to build a Virtual board for any of their products. If they wish to offer a promotion or discount they can but we would not ask them to do this.

I have lived in the same small town for 7 years but still do not know what every business offers or where they may be located. Our system would help with this.

As for breathing life in to the highstreets we believe that our search engine within the site can help.

For example, if i wanted to purchase a new denim jacket i could type this into our search bar and any businesses that have a board for denim jackets would appear with the price plus the name and location of the store.

Search results are not limited to a specific radius from where you are stood. I am currently 20 miles away from Manchester but can still view the businesses there if i scroll down my feed or use the search feature.

 

[AllUpHere]

You'll struggle because one of the things local businesses have been avoiding for years is being conned to advertise on those screens in post offices and suchlike (you know the ones).

I can't really see how a virtual a board could be much more useful (or less of a con) than the above.

 

[Exactli]

You'll struggle because one of the things local businesses have been avoiding for years is being conned to advertise on those screens in post offices and suchlike (you know the ones).

I can't really see how a virtual a board could be much more useful (or less of a con) than the above.

Thank you for your comment, although i am slightly offended by the implication that our service is a con. The fact that businesses can use our system completely free of charge with no contract should be proof enough of that.

Many of our clients are independently owned cafes, gyms or retailers that may be located on side streets and the fact that our users can see their boards from a mile away or on the main streets they find very useful.

I understand that our service is not going to be a perfect fit for all businesses but it is certainly not a con.

 

[NickGrogan]

how is it going to help local businesses and breath life back in to our high streets?

 

[NickGrogan]

businesses can use our system completely free of charge with no contract

If it's free then why not just add them.

What are you actually trying to sell them?

 

[Exactli]

If it's free then why not just add them.

What are you actually trying to sell them?

Hi Nick,

We are not trying to sell them anything. Just offering them the opportunity to promote their business on our platform.

If we just add every business in the UK ourselves it would cost us a fortune in admin and there is no guarentee that the information being provided to the public would be 100% accurate.

If the business builds their own boards (much like building an instagram post) then the information would be accurate. They can then remove or replace this when it is no longer relevant.

 

[fisicx]

Suppose Bob the Butcher lists on your app, what happens next?

Nobody is ever going to know because nobody is even aware the app exists.

And according to the app store it's only of any use in Altrincham.

How many people have downloaded the app?

 

[NickGrogan]

ok, but no one wants to be first.

Pick an area and add all businesses in that area.

Track the response and then you can tell that x,000 people was their ad and x00 clicked on it.

They'll be happy and might update it.

If the shops aren't paying who does pay?

 

[WaveJumper]

I was typing one comment now deleted that as seen above and ask why I just do not see any benefit at all. Just do a google search.

 

[fisicx]

We are not trying to sell them anything. Just offering them the opportunity to promote their business on our platform.

There are already loads of ways they can do this without their customers needing to install an app.

 

[Exactli]

We are a start up but do not know why the APPstore would suggest it is only in use in Altrincham

Hi Nick,

Thank you for your suggestion. We currently have over 3000 live boards with over 1000 of them in Greater Manchester. We are a new start up and brand awareness will help. Our TV campaign launches next month on ITV and SKY.

Business owners have an option once registered to upgrade to receive more features such as 'book' and 'buy' buttons that can be linked to a businesses website. (No commissions)

 

[fisicx]

We are a start up but do not know why the APPstore would suggest it is only in use in Altrincham

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/exactli/id1437650874?mt=8

"Starting in Altrincham before expanding throughout Greater Manchester and the UK, we hope to be coming to your area soon."
That suggests it's still very local.

In any case, it's still seems a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. You didn't answer the question: how many people have downloaded the app? And how many of those actively use the thing?

You may be very successful but I can't see the point. If I'm in a new town and need somewhere to eat I just use Google maps.

 

[Mr D]

sorry, have seen tons of stuff about breathing life back into the high street. after 15 plus years it becomes meaningless.

take an idea - look at how it impacts business.
the shop owners want to know how will this improve their bottom line or reduce their costs.
anything that adds to their workload is a problem. for you, not them.

if I go to Manchester for anything I just google to find what I need to find in the area. nice and simple as a user.

 

[mattk]

Your site is actually quite smart. But it is suffering from the same chicken and egg as most directories. Without content you won't get traffic and without traffic no one will create content.

Why don't you load local business information town by town, and then get businesses to "claim" their listing?

 

[NickGrogan]

brand awareness will help. Our TV campaign launches next month on ITV and SKY.

Brand awareness is irrelevant, you need people using your app. A TV campaign probably isn't the answer.

Who made the advert and who are you targeting?

 

[MOIC]

breath life back in to our highstreets.

It will never happen.

Technology has moved on.

Focus on having 'anything delivered the same day'. That's what people want.

 

[Mr D]

It will never happen.

Technology has moved on.

Focus on having 'anything delivered the same day'. That's what people want.

I would disagree, slightly.

the high street will adapt.

as it has over the past several decades.

what is the need for a high street - it is where the shops are, it is where there tends to be concentrated parking, it tends to be where some people still shop.
so if businesses catering to those people move in to the properties...

40 years ago would anyone have suggested vape shops, tattoo parlours, pound shops, charity shops etc to so dominate the landscape in town centres///

 

[MOIC]

40 years ago would anyone have suggested vape shops, tattoo parlours, pound shops, charity shops etc to so dominate the landscape in town centres///

I rest my case . . . . . .

 

[Mr D]

I rest my case . . . . . .

the high street adapted. it may not end up as some would like but if they are not using it they cannot really complain...

 

[MOIC]

If having the shops/businesses you mentioned is 'the high street adapting', then its no wonder that mainstream businesses are struggling.

Car parking is just a plaster over the issue, as are business rates, as are greedy landlords, as are most reasons you can think of, except one . . . . . . . . .online shopping is here to stay and will grow, sadly at the demise of the high street.

Granted there are a (very few) high streets which are doing OK, but the writing is and has been on the wall for considerable time.

The vast majority of businesses who have a bricks & mortar shop and do not have an online presence are simply waiting for the inevitable.

Vape shops can come and go, depending on legislation, which is often being talked about.

With regards to pound shops, charity shops and tattoo shops, is that what you want the high street to consist of?

You forgot to add bookmakers to the list . . . .

 

[Mr D]

If having the shops/businesses you mentioned is 'the high street adapting', then its no wonder that mainstream businesses are struggling.

Car parking is just a plaster over the issue, as are business rates, as are greedy landlords, as are most reasons you can think of, except one . . . . . . . . .online shopping is here to stay and will grow, sadly at the demise of the high street.

Granted there are a (very few) high streets which are doing OK, but the writing is and has been on the wall for considerable time.

The vast majority of businesses who have a bricks & mortar shop and do not have an online presence are simply waiting for the inevitable.

Vape shops can come and go, depending on legislation, which is often being talked about.

With regards to pound shops, charity shops and tattoo shops, is that what you want the high street to consist of?

You forgot to add bookmakers to the list . . . .

the essence of business is meeting demand.
online is a growing sector of the economy but still a small percentage of retail after over 20 years.
the high streets change and meet demand - whether you or I like the particular businesses who move in.

I do not see the decline in the high street the same way as you do. the figures I am seeing from a couple of sectors suggest an increase in sales in b and m stores. in particular sectors and types of stores but not bad across the entire range.
one report of last Christmas sales suggests the biggest competitor on the high street for one type of store had flat sales while the independent retailers were reporting 10 percent plus year on year increase in sales.
this despite the growth of online.

its one example. there will no doubt be other examples that show how bad the impact on other shops is.

even online is not a cure for all ills - several of the retailers who went under in the last couple of years had online sales.

 

[MOIC]

the essence of business is meeting demand.

And presumably to make a profit.

the high streets change and meet demand - whether you or I like the particular businesses who move in.

The examples you have given, vape shops, tattoo parlors, pound shops & charity shops . . . .if this is representative of a typical high street, no wonder that the high street is in general decline. This is not what the vast population want or expect of their local high street.

I do not see the decline in the high street the same way as you do.

I think you are in a very very small minority.

even online is not a cure for all ills - several of the retailers who went under in the last couple of years had online sales.

Online is not a cure for all ills - It's the main reason that the high street has declined in the last 10 years.

We will agree to disagree.

 

[Mr D]

And presumably to make a profit.




The examples you have given, vape shops, tattoo parlors, pound shops & charity shops . . . .if this is representative of a typical high street, no wonder that the high street is in general decline. This is not what the vast population want or expect of their local high street.




I think you are in a very very small minority.




Online is not a cure for all ills - It's the main reason that the high street has declined in the last 10 years.

We will agree to disagree.

making a profit is down to the business - the customers do not care about that. and as we both know, some businesses meet a need but do not make sufficient profit to remain in business.

not what the vast population want or expect - yet what manages to survive when other businesses do not. perhaps they are indeed what their customers want and expect, should a business listen to its non-customers/

 

[MOIC]

some businesses meet a need but do not make sufficient profit to remain in business.

So, they close, which is a detriment to the high street.

should a business listen to its non-customers/

No, it should listen to their accountant and bank manager.

There is little point in a 'business' setting up shop in a high street and going bust within 2 years.

Who does that benefit, except the landlord?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

So, they close, which is a detriment to the high street.



No, it should listen to their accountant and bank manager.

There is little point in a 'business' setting up shop in a high street and going bust within 2 years.

Who does that benefit, except the landlord?

There is one exception some towns in Devon have made the rates lower than industrial units meaning you can have a shop mainly running an online business but a shop front ,You cant unload artics though !
A quick glance of the OPs business to me looks like another directory or banner advertising outfit
Online directory's and banners don't work only SEO and PPC !

 

[fisicx]

Downloading and using an app isn't going to revitalise town centres.

An calling it a 'virtual a-board' is just daft. It's not an a-board - it's just another local directory app.

As an aside, I installed the app on my phone and it pretty useless. It's telling me a pub in London sells award winning beer. Tapping on the image doesn't do anything, nor does touching the distance take me to a map. But I can get a cup of coffee 155 miles away!
It's just pointless.

 

[WaveJumper]

I am going to lay out a very simplistic view of why I think the high streets are currently where they are now:

Going back some years now we had seen up-ward only rent increases from landlords who hold onto major chunks of property within our town centres (Incidentally held by investment funds almost all held offshore but that’s another story)

Like a pack of dominos once higher rents are achieved in one or two locations this then gives evidence on lease renewals for other properties to be subject to an increase and over the years this spiral has you could say got out of control.

Major investors (property owners) are only interested in one thing VALUATION the value of their portfolio for their investors. (Don’t forget what I said the majority of these are overseas, Ill come back to that in a moment)

So our high streets changed, independents could not afford these inflated rents, but also from a valuation purpose more value is given too your chains than an independents who do not on the face of it have good governance.

It should also be noted here anything that results in income for a landlord has a massive value, car park charges, and advertising panels and so on and so on.

This is all great whilst money is flowing in, councils reap the rewards of higher parking charges (especially if they own one or two) higher business rates etc. etc.

Then along comes out of town shopping, free parking etc. etc., but not only this some of your major retailers suddenly realise why do we need to be in the town centre paying high rents and high service charges, what if we bought land outside the town developed it ourselves would that not be better, it’s a no brainer. And so we saw major retailers start to move away from town centres, great for customers too free parking (one of the biggest gripes you’ll hear from customers the cost of parking)

Then we have recession, then we bring in the internet, peoples wages not increasing and all the other things currently being discussed. Major retailers building their empires on borrowed money suddenly falling by the wayside and leaving in some cases vast areas of a town centre deserted.

And now unfortunately we are seeing the effects of all this. Personally I think Government talks but in reality have not helped the situation. Ok we have seen schemes likes BIDs set up yet another tax on local business although the funds are used to try and revitalise a town centre, but unless you are in a major city these funds probably only run to a few 100k a year, a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things (Cleaning chewing gum off the floor and putting out planters is not perhaps the answer needed)

What’s to be done, we have seen the rush to develop in town residential by landowners and councils to bring people back into the spaces, and yes as other posts on here have suggested new uses need to be found to attract the public back, from food to entertainment, gyms, doctors surgeries, dentists and so on but alas I think this is going to take some time to pass and for those town centres in what I term secondary locations even longer.

I said I would come back to the owners, the irony of all this is the people who own all this property, that sits in funds held offshore you guessed it, ultimately they pay no tax in the UK.

I now need a cup of coffee

 

[Mr D]

So, they close, which is a detriment to the high street.



No, it should listen to their accountant and bank manager.

There is little point in a 'business' setting up shop in a high street and going bust within 2 years.

Who does that benefit, except the landlord?

yes they close to the detriment of the high street.
the ones who are meeting a need and getting sufficient money to pay the bills will tend to remain. survival of the fittest.
those with outdated business models, those with too many staff, those with not enough staff etc can die off.

I would hope most businesses setting up on the high street are not intending to go under any time soon.

the town my wife was born in had a lovely town centre cinema when she was born. 20 years later the cinema had closed and woolworths was the occupier of the building. less than 20 years later than that and woolworths went under.
a budget clothes shop has been there since. not my cup of tea but sufficient local demand for the goods that the shop has been there years now.
in the time that shop has been there two of the higher priced big clothes stores within a hundred metres have shut shop. demand, but maybe not enough demand to keep a failing store open.

over time I expect lots of businesses to try out the high street, the successful ones stay while the others drop out. the bigger retail spaces if kept as single units will require big retailers to move in - perhaps we have a shortage of retailers that are the right size looking for those particular spaces.

 

[Mr D]

Then we have recession, then we bring in the internet, peoples wages not increasing and all the other things currently being discussed. Major retailers building their empires on borrowed money suddenly falling by the wayside and leaving in some cases vast areas of a town centre deserted.

whose wages are not increasing/

minimum wage adult over 25 - 4.8 percent pay rise. anyone know retail staff on minimum wage in march this year/

 

[WaveJumper]

Does minimum wage pay the bills maybe for some, due to zero hours contracts many are holding down several jobs to make ends meet. There's lots of factors that come into play.

As an aside landlords yes will now be paying their house keepers and security staff the legal minimum rates, but who do you think they pass these costs onto ..... yes the retailers helping to squeeze their margins just a bit more

I actually had a phone call from a friend last night, senior store manager in retail (very well known company) even spends some time as acting area manger when current one on leave. commission now stopped on sales, no bonus this year, or pay rise, the latter for the second year running, reckons she will be earning what she did five years ago. This is and has been the reality for many out there. The feeling they are going backwards.

 

[Mr D]

Does minimum wage pay the bills maybe for some, due to zero hours contracts many are holding down several jobs to make ends meet. There's lots of factors that come into play.

As an aside landlords yes will now be paying their house keepers and security staff the legal minimum rates, but who do you think they pass these costs onto ..... yes the retailers helping to squeeze their margins just a bit more

I actually had a phone call from a friend last night, senior store manager in retail (very well known company) even spends some time as acting area manger when current one on leave. commission now stopped on sales, no bonus this year, or pay rise, the latter for the second year running, reckons she will be earning what she did five years ago. This is and has been the reality for many out there. The feeling they are going backwards.

paying bills - open to debate.
lets see, 65 pounds a month gross increase for a 40 hour week - heck I could pay bills with that kind of gross increase.
compared to not having that much pay rise or indeed any pay rise....

a retailer can of course put its prices up to cover the extra it has to pay out. same as any other business.
a retailer puts its prices up for everyone, not just those who have had a large pay rise.

my wife had a pay rise of 1p an hour, taking her onto minimum wage. so 30p gross pay increase a week compared to the 15 pounds the minimum wage staff got.
luckily she does not work in retail any more.

 

[Paul Norman]

Your challenge is not just one of building trust.

You have got to be able to convince people that your idea really will make a valuable difference to them. You have to explain why it will increase their footfall, and then their revenues.

That is the same challenge as here.

The question you are receiving here, is the one you will receive on the High Street.

It is this. Why will this idea make any difference? And when you answer, expect to be robustly challenged. And when challenged, have good, factual answers ready. It is not about trust, you see. People are struggling to see how your vision works.

 

[MOIC]

the ones who are meeting a need and getting sufficient money to pay the bills will tend to remain. survival of the fittest.

AS you have stated in your previous posts (vape shops, tattoo parlors, pound shops, charity shops . . . . .), these are not what the high street needs to attract customers back. the sad truth is that people are now buying online, as the choice is much bigger, as well as much more convenient.

I would hope most businesses setting up on the high street are not intending to go under any time soon.

That's the 'hope' on many start ups - sadly most go under within 2 years. Even the big boys are not immune to current high street conditions.

over time I expect lots of businesses to try out the high street, the successful ones stay while the others drop out

Try out is one thing, sadly most will drop out. the types of shops that will survive are the types of shops you have stated, which is not conducive to a thriving high street to bring back customers.


Yes, there are always exceptions, but the trend has been there for all to see for the past 10 years.


The high street needs drastic changes to be able to breath any life, unfortunately landlords, councils and one-man shop owners who are under-financed and lack experience, are the hurdles that need to be overcome.


At the moment, it's too much to ask.


It's sad.

 

[Mr D]

AS you have stated in your previous posts (vape shops, tattoo parlors, pound shops, charity shops . . . . .), these are not what the high street needs to attract customers back. the sad truth is that people are now buying online, as the choice is much bigger, as well as much more convenient.




That's the 'hope' on many start ups - sadly most go under within 2 years. Even the big boys are not immune to current high street conditions.




Try out is one thing, sadly most will drop out. the types of shops that will survive are the types of shops you have stated, which is not conducive to a thriving high street to bring back customers.


Yes, there are always exceptions, but the trend has been there for all to see for the past 10 years.


The high street needs drastic changes to be able to breath any life, unfortunately landlords, councils and one-man shop owners who are under-financed and lack experience, are the hurdles that need to be overcome.


At the moment, it's too much to ask.


It's sad.

those shops however appear to be what customers want.
if they open and they have sufficient custom to make money then they pass the only test needed.

what you think the high street needs may well be different to what the public are spending money in.

yes, many businesses go under in the first few years. when has it been different/

the hurdles appear to be among other things the local service provider that has a monopoly - the council - landlords, who may well be pension funds and even council investments. and small one man bands, the cornerstone of retail startups.
I do not think any of those are going to go away any time soon. landlords - who could they sell to besides another business / investor wanting to be a landlord.

 

[MOIC]

We're going round in circles.

Your idea of a successful high street, is vastly different to mine.

Let's agree to disagree.

 

[Mr D]

we are not disagreeing on successful. we are disagreeing on what the high street has become.