This past weekend, Best Buy President and CEO Hubert Joly had a unique opportunity to address the nation's governors at the National Governors Associations summer meeting. Joly's talk focused on how today's retailers are integrating the in-store and online customer experience, and the need for marketplace fairness.

Joly said that today's trends do not forecast the death of mainstreet retailers, rather retailers with a multi-channel approach to sales are poised for success. In addition, Joly shared his retail recipe for retail success: focus on advice, service, and convenience. For Best Buy, this has meant refocusing on providing an amazing customer experience, leveraging unique assets, building capability while innovating, and experimenting with strategies.

Joly thanked the National Governors Association for its leadership on online sales tax fairness, and asked each state to continue that push, saying if we want help create 1.5 million new U.S. jobs and combat the closure of 5,000 stores last year, marketplace fairness is needed now.  Government shouldn't pick winners and losers, he told the governors, adding "I think it's an issue that can be solved and must be solved this year."

Click here to watch Hubert Joly's speech.

I recently attended a seminar entitled “Working Across Generations” in which the facilitator challenged attendees to work in small groups and develop strategies for how to bridge generational divides in the workplace.  Our discussion started with the stereotypes associated with each generation.

Greatest Generation:  Strong work ethic with patriotic undertones.

Baby Boomers:  hard workers with rebellious streaks.

Generation Xers:  Rebel consumers with minimal time for work.

Millennials:  Tech-obsessed, self-centered, but driven to succeed. 

This discussion got me thinking about how brick-and-mortar businesses might reach this new generation of millennials, many of whom are experiencing disposable income for the first time.  This disposable income, I will note, is relatively scarce due to the soaring cost of higher education.  This presents a challenge for retailers hoping to earn the trust necessary for new consumers to spend their precious dollars on a particular brand.

What’s the secret?  Well, the key to gaining a market share of the millennials is not much different than the generations before them.  It’s communication.  Below are a few practical tips.

1. Believe it or not, there is such thing as social media overload.  Yes, millennials are more virtually connected than any generation that has come before.  This might lead a retailer to believe that the more social media tools they utilize the better.  Wrong.  Choose a social media channel that makes sense for your business.  Millennial consumers are savvy; they won’t spend any time at all on your social media sites if they don’t make sense or are clunky to navigate.  Make a commitment to a social media channel that makes sense for your business and stick with it before hopping on another channel.  You, like consumers, have a limited amount of time to spend generating content and keeping your content relevant.  Go easy on yourself and don’t spread your business too thin on social media.
   
   
2. Don’t confuse consumers with your social media “savvy.”  So you just read Tip #1, and you think you’ve overcome this problem by linking all of your social media accounts to efficiently update and maintain your presence.  Unfortunately, this isn’t the smartest move.  Every social media channel has unique qualities that attract a specific consumer set.  It is critical, particularly for millennials that you interact with your consumers in the style used by each site.  For example, Twitter followers expect short, real-time updates from retailers so sending them a longer, visual post that aligns more with Facebook could alienate or confuse your Twitter customers.  Unlink your accounts.  You don’t have to like it.  Just do it.
   
   
3. Thank us.  Thank us.  Thank us.  A millennial walks into your store (no, this is not the beginning of a bad joke), you interact with them, they purchase something, they exit the store.  What now?  (Don’t worry, it’s not a trick question.)  Millennials are just like any other life generation, they like to be thanked.  Nothing beats the power of a good, old-fashioned thank you.  Even millennials love a postcard in the mail.  A shout-out on Twitter, while slightly less personable, can also be effective.

For these and other fantastic tips for communicating with customers from all generations, check out “The Ann E. Answers Guide to Communications Etiquette in the Digital Age.”  The book was written by my company and can be purchased at anneanswers.com.  All book proceeds go to Dress for Success, a local nonprofit dedicated to promoting the economic independence of disadvantaged women in the Twin Cities.

The 2014 legislative session was about more than just minimum wage. Curious what passed that will impact your retail operation?  The Minnesota Retailers Association has released it's session outcomes report., highlighting nearly three dozen issues that passed or failed.

Here is a quick preview from the report introduction by Board Chair Mike Hiltner and Legislative Policy Committee Chair Jeff Lindoo:

Under a challenging legislative environment, MnRA is pleased to announce:

• The repeal of business-to-business taxes enacted last year, including the concerning storage and warehouse tax that was set to take effect April 1;
• Positive main street retailer changes to the threshold and percentage of June accelerated tax payments;
• Passage of industry-supported changes to Minnesota's Pharmacy Practices Act;
• Protection for responsible retailers operating mobile device trade-in programs;
• A year delay in the introduction of a dime deposit-refund beverage container recycling program bill;
• Successful opposition to a 48-hour consumer notification mandate when a data breach occurs;
• Removal of a duplicative tobacco excise tax originally passed in 2013;
• Defeat of a proposal that would have required retailers to pay an hour of "sick and safe" leave for every 30 hours an employee worked.  

To received a copy of the 2014 State Legislative Outcomes report, follow the appropriate link below.