By Dave Wendland, for Forbes Agency Council, as appeared on Forbes.com The origin of the term we commonly refer to as “brainstorming” was first introduced by Madison Avenue advertising executive Alex Osborn and published in his 1953 book, Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking. Brainstorming, a process to foster creativity, was once touted as a … Read more
by Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, as seen on the IndiePet website. As an independent retailer much responsibility falls into your lap. Often owner-operators are the human resource, merchandising, accounting, buying, inventory, and logistics managers. It’s a lot to juggle, which is why learning to delegate is key to managing it all. Getting associates involved … Read more
By Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, as seen on National Grocers Association website Being an owner-operator of an independent grocery store requires you wear several hats, including human resources, accounting, buying and merchandising. Managing or overseeing all of these things can leave you with little creativity left to problem solve or come up with new ideas … Read more
by Dave Wendland, vice president strategic relations, as seen on the IndiePet website. The importance of maintaining personal health has most definitely translated to the pet space, and owners are looking for brands to provide quality products with transparent claims and clean ingredients. Have you considered what wellness means to your shoppers? I like this … Read more
by Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, as seen on the IndiePet website. It’s not always easy for independent retailers to find their niche in the community. Many aren’t sure how to begin to figure this out. A place to start is to review your product assortment. Start by looking at your competitors, customers, and community. … Read more
By Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, as seen on National Grocers Association website Finding a niche in your community is a good way to build a competitive advantage. If you and your competitors carry many of the same brands and items, bringing in products that are unique to your store can be a strong differentiator. … Read more
By Dave Wendland, vice president, strategic relations, as seen on National Grocers Association website. What does wellness mean to you? I like this definition from the McKinley Health Center of the University of Illinois: “Wellness is a state of optimal well-being that is oriented toward maximizing an individual’s potential.” If we then consider the definition of … Read more
By Dave Wendland, for Forbes Agency Council, as appeared on Forbes.com December 13, 2021 The pandemic has pushed many businesses to rethink their operations. During my most recent executive roundtable discussion, the group focused on business growth, transformation and moving ideas to action. To set the stage for the spirited discussion, I suggested that driving transformation requires … Read more
By Dave Wendland, for Forbes Agency Council, as appeared on Forbes.com October 4, 2021 Cautiously and intrepidly, many of us have returned to the office, travel and business in the “new normal.” For those of us who focus significant time on forging strategic relationships, approaches to growing business contacts and creating new connections have changed forever. The … Read more
By Dave Wendland, for Forbes Agency Council, as appeared on Forbes.com June 17, 2021 Much has been written about leadership traits and styles. In fact, a Google search for the term “leadership” yields more than 2 billion results. And when you specify “authentic leadership,” you get more than 100 million results, including scholarly articles, lists of traits … Read more
