{"id":37922,"date":"2020-11-23T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/5-fund-raising-ideas-for-small-businesses-friday-five\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T08:41:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:41:40","slug":"retail-business-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/retail-business-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"6 strategies for retail businesses from top MBA programs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What part of your retail business needs a little sprucing up?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter what your answer is, chances are you\u2019ve come to the right place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral recently sponsored the virtual Small Business School Challenge<a href=\"#footnote1\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a>,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> featuring teams from some of the top MBA programs in the United States (Carnegie Mellon, Yale, UC Berkeley, and more). The retail businesses who participated came to the table with the challenges they\u2019re facing, especially during the economic difficulties caused by COVID-19. They were paired up with an MBA team to brainstorm solutions and come up with a plan to alleviate their biggest pain point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Pssst! Applications are now open for the 2021 SBSC, taking place virtually April 8-10. This event is FREE, so apply today!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\" align=\"center\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thesbschallenge.com\/application-business\/\" class=\"show-demo-button\" target=\"_self\" >Apply for the 2021 SBSC <\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<p>\t<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 48 hours, the small businesses and MBA candidates worked side by side\u2026 virtually, of course. But it felt like they were in the same room, thanks to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/video.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">high-def video and voice conferencing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from RingCentral:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation\" title=\"Hello to Better Meetings | RingCentral MVP\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fhUY2AGF7xQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The teams collaborated via video to find clarity and create a path to greater sustainability and success. Thanks to the studies of the MBA students, small business owners received cutting-edge, data-driven insights to help them make decisions going forward. And the experiences of participating small businesses infused the students\u2019 classroom learning with real-world applications. A true win-win!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Feeling the FOMO<a href=\"#footnote2\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/a>?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Don\u2019t despair. We\u2019ve rounded up some of the top advice the MBAs passed on to the retail business owners:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#one\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to increase website traffic and overall online presence<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#two\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to maintain a workforce in difficult times<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#three\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to improve inventory management and brand awareness<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#four\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to scale up as an online retail company<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#five\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to successfully launch an online retail business during a pandemic<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#six\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to expand a retail business into online markets<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"full-width\">\n<section class=\"show-demo\">\n<div class=\"title\">\n\t\t\tStay open for business.\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex-container button-container {{ $description ?: 'spacing' }}\">\n<div class=\"flex-container description\">\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\tLearn how small businesses can thrive, even in the toughest times.\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n                                            <button onclick=\"window.open('http:\/\/rcsmbunity.wpengine.com\/', '_blank'); return false;\" class=\"show-demo-button\" data-dl-name=\"show-demo\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-dl-additional-info=\"show demo button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\">Small Business Central \u27a1\ufe0f<\/button>\n                                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"one\"><\/a>1. How to increase website traffic and overall online presence<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The retail business case study<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A &amp; S Soap Co., a handmade soap company, wanted to increase website traffic and their presence in the online market.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The solution<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A&amp;S Soap Co. worked with MBA students from Carnegie Mellon University\u2019s Tepper School of Business. The MBA\u2019s came up with the following recommendations:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We as a team recommend that A &amp; S Soap Co. revamps its website, focuses on branding, and expands its marketing channels.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revamping the website will include a new membership program that will introduce a reward system to incentivize customers to continue buying A &amp; S Soap Co.&#8217;s products. Customers can shop nine different times, and on the tenth time, the customer will be rewarded a small bath bomb or some other small incentive along with the rest of the customer&#8217;s purchase. Also revamping the website will introduce additional payment methods (Paypal, etc.).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Branding is important because Sad\u00e9 (the owner) is such a passionate person, and we felt that from the logo to her social media platform, she could incorporate more of herself to really speak to her customers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expanding marketing channels will include wholesalers\/distributors and e-commerce platforms (Amazon, Etsy).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The MBA takeaways for your business<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find your unique strengths and build your brand around them<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reward your return customers\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make the shopping and buying processes as simple as possible by expanding ways to pay online\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"two\"><\/a>2. How to maintain a workforce in difficult times<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The retail business case study<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dan &amp; Whit\u2019s, a country store with an online presence out of Vermont, have had a tough time with staffing during COVID-19.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The solution<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dan &amp; Whit\u2019s teamed up with MBA students from Dartmouth College\u2019s Tuck School of Business, who advised the following:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have identified a potential solution as training employees to work from home. In this way, when employees cannot come into the store due to COVID-related issues, they can contribute by:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing online orders<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Answering phones via call forwarding\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expanding social media presence<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Calling numerous suppliers to reorder products given the frequent shortages<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given that Dan &amp; Whit\u2019s has a history of cross-training their employees across functions, this should be an understandable extension of their responsibilities.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The MBA takeaway for your business<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bake flexible work into the DNA of your business so employees can work from anywhere. One way to do this: invest in the right tools the first time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A powerful unified communications (or <a href=\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/ucaas-unified-communications-as-a-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UCaaS<\/a>) platform makes any location work-ready. Whether you need a phone service, group messaging, video conferencing, or all three, there\u2019s sure to be a plan to fit your team\u2019s remote needs. With RingCentral, all of these features live in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/desktop-app.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one clean and simple app<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that\u2019s easy for anyone to navigate:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation\" title=\"Your anywhere workspace\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9xaL89hYeFs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udcd6\u200a Read more: <\/b><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/unified-communication-platforms\/\"><b>11 of the best communication platforms, ranked<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"three\"><\/a>3. How to improve inventory management and brand awareness<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The retail business case study<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">April Blooms, a clothing boutique, wanted to find a better way to organize and keep tabs on their growing inventory of apparel and accessories. They also wanted help with brand awareness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The solution<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">April Blooms worked with MBA students from UC Berkeley\u2019s Haas School of Business. Here\u2019s what the MBA\u2019s came up with for them:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revamp the homepage<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generate more user-generated content to build trust and reputation<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create blog and video content (styling, trends, tips and tricks) for social media channels<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Implement affiliate marketing with influencers<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduce inventory on hand and increase rate of turnover by leveraging a pre-order system to better predict seasonal demand in inventory<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Implementing predictive analytics to give customers personalized suggestions\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By implementing these measures, April Blooms can continue its success and flourish as one of the top hubs for local designers and fashion enthusiasts.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The MBA takeaways for your business<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If inventory is your issue, try a pre-order system so you can have a better understanding of your demand.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re looking for more brand awareness, try creating helpful multimedia content on your social platforms that is engaging and aligns with your business. And be sure to engage with customers on social media, especially if someone reaches out with an issue.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out these <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/social-media-best-practices\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">30 social media best practices<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to make the most of your online presence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"four\"><\/a>4. How to scale up as an online retail company<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The retail business case study<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beard &amp; Brawn, a beard oil company, is new on the scene. They want to be positioned for growth, specifically as an online company, in both sales and manufacturing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The solution\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beard &amp; Brawn worked on this problem with MBA students from Duke University\u2019s Fuqua School of Business. Here\u2019s what they came up with:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the immediate term, Beard &amp; Brawn can benefit from building out basic infrastructure, such as social media and site analytics, and honing in on their target customer. To grow online sales, we suggest they first prove out their product through retail partnerships and flea markets to build local customer loyalty and brand recognition.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We recommend they secure a contract manufacturer and further invest in their online presence once they hit production capacity and have steady revenue.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The MBA takeaways for your business<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re a new business, take time to build a solid foundation that will serve you as you grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even online businesses can do with some in-person buzz. If you\u2019re just starting out, build some <a href=\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-relations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer relationships<\/a> offline.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scale up your business in phases; it doesn\u2019t all have to happen at once.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"five\"><\/a>5. How to successfully launch an online retail business during a pandemic<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The retail business case study<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fine Color Jewels, an online jewelry retailer, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. They wanted help to stay profitable during this tough time and build toward the goal of outside investors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The solution<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fine Color Jewels worked with MBA students from University of Washington\u2019s Bothell School of Business. The MBAs devised that Fine Color Jewels can stay profitable by:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using advanced analytics to develop targeted insights into key market segments: These insights should provide the foundation for sustaining the business post-launch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acquiring brand partnerships and sponsorships to extend the reach and exposure of the company: This should generate potential leads, setting the foundation for viral growth.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[Using a] jewelry box subscription service to have a consistent revenue stream from a loyal base of brand ambassadors: This will ensure a solid core of customers to support the company through its initial few years.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The MBA takeaways for your business\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leverage influencers and partnerships with larger brands to expand awareness of your company, especially on social media where so much commerce now happens.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make use of data analytics to find your true audience, so you\u2019re not wasting time selling to the wrong market.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re selling goods, try a subscription service for more regular revenue.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"six\"><\/a>6. How to expand a retail business into online markets<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The retail business case study<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fusion Dolls, a company dedicated to providing children with a more racially diverse array of dolls to choose from, has done most of its business face-to-face. They now want to transition into the digital space, both because of COVID-19 and to expand their market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The solution<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fusion Dolls worked with MBA students from the Yale School of Management, who advised the following:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our proposal is to develop 2 different digital products:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a digital referral coupon\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Offer digital gift codes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of Fusion Doll&#8217;s sales were from word-of-mouth in a face-to-face setting, which we plan to incentivize customers through the coupon code. This will help spread the brand&#8217;s awareness outside of the local area where Fusion Dolls is working now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital gift codes offer new purchasers to buy a doll for a friend\/loved one and letting them choose the product. In addition to allowing customer flexibility, it gives Fusion Dolls cash to use in the immediate period.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><b>The MBA takeaways for your business\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t be afraid to incentivize customers as you transition into a new market. It\u2019s all about building up a new base and customer loyalty and sweetening the pot with discounts and referral codes can help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MBA advice for your retail business<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Small Business School Challenge brought together great minds from both worlds, both business owners and future entrepreneurs. Their combined knowledge and experiences produced a wealth of advice for any small business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re interested in this meeting of the minds, stay tuned for the announcement of the next challenge. Until then, we bet you\u2019ll find some helpful business hacks in this roundup. <\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a id=\"footnote1\"><\/a>[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/thesbschallenge.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/thesbschallenge.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"footnote2\"><\/a>[2] FOMO = &#8220;Fear of missing out&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What part of your retail business needs a little sprucing up?\u00a0 No matter what your answer is, chances are you\u2019ve come to the right place.\u00a0 RingCentral recently sponsored the virtual Small Business School Challenge1, featuring teams from some of the top MBA programs in the United States (Carnegie Mellon, Yale, UC Berkeley, and more). The &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":43149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901,18670],"tags":[5369,27149,875,27148,356,5105,296,18845,11253,162,6297,6298],"class_list":["post-37922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","category-retail","tag-brand-awareness","tag-inventory-management","tag-launch-a-business","tag-mba-advice","tag-remote-work","tag-retail","tag-ringcentral","tag-sbsc","tag-scale-up","tag-small-business","tag-work-from-anywhere","tag-workforce-mobility"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6 strategies for retail businesses from top MBA programs | RingCentral Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get critical retail business advice from some of the best MBA programs in the United States. 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