Giving Thanks Anyway

Many retail industry leaders might not be feeling exceptionally thankful this holiday season for all the obvious reasons. But there are always some signs of hope. Just recently, I’ve read some articles, which were clipped as part of our NARMS Newsfeed service, that provide a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. One had to do with the performance of the grocery channel and the other was a study that once again pointed to the absolute effectiveness of at-retail displays. So we can be thankful that there are opportunities out there and we, as world-class providers of at-retail marketing services, can seize the moment by positioning ourselves as part of the solution. To that end, there are some amazing things going on at your trade association that can help you attain that lofty goal.

It has been a tremendous year of change at NARMS International, so let’s start by giving thanks to our members and leaders who have brought tremendous insight and helped us prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. A good deal of this manifested itself in the extensive Strategic Planning Process led up by Phil Lauria of Pelcos Advisors. This exercise yielded many short and long term action items, some of which have been attained and many that will be introduced in the weeks and months ahead.

Although we must always be careful no to leap to tactics before a firm strategy can be defined, I would like to point out a few initiatives that have resulted from the Strat Plan. NARMS has always prided itself on being a teaching organization. It is safe to say that we have a tremendous new learning tool in our monthly NARMS Webinar series. Over 80 members have registered for each of the four sessions so far and there are two more planned for December! The new look Web 2.0 www.narms.com has evolved into a true interactive experience which improves not only the interest level, but also the effectiveness and reach of the Recruiter and JobBank. This is achieved through the use of One Call Now, RSS Feeds and Twitter as we now employ a comprehensive push-pull strategy to our staffing appendage. We are also excited to investigate our relatively new charter membership in the Retail Advisory Board of the Center for Retailing Excellence at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. We are the first non-retailer of this group and can look forward to a multitude of upcoming activities.

These are just a few of the latest and greatest happenings, and of course, we look forward to another exciting and jam-packed agenda at the Spring Conference in Colorado Springs . The event also has an exciting new feature in the NARMS Virtual Trade Show in which all members and non-members will have the opportunity to visit with the exhibitors that present their services and products 24/7 on the NARMS website.

So at this time of Thanksgiving, we give thanks to you the members who, with your continued membership, give us the opportunity to serve, grow and evolve to meet your needs. So from the staff here at NARMS International HQ, Happy Thanksgiving to you, your staffs and your families!