Hello Everyone:
My reflection this week is on LizianShop. We have enjoyed a busy week and met with plenty of our established and new customers. One of the best aspects of working with so many people is listening to their stories: thoughts: hope, and inspiration.
It seems there is a real upturn in people’s thoughts about the future. No doubt the last three months have rekindled the possibilities of our society becoming relit with opportunities. I’m listening to people who were pessimistic now being optimistic about their future.
Another aspect I have thought about for a few days is that people have become more forthright and open with their opinions. Indeed, this must be a very positive change in attitude? I confess to loving the openness of view. Although it is impossible to accept all opinions, I learn so much from the thoughts and ideas of my customers.
I love the openness and way young people have no concern about how others consider them! It is real progress. When we ask someone an opinion and the answer with a guarded reply seems to be a restrictive practice. Of course, people are concerned about being ostracised for having a valid and fair opinion. However, it is refreshing to listen to young customers talking about their ideas without fear. The circumstance here is collecting crystals, buying oils and incense for meditation, and being interested in alternative healing and lifestyles.
And when I talk about The Community’s Well Being Shows, our LizianShop Customers are already aware of the dates. I’m always surprised by the knowledge of those I speak to! I mention an event to a customer or reference my Thursday night Facebook live. They already know about the event or live! And no matter how many times I say: ‘Do you know I present a Facebook live’ and they reply ‘Yes! Liz – I watch them either in the evening or on catch up.’
But do not run away with the idea they are Lizian Brand addicts. Far from it! They are very savvy with the way they shop and see the products on offer. They do their research: and question the words of their friends: I listen to friendly arguments about Tic ToK’ experts’ no-one takes anything as fact. And of course, how can they?
It is the same situation with the Well Being Shows. I know for sure that we can promote: Community Members: Exhibitors: Visitors to a greater degree than any other events organisers of any generic the UK. We can provide the best venues and facilities. And the reasons for people to stand is most often decided from the conversations they have with other exhibitors. And truth to tell: the opinions can be biased and unfounded. Because people meet over ten weekends yearly. And possibly speak for a maximum of an hour over that weekend. The opinion is taken as one of substance and from empirical evidence. You should see the point here, surely?
When people ask about standing at a Well Being Show: the most popular question is ‘Are the shows busy’. My reply is ‘Some say yes, and others say no! – It is who you talk to – If someone does not fair well they will say “Good show” if someone does not enjoy the events they’ll say “Not” – but whatever you do: look at what we give for your stand fee. And those who take advantage of the facilities available most often say “Good Show”.
When Ian and I stood at events: we didn’t talk too much with other exhibitors. The genuine reason being: we were too busy to talk! And too tired to talk when the day came to a close. But we were always there working sometimes 35 weekends a year. Rarely did we have a terrible show: even when the majority of exhibitors were struggling.
But make no mistake: we choose our shows with care. We NEVER listened to the opinions of other exhibitors. And yes, I have previously written ‘We did not talk too much to other exhibitors!’. You see: if an event did not work well, it always ended with the failed exhibitor blaming the organiser. Never was the opinion of the person who recommended the event questioned! I hope you see the point here. It is one of the reasons, so many people no longer exhibit, instead of working with a few organisers who produce good events. The tendency was to follow the opinion of friends with heightened expectations.
Nothing ticks everyone’s boxes! Not all will like our thoughts on crystals or our opinion. And I am sure some customers prefer other ways to buy than coming to Nottingham City Centre. But they see the advantage of our vast range of products and keen prices as a reason to visit. Many more people are choosing to see the advantage of looking at the whole picture when making choices. I certainly see this at LizianShop.
In Conclusion:
I take a great deal of pleasure from listening to the refreshing openness of young people. I love the way they refuse to be influenced by peers. Ok, some are TikTok crazy! But that’s fine by me. The majority of our customers are ones of very longstanding. Our original customer still buys from us today. One of the reasons for our success is that I never buy stock based on personal choice: I always buy from understanding our customer’s needs. And when someone says, ‘Liz, you should be stocking this or that’ – I research the product with care. You see: One person’s opinion: can quickly be reinforced by another: even though the information is flawed in the first instance. And on occasion, the view has no basis in fact.
Success has many aspects: But one has to make choices based on reality and past experience. Suppose something does not work well in the first instance. In that case, there is no reason to believe it will work on subsequent occasions if there is no radical change to the objective process. All regular readers know that constant change and evolution are critical to The Well Being Brand’s success. And one should always be cautious of opinion: personal opinions in business can often be flawed.
See You Soon
Liz
Liz Clark – MD LizianEvents Ltd
