Category: Columns
An Introduction To Branding your Business
By David Hall, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Cutting-Edge Solutions It’s easy to look around and identify companies that have great brands. How about that soda with the red and white sweeping logo? Or that operating system software company that dominates the PC market? Remember the company that Thomas Edison built? Look at some of [...]
The O’Reilly Factor
By Dan Vedda We’ve often talked about the “unique” aspects of our industry: the passionate, hands-on, geek-lust involvement of both consumers and purveyors of music products. “Outsiders don’t get MI” is the common refrain, usually referring to both the models and mechanisms of our business and the outsized passions and peccadilloes of the personalities involved. [...]
Hats Off To Larry’s
By Michelle Loeb When Gabriel O’Brien first joined the payroll as a cashier at Wooster OH’s Larry’s Music Center in 2001, he brought along a valuable perspective—that of the customer. “I was a customer of the store long before I was ever hired,” said O’Brien, who plays guitar, as well as some banjo and mandolin. [...]
How Much Do I Love You?
By Gene Fresco The five strongest emotions are Survival, Recognition, Love, Sex and Greed. February is the month in which Love prevails. Why? Valentine’s Day! This is the month that people, usually but not necessarily of opposite sexes, express their love. As a child, how many times did you bring home a Valentine’s card to [...]
Some New Year’s Resolutions To Stick To!
By David Hall, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Cutting-Edge Solutions The arrival of 2013 brings a fresh start with wonderful possibilities. Many people make resolutions that focus on personal goals, such as losing weight, quitting smoking, etc. Although it’s a great time to take steps to improve the quality of your life, why not also [...]
Curated Inventory
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been talking about the need for each side of the supplier/dealer equation to devote more energy and attention to our respective customers. Now that the Christmas season is in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to look at the way we should move on the road ahead. Surviving retailers [...]
Here We Go Again…It’s 2013
By Gene Fresco The years just keep coming, don’t they? This year, let’s do it right. Most of you will be going to NAMM, because going will tell you what’ll be happening this year. Manufacturers have made their plans for the coming year, and their new products will give you an idea of what they [...]
Blues Angel Flies High
By Michelle Loeb After 28 years as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy, Jim DeStafney would have been more than within his rights to live out a peaceful and leisurely retirement at his home in Pensacola FL. But retirement was the furthest thing from his mind. Two years before he left the Navy, DeStafney [...]
A Closer Look At QR Codes
By David Hall, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Cutting-Edge Solutions The facts are in, and it’s good news for brick-and-mortar stores. According to a new study by Deloitte, consumers who use smartphones when out shopping are 14 percent more likely to make a purchase while in the store than those without them. Deloitte’s study, “The [...]
Personal Touch
By Dan Vedda As I write this, the Christmas season is still unfolding. We’re walking the tightrope hourly, scrambling to bring in the items our customers need while still having impulse goods and stocking-stuffer staples on a limited budget. Searching for an upside, I know that I won’t be stuck with piles of dead inventory [...]
