Plain Talk Archives Index

All Customers Are Not Alike: Improving Profitability in the Restaurant Space (5/9/2019)
It’s no secret that the restaurant industry is oversaturated, especially in the quick-serve and fast casual categories and sales are ...

3 Applications of Mobile GPS Data for Brokers and Developers (5/2/2019)
Developing retail commercial real estate requires a substantial investment of resources including money, property, and time. Keen developers are willing to commit these resources because they understand that the payoff can be well worth it. However, ...

Customer Analytics the Key to Success for Online Retailers Opening Brick-and-Mortar Stores (4/18/2019)
Once upon a time, everyone thought that online retailers represented the future of the retail industry. But as these brands have matured, they quickly discovered that physical stores have an important role to play in reaching new customers and driving ...

Commercial Due Diligence Report Checklist (4/4/2019)
Commercial due diligence is an important aspect of the pre-investment process for private equity firms. Today, traditional commercial due diligence has been greatly improved by the introduction of ...

Building Blocks of Customer Analytics: Laying the Foundation With Customer Data (3/28/2019)
Customer analytics is a type of market research that is a powerful tool for B2C brands. It can be applied to real estate, marketing, operations, and many other areas of your business.

Understanding the 3 Primary Types of Healthcare Site Selection Models (3/14/2019)
As the healthcare industry continues to shift to a consumer-centric strategy, a growing number of providers are implementing site selection models to guide their real estate decisions. Real estate site selection models come with many unfamiliar ...

How to Put Your Tourism Market Analysis Into Action Through Targeted Marketing (2/28/2019)
Congratulations! You took the first step toward enhancing your tourism development strategy by conducting a tourism market analysis.
Now what’s next?

Understanding the Role of a Growth Potential Analysis in Commercial Due Diligence (2/14/2019)
If you have worked in private equity for any length of time, you are likely familiar with the concept of a growth potential analysis. This type of analysis is referred to ...

Using Predictive Analytics to Inform Add‑On Targeting for Platform Investments (1/31/2019)
The buy-and-build strategy has become a go-to play in every general partner’s (GP’s) playbook. Roughly half of all buyouts in 2017 and a third of all buyouts in Q1 of 2018 have been add‑ons to existing platforms.

Targeted Marketing: What the C-Suite Needs to Know (1/17/2019)
For many business leaders in the c-suite, targeted marketing services can be a confusing web of unfamiliar terminology and seemingly pointless expenses.

3 Trends Retail and Restaurant Real Estate Pros Should Watch in 2019 (1/3/2019)
Real estate professionals know that the retail and restaurant industries are constantly changing. Those changes can have big implications for retail real estate strategies. While there are many trends influencing the retail and restaurant industries today, there is one overarching theme ...

What You Could be Missing Without Data Analytics (12/13/2018)
You’ve probably heard about the rise of data analytics in the retail and restaurant industries, and if you’ve been reading this blog then you’ve seen some of the insights analytics can provide a company. With so many possibilities ...

3 Tips for Evaluating Franchise Marketing Systems (12/6/2018)
Today, many franchisors are seeking new methods to help their franchisees acquire new customers. While they realize that customization by franchise location is beneficial, many corporate marketing teams don’t have ...

Defining Your Restaurant Site Selection Process (11/22/2018)
The restaurant site selection process involves some of the most critical decisions a brand will make. When done well, it can be a strategic advantage that positions the restaurant brand for long-term success. When done poorly, it can ...

How to Expand Businesses: Four Best Practices for Small and Medium Sized Brands (11/8/2018)
Developing the right business growth strategy for your retail or restaurant brand can be a challenge, particularly during the earlier stages of growth. The ever-shifting demands of running a business can leave little time for ...

Strategic Site Selection: 3 Best Practices for Consumer Businesses (11/1/2018)
Site selection has traditionally been viewed as a tactical activity. If a business needs to open 30 more units next year, the real estate team treats each site selection decision as separate process and executes that process with ...

Restaurant Industry Trends Watch: Eating Local, Experiential Dining and Delivery (10/11/2018)
In recent years, there have been a plethora of articles outlining the state of restaurant industry trends and which ones are having their moment in the spotlight. While it can be overwhelming to keep up with seemingly never-ending changes, there are a few trends that seem to be here for the ...

3 Reasons to Consider a Tourism Analysis (10/4/2018)
Tourism analysis is not a new concept. Since tourism is an important economic driver for many communities, most tourism-focused cities invest significant resources to collect visitor data to ...

3 Stages of Business Growth and How to Navigate Them (9/20/2018)
Every company wants to grow their business, but growth can mean radically different things depending on your brand’s stage in the business life cycle. Each stage of business growth presents new challenges, but it also presents new opportunities ...

How Local Marketing Can Strengthen Your Restaurant Franchise Network (9/6/2018)
As the restaurant landscape continues to evolve, many franchisors are looking for ways to help their franchisees bring in new customers and beat the ...

How to Get More From Your Customer Satisfaction Data (8/23/2018)
With the advent of digital consumer technology, it’s easier than ever for retail and restaurant brands to collect customer satisfaction data through post-purchase surveys and other techniques. Many brands have taken advantage of this new capability ...

Marketing Basics for Successful Business Attraction and Community Development (8/15/2018)
No matter what role you hold with a local government, if you are involved with the process of attracting new businesses to your community, you are a marketer. In order to recruit the best businesses – particularly retailers – for your residents, it’s crucial to effectively ...

3 Tips for Franchise Territory Mapping to Streamline the Franchise Sales Process (8/2/2018)
It’s franchise sales 101: if you want to sell franchise territories, you have to define where those territories are going to be placed. In the early days of ...

Retail Recruitment - Does it Always Follow Rooftops? (7/19/2018)
The adage “retail follows rooftops” sometimes leads small communities or those with stagnant growth to believe that retail recruitment efforts are pointless, but is that true?

How Franchisees Can Bring Marketing to the Local Level (7/12/2018)
In the franchise marketing world, it’s common to see a franchisor develop one-size-fits-all marketing materials for their franchise networks. While this may assist with overall ...

Casual Restaurants Use Daypart Customer Analytics to Regain Market Share (7/5/2018)
Casual dining operators are faced with the challenge of recapturing market share that has been lost to competition not only from other casual restaurant operators, but from fast casual and quick service concepts.
To combat this loss ...

Expert Tips on Building Placemaking and Developer Partnerships (6/28/2018)
What is placemaking, and how can cities effectively work with developers to foster inviting spaces?

5 Things Franchisors Should Do To Ensure Growth (6/21/2018)
Franchise companies need to make sure they are taking the right steps to succeed in the current retail environment while laying the foundation for future growth.
But with a constantly changing retail landscape and shifting ...

4 Data–Driven Steps to Customer Loyalty (6/7/2018)
Do you still know your customers?
Consumer behavior is changing and retailers are being forced to evolve. Knowing your customer is key ...

How Market Opportunity Analysis Can Guide Your Real Estate Strategy (5/31/2018)
Whether you are preparing to enter new markets or evaluating the infill potential of existing markets, you need to understand the total opportunity that the market offers your unique ...

What’s happening to the middle market grocer? (5/17/2018)
As the retail industry has experienced major changes, the grocery industry has sat back with a sigh of relief.
The impact on the grocers’ bottom line was ...

Two Critical Questions to Ask During Your Annual Strategic Planning (5/3/2018)
Annual strategic planning discussions are an important time for evaluating the current state of the business and identifying the best go-forward path.

2018 Retail and Restaurant Real Estate Trends (4/5/2018)
Which retail and restaurant trends will most influence real estate decisions in 2018? Here are our annual predictions as featured ...

Capturing Lost Revenue Through Local Store Marketing (3/29/2018)
In the current business climate, many executive teams are seeking ways to maximize revenue from existing resources – especially brick and mortar ...

Micro Level Data: Are You Overlooking This Valuable Source of Real Estate Intelligence? (3/15/2018)
In today’s big data crazy world, broad, macro level datasets such as demographics, psychographics, and business locations often get a lot of attention. Given the fact that this data was not readily available just a few decades ago ...

What is Sales Forecasting in Site Selection? (2/28/2018)
Sales forecasting has become an increasingly common element of the site selection process and is often the focus of ...

What to do When Your Retail Recruitment Efforts Are “Stuck” (2/15/2018)
Retail recruitment can be a long and frustrating process. The next time you feel that your community’s retail recruitment efforts have hit a roadblock, try these steps

Restaurant Expansion: Emerging Restaurant Markets (2/1/2018)
The restaurant industry, like the retail industry, has recently been trying to keep up with changing consumer behaviors and technological advances in the ...

Trends Shaking Up the Retail Location and Site Selection Process (1/25/2018)
The retail location and site selection process has changed in numerous ways last year due to trends that have caused disruption in the retail industry.

2018 Top Markets for Retail and Restaurant Real Estate (1/18/2018)
Every year, real estate professionals attempt to predict the next hot markets in the U.S. There are a variety of approaches to answering this question, whether from ...

Auditing Your Existing Portfolio of Stores: Do You Know Where You Stand Today? (1/4/2018)
As a member of the leadership team at your company, one of your toughest jobs is ensuring that you allocate resources ...

The Ultimate Guide to Retail Site Selection (12/28/2017)
The retail site selection process has changed significantly over the last two decades. What was once considered an art is now a blend of ...

Keep Investing or Move on? How Market Potential Analysis Can Assist With Infill Decisions (12/14/2017)
For many retailers and restaurants, this is a familiar scenario. Your brand has opened new locations extensively in a market. The market has performed great, but now you face an important decision. Is it time ...

What is GIS Mapping? A Beginner’s Guide for Site Selectors and Strategists (11/30/2017)
GIS mapping is a buzzword in many fields, including real estate site selection and business strategy. But what exactly is GIS and how is it used?

Why Is Your Site Selection Strategy More Critical Than Ever? (11/9/2017)
Retail site selection has always been an important element of a brand’s strategy. Great locations position retailers for success, while poor locations yield disappointing results.

When Do Businesses Need Site Selection Services? (10/26/2017)
Many companies reach a point in their growth and development when they feel that it is helpful to invest in site selection services. But with a wide spectrum of services ...

How to Maintain Your Retail Recruitment Momentum After Trade Shows (10/12/2017)
You’ve invested time and resources into a trade show and your team did a great job making connections at the event. Now that the event is over, how can you maintain the retail recruitment momentum?

Mall, the new four letter word? (9/28/2017)
The state of the shopping mall is in peril. Or is it?
As traditional mall retailers are seemingly closing their doors left and right, many malls must determine what to do ...

Doomsday Apocalypse or Retail Hoax? A Look at Retail’s Future (9/14/2017)
Recent news may make it seem like the retail industry is in a free fall, but that only makes for good headlines.

How to Reach More Customers During Back-to-School Shopping Season (8/31/2017)
As a new school year quickly approaches, many consumers are beginning to plan their back-to-school shopping trips.

Rightsizing Store Networks: 4 Questions You Need to Ask (8/17/2017)

Do You Know Your Trade Area? (8/3/2017)

What Every Real Estate Professional Needs to Know About Ensemble Modeling (7/27/2017)

Challenging Restaurant Market Leads Many to Consider Sale (7/13/2017)

Pop-up Stores: Fad or Retail Renaissance? (6/29/2017)

The Impact of Fast Fashion on the Retail Industry (6/14/2017)

7 Reasons Why In-Store Shopping Will Never Die (6/1/2017)

What is Customer Segmentation and How is it Used? (5/18/2017)

Two Ways to Get More Out of Your Predictive Real Estate Model (5/4/2017)

Retailers Reinventing the Customer Experience (4/13/2017)

Modest Restaurant Growth Changes Real Estate Dynamics (3/30/2017)

The Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains and What’s Feeding Their Success (3/16/2017)