“Consumer behavior has changed,” Schaub explains. “They will not go out of their way to find your product. … If they go to Starbucks, you have to be inside Starbucks and be in their pattern. They won’t turn the corner to find you.”
That’s Dan Schaub, senior vice president of circulation for the Sacramento Bee quoted in an excellent article by Jennifer Saba about single copy newspaper sales published two days ago by Editor & Publisher. Newsagents, staff in industry associations and publishers need to read this. They (we) need to read it and discuss it. This article goes to the heart of the challenges we face in newsagencies in Australia at the moment.
I especially enjoyed reading about the research by the Newspaper Association of America including this:
Buyer behavior has become more erratic when it comes to purchasing papers at the newsstand (or local convenience store or supermarket). This means front-page design and hard-driving marketing tactics are even more necessary to ramp up sales, the study suggests.
We’re seeing erratic buyer behaviour here. This is why publishers want to get their newspapers into more outlets like Gloria Jeans, Big W and Starbucks as we have seen over the last year or so.
The article details this mystery shopper promotion run by the Sacramento Bee circulation people:
In addition to upping racks and distribution in retail outlets, the Bee made sure to hit the streets in an effort to get to know managers and store clerks — the people who decide the placement and sale of the product, much like Jimmy Newsboy of old.
To get the copies flowing, the circulation team approached sales clerks with a “mystery shopper” incentive program. Sales clerks who suggested to any customer that they buy the Bee, would receive money on the spot — $10 to $20 — if a team member “caught” them doing it, during a surprise visit. Using the power of peer pressure, the Bee distributed a newsletter every week to the participating stores listing who won the cash. Those clerks who failed to mention the Bee during the covert visits were also listed. “We saw a big difference with that,” Swift says.
The mystery-shopper contest was combined with price pulsing (a reduction in the price of the paper). Initially, sales grew 17% during the promotion. Even after the price went back up and the incentive program ended, single-copy sales grew 8%.
Be sure to read the whole article. In my view the issues are the same here except we’re a little behind. The article provides advance notice – an opportunity for newsagents to get on the front foot.