Gerard Munday was thinking about his newsagency of the future years ago. Patterson Road, Patterson, Victoria, where his newsagency is located, was dying with little commercial activity to bring business or consumers to the area. He had to do something.
For years now Gerard has focused on growing the business outside his four walls. Last year he took this to a new level by creating a website: pattersonroad.com.au – establishing the street in which the business is located as the brand. In an online sense, he owns the entire street. This is a brilliant move – completely logical when you consider how the deep local connection of a newsagency.
The overarching brand of Patterson Road is used for their tobacco wholesale, distribution and retail businesses with each also having their own identity.
Gerard has now branched out further, offering website development services to other newsagents. He and his team are able to provide website development and hosting from basic facilities through to full-on ecommerce facilities.
Take a look at the website for Gerard’s newsagency and the home delivery account payment facilities. Gerard says this side of the business is growing every day – better serving existing customers and bringing in new customers.
I know from my own experience with Inkfast that a web presence can attract a broader and more profitable customer base that retail alone.
Newsagents establishing websites like Gerard offers will have contact with new customers and for a fraction of traditional marketing costs. Key to makaing this work is to take the opportunity to extend your business and therefore your relevance.
Check out the websites Gerard’s team has developed for Bell Park Newsagency and Blackburn South Newsagency.
You can contact Gerard by email.
Footnote: Gerard has been a customer of my software company, Tower Systems, for around fifteen years. He also manages our mail services.
I can imagine the clutter on the Internet if we all started our own sites selling Ink and Stationary et al.
I love the advantage of paying your bill online, I love the branding, I love the local feel of the site but do we not run the risk of flooding the market on the products we also sell such as the stationary lines.
Perhaps the future would be that we all ‘own’ a central website that takes statiobary orders, ink etc and then ‘allocates’ the sale to the local agent when the customers details become clear. Conversly, we all get a slice of all the sales assuming we are paid up members. The beauty of the Internet is that we dont have to have a physical location, just an electronic one.
The buying power would be huge, we simplify the website administration and defray those costs among us all. We all also get a ‘local page’ where the customer can interact with us personally.
Thoughts everyone???
Perhaps the future would be that we all ‘own’ a central website that takes statiobary orders, ink etc and then ‘allocates’ the sale to the local agent when the customers details become clear
Hmm! sounds a bit like the Got No Stock-controlled Officesmart – maybe we could borrow their rules and stationery czar and make it a secret club as well.
A cetralised website for ALL newsagents?
I don’t think this would be the answer; currently there are too many newsagents being propped up by the proactive newsagents in the industry. Having a cental point for all orders, then allocating sales to the newsagent closest, would further add to this problem.
Vaughan
Mark,
I’m not surprised by the negative comments.
When you phone for a pizza, you phone a central number but your local shop supplies. I’m sure there are some weak pizza shops that survive and even prosper because of the strength and innovations of the mass.
We are weak as a channel because we are fragmented and self centred, represented by weak and fragmented associations.
I think in principle Brett’s idea has a lot of merit but of course it will never happen, unless a Newspower or NewsXpress decide to resource it.
It’s a bit like a magazine czar, a great idea but who will make it happen. Besides, it may also help the weak…
Thanks for all the comments. Good to see.
Firstly a point of clarification, I stated that you would only benefit if you were a ‘paid up member’. To push the pizza simile, all of the paid up shops (lets say dominoes) would benefit and by paid up I mean committed as well as resourced. The phone call to the central agency then would only supply the dominoes agencies not the eagle bros ones.
The weak would not benefit unless they were in and part of the push. As an example it may well be that we will all need another small vehicle to do the deliveries and another staff member to do that. You need to be committed to do this.
The potential however, if we get this right could be huge. More and more people shop online, business supplies alone would be an economically viable target.
Who would make it happen, you asked? We would. Those agents willing to think bigger.