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Management tip

30% cut in retail business insurance fees

We recently re-negotiated insurance coverage for your 3 retail shops and achieved a 30% cut in insurance costs. We reviewed the needs of each business and set about discussing these with our broker, the same broker we have used for years.

Here are some of the changes we made to coverage:

  1. Property Cover – Annual Turnover adjusted to reflect trading, Contents incl Re-Fit Costs adjusted, & Stock On Hand levels adjusted;
  2. Business Interruption –  Gross Profit levels adjusted;
  3. Money Cover – Level reduced from $20K blanket cover to $5K (lower limit); We bank daily so there is minimal cash on hand.
  4. Glass Cover – Removed for for one store as there now is no glass window as well as no internal/external glass;
  5. POS Equipment Breakdown – Removed;
  6. Excesses – Increased from $500 per claim to $1,000 per claim since we have not claimed, ever.

The critical factor for us was that in all our years in retail we have never made a claim on insurance. Then one time our shop was flooded, we claimed against the builder for the landlord for disruption and inventory damage.

The renegotiation process took an hour. Time well spent for the saving achieved.

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Management tip

Tips on calculating the best price for inventory items over which you have sale price control

Setting your sale price for new inventory items is challenging. There are many factors to consider: margin, what an item will sell for, your sales volume need, the labour cost of each sale and more.

In considering what to sell something for, ask your colleagues in-store how much would you pay for this? This can be a good guide, or at least a data point to add to your thinking.

Do your research, too, and see what others nearby sell the item or similar items for. Research online too, locally and elsewhere.

Finally, consider carefully your objectives for the product – is this a volume play or a margin play?

Your pricing choice may not be as clear-cut as it would seem. For example, you could set a high price knowing that with a discount voucher on purchase the item appears to cost less. You might have volume pricing: $xx.xx for one, $yy.yy for two. You could have the item bundled with another to differentiate your offer to that of a nearby competitor and thereby offering you the opportunity to break free on pricing.

Pricing is not black and white. Indeed, it plays to your advantage if it is not black and while as this makes price comparison more difficult, which is good for you. Zee my other notes on discount vouchers and multi-buy pricing.

Think carefully about where in a price band you price an item. For example, Items priced above $7.99 could probably sell at $9.99. Items above $19.99 should either be $24.99 or $29.99 and no other number in between. Above $29.99 more often you should target $39.99.

Avoid nothing prices that can cost GP. For example: $21.95 should be $24.99; $112.50 à$119.99; $6.50 à$7.99; $8.75 à$9.99; $132.50 à$139.99; $36.50 à$39.99, and so on.

Choose to go to a higher price point rather than lower. Independent retail businesses, newsagencies especially, are expected to be more expensive. If you counter this with a consistently offered and generous discount voucher program then erring on the higher side of pricing works for you as your voucher sets value perception for your shoppers.

My recommendation is that you always end your prices with a .99 and price at above RRP. I see no value in a .00 price point. Indeed, I see that as an opportunity lost.

Here is what this post is really about: think about and determine the pricing policy you want for your specific business and establish this as a guide for your business. This can make it easier for anyone in the business faced with setting a sale price for new items. Without it, pricing will take longer. Worse, you could make mistakes

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Management tip

Responsiveness key to online

I wanted to purchase from a US based online coffee related store but they did not ship to Australia. They had figured it was too hard and that Aussies would not pay shipping.

I sent them an email and 24 hors later Australia was added as a shipping destination. I placed my order.

They emailed me to say that in that same day, three others ordered. They had not realised the sales they were missing until they turned on Aussie shipping.

In business, we don’t know what we don’t know often.

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Management tip

It pays to check social media

I did a search Wednesday night for newsagents on Twitter and found this post.

While it references newsagents, it specially mentions www.myornaments.com.au, a website connected to one of my shops. Finding it by accident as I did I was able to understand another question – what caused a noticeable spike in sales from October 16.

What happened here is a good example of customer endorsement. It is also an example of the value of checking out what is said. In my own case, it allowed me to respond:

I am grateful for the endorsement and grateful to have found it.

Search your business, and the channel  from time to time and appreciate support shown on social media and elsewhere.

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Management tip

Tips on promoting Set For Life

A newsagent recently commented about me on a private Facebook page of The Lott retailers. Mentioning me, they said:

he hates Tattslotto, & thinks he’s the king of retailing. He’s a VERY nasty individual, who loves to incite hatred for anything Tatts, or anything not branded ‘newsexpress’. If he had his way we would all become gift shops, selling bug-eyed soft toys, bobble heads, & jigsaw puzzles. Financial reports need to be read in context with what was happening at any given time.

A friend told me about is as I am not in that group.

I reached out to the person who wrote this, to discuss their opinion. They refused. It got me thinking and researching. While I am on the record calling for better, fairer, treatment of newsagents by Tabcorp (formerly Tatts), I am also on the record with plenty of instances of providing advice supportive of the sale of lottery products. I sought to discuss this with the above correspondent, but they didn’t want to listen.

Here is one of many available examples of my support for lottery products. It is from August 3, 2015. Here is my post from then:

Making the most of Set for Life in the newsagency
Mark Fletcher
August 3rd, 2015 · 1 Comment

While I don’t have lotteries in my newsagencies, I have been helping a few newsagents engage with Set for Life to make the most of the launch opportunity. This is important regardless of Tatts also offering it online.

Here are my tips for launching this new game in your business:

  1. Know the target demographic. All I have read suggests this game will appeal more to a younger audience than traditional lottery games in Australia. Play to this demo in your marketing.
  2. Talk about the game online, on Facebook and other platforms where you represent your business.
  3. Tell stories about what the $20,000 a month could mean.
  4. Run a competition on how would you spend $20,000 a month.
  5. Consider launching with a competition or promotion where one customer wins a $8.40 Set for Life ticket – run this for four weeks.
  6. Look for stories from the US where major prize winners have been able to take prizes monthly for many years.

It is not too late to go big and loud in promoting Set for Life as it will take some time to build interest in the new product. It is essential you do more than sell the game across the counter.

I have two points to make in writing about this: 1. Set For Life is a game that benefits from promotion. The above advice is useful today and, 2, I am not against lotteries. Rather, I am against any supplier that treats retailers in the newsagency channel unfairly.

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Lotteries

Mental health is about more than one day of the year

While today is RUOK? Day and media outlets will focus on it, the mental health challenge for businesses owners and, indeed, the whole community is a 365 day a year challenge.

Recent Bureau of Statistics figures reinforce why this is a 365 day a year challenge:

As an employer of many 15-34 year olds, the stat for suicide is horrifying. The broader suicide rate in Australia is horrifying.

I have written a few times here about mental health. Not as an expert, because I am not an expert. rather, my interest is as an employer and as someone who craves for a healthier and happier country.

Today, RUOK? Day, I share here a revised version of information I have shared here before on this topic, and in particular about the mental health of newsagents and those in our businesses.

Despite all the ads on TV, despite the work of R U OK?, despite the work of agencies like Beyondblue, despite the stories in the media, mental health, especially mental health within the small business community, and especially the newsagency community, is not talked about.

The challenge is that we cannot always see unhealthiness. If someone is physically unhealthy, we can usually see it, but not mental unhealthiness. For sure there are occasional signs like behavioural outbursts that don’t make sense but you can’e be sure and often you don’t want to ask for fear of making it worse.

In small business retail and in our channel there are challenges that can make things worse: bullying landlords, overbearing suppliers, demanding customers, relentless competitors. These and other factors can make someone see the road ahead through clouded eyes. For some of those on the other side, however, how they handle a situation could be driven by how the small business has dealt with it up to then.

I am all for personal accountability and often say we need to own our own situation – we sign our leases, we sign magazine contracts, we go into business. However, we do these things expecting fairness. Too often there are people on the other side of a commercial relationship who do not act with fairness.

Social media is a factor with mental health as it gives everyone a megaphone and the ability to publish an opinion without thinking it through. I know in schools social media is a big focus in mental health awareness, especially around bullying.

It is hard to know the mental health of anyone. That person smiling at you or joking with you could be in a dark place in their mind. This is why it is important we talk and ask colleagues how they are doing and why we all need to help when we think help could be what is needed.

In the workplace, I think being open with each other so that everyone has a shared and open experience. If there are business performance issues, rather than keeping them secret, talking about them could help ease tension: a problem shared and all that…

There are wonderful resources from government departments available. For example, The Victorian Government has a page online on this topic, which includes good practical advice:

  • Make time to exercise each day: For example, a simple daily lunch time walk can help maintain a positive outlook.
  • Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness means being aware of your reactions/feelings/thoughts as you have them. This helps you choose how to manage matters as they arise. Mindfulness is a great tool to help lower stress and anxiety levels.
  • Adopt work/life boundaries: Don’t let work overtake your life. Set some boundaries to ensure you have time for both work and a social life. You might decide not to discuss work from 5pm Friday night to 8am Monday morning because weekends are for family time only.
  • Connect with others: Find someone worthy of your stories – a confidant or mentor you can talk to about your business experiences. Make sure this person is supportive, a good listener and someone whose opinion you value.

This website also lists indicators:

  • Physical signs: For example, a constant knot in your stomach, tense neck and shoulders, feeling nauseous, heart palpitations or chest pains.
  • Changes in behaviour: For example, being unable to sleep, crying regularly, feeling moody or often irritable, increase or loss of appetite.
  • Unclear thinking: For example, not being able to make decisions, not understanding directions, not being able to focus, being inattentive.
  • Feeling sad or anxious regularly: We all have bad days – they’re a normal part of life. This flag needs attention if you begin to notice feeling like this regularly.
  • Disconnecting from others: This may include not joining in social activities, choosing to spend time away from family and friends or stopping hobbies/sporting activities.
  • Feeling overwhelmed: It is difficult to find solutions to problems, and in some instances it feels like they are insurmountable. Problem solving becomes difficult

And it lists useful resources:

  • Business In Mind: Business In Mind is an online resource specifically designed to support business owners who may be experiencing mental health challenges.
  • Beyond Blue:  beyondblue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
  • The Ripple Effect: A resource for rural communities that addresses suicide in rural areas.(Ph: 03 5551 8587)
  • Sane provides online information, support and connection for every Australian affected by complex mental illness through its website, peer-to-peer forums and helpline. SANE also has a range of factsheets on managing mental health in the workplace. (Ph: 1800 18 7263)

Our approach to mental health as business owners has to be continuous, on-going. It can’t be a one day of the year focus or a stunt. It has to be part of how we run our businesses, everyday.

In my own experience, talking is key – offering an environment where people can talk, where they know it is safe to talk, where they are encouraged to talk and where active listening happens. While it is not always perfect and does not always achieve what is hoped for, it is documented as being valuable.

While RUOK? Day today is important for awareness, that awareness and engagement need to be year-long.

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Management tip

Tips for leveraging big lottery jackpots in retail

Big lottery jackpots can be a challenge in terms of shop floor management as well as that they can suck cash out of the local economy that might otherwise have been useful for spending of products in your shop. Big lottery jackpots are also an opportunity to leverage, bringing in people you have not seen before. The key is what you do with the new traffic.

Here are some tips for shop floor management:

  1. Have a clearly understood queuing system.
  2. Have someone on the floor triaging shoppers. For example, someone may want a simple quick pick. You might have these ready for immediate fast purchase.
  3. Ask early. Immediately you know a bog jackpot is happening, list $70M, $80M or $100M or more, immediately start pitching to every customer. It’s better you win the purchase early in the week than the lottery outlet they are closest later in the week.
  4. Play good music.
  5. On the heaviest day, invite a local busker in to entertain, have kids activities on the shop floor incite a local charity to run a sausage sizzle out the front of the shop. The goal here is to add to the event feel and support the jackpot.

Here are some ideas for leveraging big lottery jackpot traffic:

  1. Get everyone on board. Everyone working in the shop needs to be on the same page about the jackpot, leveraging the opportunity at the counter, talking to customers, sharing dreams, selling.
  2. Make it easy. Preprint tickets ready for people to purchase as a lucky dip. All the same price. Something they could buy with change.
  3. Respect other shoppers. Make sure that anyone wanting anything else in your business can easily shop with you. Manage any queue well. Talk about this on Facebook, that even though there is a jackpot , you are making shopping easy, fast and helpful. It is vital that people see your business as more than a lottery store.
  4. Reward early shoppers. Bring purchases forward by offering those who buy in, say, the first four days of an on-sale. With most impulse purchases for a large jackpot being in the last two or three days and these often made while people are out and about, try and ‘steal’ that business from other retailers. Here are some Earlybird jackpot ideas:
    1. Each purchase of a ticket in the jackpot over and amount you choose gets a free $1 scratchie – you could win $XXX.
    2. Each purchase today goes in the draw for a FREE $50 bonus ticket. Get them to write their name and number on a small form. Print the ticket to show it’s real.
    3. Each purchase in the jackpot between now and XXX (three days before the draw) goes in the running to win a System X (choose a size based on your situation).
  5. Map the route. Sketch out your floor layout and mark the route most jackpot customers will travel. This shows you the areas of your shop where you need to focus, where to place impulse purchase lines. These impulse purchase lines should be easily understood, priced for easy purchase, easily carried and relevant.
  6. On social media. In the week before the jackpot, while you may be tempted to promote it, talk about other products that help define your business because beyond the jackpot, this will matter.
  7. Make them walk through it. Create a fresh environment of products through which lottery shoppers to walk. This is where you pitch what you do that is different. It is crucial shoppers walking through the front part of the shop feel and see the change.
  8. Pitch at the door. As they enter and, crucially, as they leave. Show them products they would not expect you to have in the shop. Make it easy for people to buy these products.
  9. Pitch at the counter. Stand where your lottery customers will stand. Look at what they will see. make sure your messages are clean, simple and engaging. Everything they can see should be about getting them to spend money with you.
  10. Care for your team. The week of a large jackpot places extra demands on everyone. Help your team members through this with extra attention on breaks, coffee, water, snacks and other things to demonstrate appreciation for the extra demands on them.
  11. Have fun.

The value of any lottery jackpot to your business beyond lottery commission depends on what you do.

Footnote: this advice is part of the extensive newsXpress knowledgeable accessible by newsXpress members. It is a deep well of advice and encouragement for building more valuable businesses.

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Lotteries

Check that you are backing up your data

Another newsagent this week has to rebuild their business data from scratch because they did not have a back-up and their old computer died. They didn’t have a backup because they couldn’t bothered doing it every day.

Now, their hope of selling the business is at risk because they cannot prove their sales claims.

Not backing up every day is stupid. The cost of cover from this could be thousands in terms of IT expert fees or even more if you are looking to sell your business in the next year and do not have current business performance data on which to set a price.

Oh, and if you are backing up every day, have it checked to make sure you are actually backing up.

By backup I mean taking a copy of data on a USB stick or some other device for safe keeping or, better still, a cloud backup facility whereby a perpetual offsite backup us undertaken.

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Management tip

Newsagency management tip for leveraging the Powerball $110M jackpot

Big lottery jackpots can be a challenge in that they can suck cash out of the local economy that might otherwise have been useful for spending of products in your shop. They can also be beneficial in bringing in people you have not seen before. The key is what you do with the new traffic.

Here are some ideas for leveraging big lottery jackpot traffic:

  1. Map the route. Sketch out your floor layout and mark the route most jackpot customers will travel. This shows you the areas of your shop where you need to focus, where to place impulse purchase lines.
  2. Make them walk through it. Create a fresh environment of products through which lottery shoppers to walk. This is where you pitch what you do that is different. It is crucial shoppers walking through the front part of the shop feel and see the change.
  3. Staff for it. Consider hiring extra staff to manage traffic and have someone on the floor playing with products, pricing, working with products – near the lottery counter. Give people things to look at and therefore contemplate purchasing. We know from experience that activity by staff on the shop floor drives sales.
  4. Pitch at the door. As they enter and, crucially, as they leave. Show them products they would not expect you to have in the shop. Make it easy for people to buy these products.
  5. Pitch at the counter. Stand where your lottery customers will stand. Look at what they will see. make sure your messages are clean, simple and engaging. Everything they can see should be about getting them to spend money with you.
  6. Have fun.

The value of any lottery jackpot to your business beyond lottery commission depends on what you do.

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Lotteries

Retail management advice: reduce visual noise

Visual noise can block sales in retail, especially in a shop with products that themselves are colourful, like a business with cards and magazines.

Suppliers add to the visual noise challenge with suggestions (demands from some) for displays focussed on their products.

Your visual noise strategy for your business needs to serve your business.

Less is more, usually. Less noise means that the messages you do have are more likely to be noticed.

Stand outside your retail business and count how many different messages you pitch from the front of the shop through to the counter. Look at how organised they are, what they demand of the customer, what they pitch, the ease of understanding them.

Make a list.

Start cutting.

You have a few seconds to get attention. the more focussed you messages the more likely they will be understood and acted on.

What does all this actually mean? Less posters. Less signs. Less feature displays. Less visual noise. So what you want noticed is more likely to be noticed.

Finally, an oldie but a goodie: show, don’t tell.

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Management tip

Newsagency marketing tip: discount vouchers drive revenue and return visits

More than six years in and the discount voucher loyalty program continues to be the best loyalty offering for newsagents. Sales reports show the value of the vouchers at marketing local newsagency businesses to locals as well as to one time only shoppers.

I mention discount vouchers today a reminder to newsagents that in thier newsagency software they have an awesome and proven tool for showing local shopper appreciation and driving local business engagement all at once.

Here are some data points based on an assessment of discount voucher engagement across a cross-section of newsagency businesses:

  • 19.5% of all vouchers handed out are redeemed.
  • 33% are redeemed the day of handing out.
  • 33% are redeemed within a week.
  • 33% are redeemed within 28 days.
  • 18% of voucher redemption is for items priced at $25+ with a GP of 50%+.
  • Magazines benefit the most from voucher use with magazines in 15% of baskets for which a voucher is handed out and magazines in 43% of baskets in which a voucher is redeemed.
  • In every business instance assessed, the discount voucher loyalty program delivered a net revenue benefit to the business equal to around sx times the cost of the voucher value redeemed.

This is a business growth opportunity that is easy to setup and run, that genuinely differentiates your business and that provides you with a net financial benefit.

Here is an example of how it works…

I had a shopper who purchased a bag and a bow and received a voucher for $1.00. They used that to purchase two cards and with that they received another $1 voucher. They used that to purchase a  $20.00 item for a future birthday.

The business gave away $2.00 for an additional $33.00 in revenue to a customer who is not local and will not be back in the centre any time soon. The additional GP earned was $18.45. I am happy for this to cost $2.00 as banking $16.45 is better than banking nothing.

It is common for one time only or infrequent shoppers to end up with three transactions in a visit because of the vouchers.

Things are moving faster. Shoppers want more and sooner. Social media has educated people to seek instant gratification. Discount vouchers provide this.

Bottom line: this is something you can do for your business and your customers.

It can differentiate your business.

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Management tip

Customer feedback can help us improve the channel

On the newsXpress website, any customer of any newsXpress store can provide feedback on their shopping experience. often, feedback does not relate to a newsXpress store. Here is one such example. The person leaving the feedback contacted us the next day apologising and indicating it was for another newsagency not connected with newsXpress.

I share it here as it reflects the value of making providing feedback easy and the interest shoppers have in sharing their feedback.

My 17yr old son ventured into your newsagency enquiring as to whether the store had a key ring. Tues 16th April 1:50pm The lady (Older lady with blonde hair or partially blonde) advised my son the store didn’t have any then added “I don’t know what your fuckin talking about “. My son apologised and thanked her before leaving as he felt embarrassed. This behaviour and conduct is inappropriate and uncalled for particularly when speaking to a young person who was polite. Perhaps you need to address the conduct of your staff and the unnecesssry use of foul language. Poor customer service in any case .

Whether we like it or not, we are all judged by the experience in any store in our channel, especially businesses with lotteries as this is the most unifying product category in the channel, setting shopper expectations.

Making providing feedback easy helps us be more in touch with shopper experiences, even those not in our own stores.

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Management tip

Easter break marketing opportunity

With so many away on school holidays, this long long weekend is a good opportunity for some fun in the shop. It is an opportunity to play away from what has been traditional for the business.

I was talking about this with a newsagent a few days ago, about the opportunity to try something really crazy that they thought they could never do in their shop. I think these couple of days are the perfect opportunity to play, to experiment.

Now, more than ever, there are no rules about what we can and can’t do in our businesses, or at least the parts of the businesses retailers control.

It could be a new shop floor layout, a new in-store service, a different traffic-attracting acting or more. whatever it is, these days are ideal for play.

My point about this weekend is – if you are open and the town is quiet, do something crazy for you and your business, to find what might be next in terms of the embrace of change.

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Management tip

Is your counter set for Easter?

The next four days offer excellent opportunity for impulse purchase at the counter. My advice is to leverage this with easy to purchase product opportunities placed at the counter while at the same time reducing visual noise from other products at the counter that are not as relevant in the next four days.

What do I mean?

  1. Take everything off your counter from the customer side.
  2. Rebuild the office with a small number of easter -themed products.
  3. Have at least one offer to which your staff refer, every transaction.
  4. Include in the product offer one or tow cards.

I know of plenty of newsagents who are experiencing growth from Easter. This is most likely to ha[en if your actively engage.

Do what you usually do and you will get your usual result.

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Management tip

Dealing with retail business employee theft by a minor

If you suspect an employee aged under eighteen of theft from your business you need to be careful as to how you navigate this. It is important to take time to decide the appropriate plan of action before you approach the suspect to even investigate the matter. The wrong approach could have challenging consequences for you, your business and the person you suspect.

My suggestion is that the moment you have a suspicion, invite the suspect and a parent in for a meeting. have someone else there as well, as your witness.

  1. Present your evidence and invite their response.
  2. Ensure you are civil, factual and not emotional.
  3. Listen to their response.
  4. If they ask what you want to do about it, be sure you have a reasonable response ready. If there is agreement on this, move forward.
  5. If there is not agreement on what you propose, or if they deny the theft, you need to be ready with your next course of action. This course of action should be reasonable and focussed on getting to verifiable truth.

If there is agreement that theft occurred and the employee is casual, my suggestion is immediate termination with you paying out what is owed by law. Put it behind you. Never speak of it outside the business. To constantly revisit it, especially outside a major city, can be debilitating.

If there is not agreement, ask they other side what they want to do. It could be that even though they deny it they are happy to walk away from the business. If this is not the case, you could suggest mediation. The Fair Work Obmudsman office could possible play a role here. You could equally suggest that both sides take the matter to the police.

The reality is that once you make a complaint to parents you have to be prepared to follow through, to see the matter to a reasonable end.

My core message today is that handling the suspected theft by someone under eighteen takes care and planning, to ensure that you, your business and the suspect are all dealt with fairly and safely.

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Management tip

Facebook advice for newsagents

I have been sharing advice here and in workshops for newsagents about Facebook for years. Smart newsagents have an engaging page, or pages, with fresh local content designed to reflect their business more so than brands they sell.

Facebook remains the most cost effective way to reach new traffic shopper opportunities for newsagents.

If you do a search of this blog you will find plenty from me about the Facebook opportunity, including this advice on how to use Facebook to market your business, which I have updated for this post:

Growth in the number of likes for your business Facebook page(s) is as important as growth in shopper traffic through your front door.

I see a direct correlation between the two, if you use Facebook well. Of course, if is the important word in that statement.

I have been actively using Facebook for business for many years. It is an excellent platform of reaching new customers and talking with existing customers. It is an important tool in business growth.

HOW DO YOU GET MORE LIKES ON FACEBOOK?

This is simple, provide good content, content that gives people what they come to Facebook for – entertainment, inspiration, a laugh. The more you do this the more your post will be liked and shared. The more likes and shoes the more people you reach.

Growth in likes for your page begins with your content. If your page likes are not growing, look at your content.

While you can ask people to like your Facebook page, resulting likes may not be as valuable as those who like your page of their own accord.

You can also buy likes. That, however, is a waste of money.

HOW DOES A BUSINESS USE FACEBOOK WELL?

Businesses that use Facebook well entertain. This can be by making people laugh, smile, feel emotional or be happy overall. They do it by being human, real and engaged. They do it by not trying to sell. They do it y not being commercial.

Photos are real, not studio shots, showing products in use more so than on the shelves. They show customers, happy customers.

They share something of themselves.

A newsagency uses Facebook well by not writing about products newsagents sell.

Remember, you have seconds to get their attention, to stop them from scrolling ahead. Seconds.

  1. Photos should be taken by you, of a single product. A photo of a wall of products is a waste of time.
  2. Videos work well, showing how a product works.
  3. Don’t primate lotteries as that limits your age reach.
  4. Only rarely promote product readily available elsewhere.
  5. Add value in your posts, local info and more.
  6. Make fun of yourself.
  7. Be personal.
  8. Do not engage a social media consultant – they are a waste of money and most likely will not understand your business and the customers you can attract.
  9. Post often.
  10. Do not obsess about your numbers.

HOW DO MORE LIKES OF YOUR BUSINESS TRANSLATE INTO MORE SALES?

Someone engaging with your business Facebook page is similar to someone browsing your shop. Both can lead to sales.

People being on your page and engaging with your page brings them close to you and proximity = sales.

The more people who like your business Facebook page the more people you can pitch and offer to or reach out with an event or product announcement, them more people who will hear what you have to say.

Take Facebook seriously as a key business tool. The benefits are real and valuable.

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Management tip

Management advice on making Saturdays relevant in retail newsagencies again

Saturdays used to be big in retail newsagencies. For many it was the busiest day of the week. Today, Saturdays are okay, but nowhere near what they used to be fort most.

If your Saturdays are not what they used to be you can wallow in that reality or try and change it. My advice is to try and change it. Here are some tips you could consider

  1. New stock. Hold some new stock for unboxing on Saturdays. Let people know this plan.
  2. Declutter / quit. Use Saturdays as the day of the week you quit lines. People who love deals will like your focus on this one day a week.
  3. Teach. Invite people with with special interests to teach / share them in-store on Saturdays. This could include: knitters, those who crochet, scrapbooking, etching, hammering. The objective here is for the shop to be known as a place people can learn basic craft skills.
  4. Host parties. Monthly. Based on brands you sell. A part for each fun related brand.
  5. Play. Make it a day of fun in the shop sampling product and playing with things.
  6. Free cake. Everyone loves cake. Maybe do a deal with a local cake shop to have a free cake to be sliced up at a set time every Saturday.
  7. Draw prizes. If you do a lottery second change draw, draw it ion a Saturday with a bonus for the winner if they are in-store.
  8. New displays. Make it a day of major change, noticeable change, in the shop.
  9. Promote deals, maybe based on a Saturday Savers branding.

What ever you do it has to be about your business as it is the commercial outcomes you are looking for. I mention this so you can focus on what you need rather than what a local group may need / want ahead of you.

Of course, you could do nothing about Saturdays and your numbers in the future would continue the trend you are on today.

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Management tip

Dealing with product returns

Christmas is over and now retailers have the returns / refunds challenge as people deal with either gifts they do not like or want or return gifts that are broken.

I have found it useful to remind team members of the policy of the business at this time, and to ensure that  everyone agrees to follow the policy.

Once purchase from us has been verified either by receipt or proof through a time of day match in our POS software data approach is as per the ACCC guidelines.

If the item is faulty and not repairable by us, we replace. If we don’t have an acceptable replacement, we refund value of purchase. Depending on the item, we might bio back to the supplier.

If the item is damaged and it has been out of the store for more than a week, we may offer an amount  but not full value. This all depends on the shopper and how they are.

It the item is expensive and repairable, we will take it and approach the supplier to resolve, keeping the customer in the loops all the way through.

If the item is not damaged or faulty we will not accept it for return. A change of mind or an I don’t like the gift is not our problem.

The challenge is the extraordinary power shoppers hover today with social media. There are many stories in retail and in our channel of shoppers unreasonably using social media to make false and distorted claims in order to ‘blackmail; a retailer into giving a refund or some other benefit.

This is where we as retailers have to weigh top the risk.

It takes no time for someone to bag your business out on social media, with potential ramifications being financially serious and emotionally distressing.

One way to avoid this is to document everything, have an escalation process and to communicate clearly and often with the aggrieved shopper. However, there are some who will never one satisfied. With those and if their request is unreasonable I take the risk. In my experience they damage themselves more than the business in the long run.

I have seen this behaviour from newsagents too, making claims about a supplier in order to get a supplier too provide them something to which they are not entitled. It’s human behaviour, unfortunately.

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Management tip

Smart Aldi campaign on loyalty points reinforces newsagency loyalty pitch

I like the Aldi campaign on TV at the moment about loyalty programs and, specifically, points. I like it because it reflects my view, that points programs are often confusing and the points themselves, worthless. Here is the ad in case you have not seen it.


It is typical Aldi: fun and direct, unambiguous.

Regulars here will know more preference for discount vouchers, immediate rewards, real rewards, over points based loyalty. I switched from a magazine club card in my newsagency – buy 11 magazines and get your 12th for free (up to the value of $10) – in February 2013. It has been a ripper of a success.

While POS software and newsagency software from the software company I own offers a terrific points based loyalty program as well as integration with FlyBys and other third-party loyalty offers, it is discount vouchers that many of the 3,500+ small businesses using the software rave about.

Discount vouchers are not like pointless points based programs depicted and mocked in the Aldi TVC. A discount voucher is a real cash amount off your next purchase, off the usual purchase price. Given that the price of many items in newsagency businesses are standardised nationally, the discount is real, it is trusted.

The Aldi ad makes the point that genuinely better prices are more useful and valuable than pointless points. The experience in my own shops is testament to that. People like the ease of the program, the real discount, that there is no cumbersome process, that they understand it and that it is authentic.

Through lever settings in the software, retailers control the value of discount accrued, what it can be redeemed on and the shelf-life of the discount. This helps us ensure that the discount voucher operates as a genuine revenue driver, delivering considerably more benefit than cost. There is excellent reporting on shopper behaviour, which feeds into adjustments of the levers to maximise the benefit for the business.

This brings me bask to the new Aldi TV commercial. Their pitch is differentiating. While their main competitors, Cokes and Woolworths, each pitch points-based programs that are complex and offer little in real value, Aldi says it is every day price that matters. I think that is a message that will resonate. I say that based on shopper feedback for the discount vouchers, we have shoppers who say they have switched because of the value they get. That started in 2013 and we continue to hear it today.

I put our above average performance in core categories like cards and magazines down to discount vouchers. Data reflect this as I can see where voucher value is accused and where it is spent. magazines, in particular, benefit.

The more we differentiate our businesses from competitors the better.

15 likes
Management tip

Fuck … language matters less in retail today

Years ago, having a product with a swear word on it in the newsagency would have resulted in plenty of complaints at the sales counter every day. That is no longer the case, even for the more serious swears.

Swear words are okay if complaints, or lack thereof in my experience, are anything to go by. In one of my stores, in suburban Melbourne, we have developed a large selection and we get a complaint every few weeks at the most.

The key is that the products are smart, funny. Swears for the sake of swearing are not appreciated. Smart, funny, caustic use of swears usually works the best. This is the era of sarcasm after all.

We place these swears related products together, away from parts of the business likely to attract people who are more likely to be offended.

What is interesting about products with swears is that through them we can attract shoppers who might otherwise have not shopped with us. We can demonstrate products with a broader demo appeal. This is good news because anything through which we can appeal to people who do not shop with us has to be good.

There are several suppliers who specialise in swears related products. While newsagency businesses are usually not their go-to fit they do supply and in short time you can see if you have an opportunity on which you can valuably expand.

The photo is of a tea towel. It’s a hit with people of all ages, including grandparents who laugh at the prospect of giving this to a wayward grandchild.

12 likes
Management tip

Sunday retail management tip: on competing with big businesses

Small business retailers often express frustration at big business competitors: they have more money for marketing, get better supplier deals and often have lower overheads per dollar of revenue.

In my experience, there is little to be gained from worrying about these things, which we cannot change. There is more to gain from focussing on points of difference we can leverage.

For example, we can bundle items to make price comparison difficult or impossible, we can offer a loyalty pitch big businesses will not offer, we can be flexible in how and where we pitch producers while bug retail businesses are structured and, usually, inflexible.

Bundling is particularly useful as you can create a bundle unique to your business, which feels like it is a value proposition unlike anything they have seen to that point. While this is a product by product task, it is in these small steps that you can find success, by changing shopper perspective and winning business more direct competition may have denied.

Bundles can work in gift, stationery, cards, toys and more. It is easy to use tech to manage and track this.

I am yet to see a business that cannot more creatively compete with big business competitors in ways they have not leveraged up to that point. It is about being flexible, relative and locally engaged.

Big business competitors are not going away, they are not fading in size, they are not spending less. This means we have to be smart and engaged to compete.

12 likes
Management tip

Tips on how to grow card sales in your retail newsagency

Following from the release of the latest newsagency sales benchmark results yesterday, I share small selection of the advice newsXpress members have access to on how to grow card sales. I am doing this today to show that there are actions you can take in your newsagency business to grow card sales.

  1. Pitch at the counter. Always have a small selection of cards for impulse purchase at th counter. Change this every week.
  2. Staff picks. Close to the counter have a selection of staff pick cards. These should change weekly.
  3. Pitch outside the department, disrupting traffic. Ensure that every shopper is pitched cards every time they visit, even with a small format stand. You choose the cards for the start. Do not purchase extra cards.
  4. Reward loyalty. Ensure every card purchase is a step toward a loyalty bonus.l Dfferentiate your business through this.
  5. Train. Ensure every staff member understands your cards and knows how to approach shoppers.
  6. On social media. Every few days, talk about a card in simple way that pitches the card without being to marketing oriented.
  7. Promote to businesses. Businesses send cards – if they do not they should – pitch bulk purchase at an offer.
  8. Focus on low-volume captions. Captions like Thank You Coach and New Home give you the opportunity to remind people about giving cards.

Key in this activity is the objective of getting people to purchase more cards than they otherwise might. All of us in the greeting card supply chain need this as the purchase volume per capita in Australia is behind the US and UK.

I think we as retailers carry the prime obligation to drive card sales and to attract new shoppers to our businesses looking to purchase cards. We need to do this by being engaged with the category, loving it for its high margin and traffic generation and being creative in our pitch. Our influence is greater than we and suppliers have allowed it to be over the years.

As I noted, this is a small selection of a target kit of advice designed to help retailers grow card sales.

I hope you find the suggestions useful.

19 likes
Greeting Cards

Cute drives traffic and revenue for engaged retailers

We are in a period of glory days for all things cute. You only have to look at the shelves of K-Mart, Target, Typo, Smiggle and other retailers to see the value they place in cute products to drive traffic and revenue.

Cute comes in many sizes, shapes and colours, and in different products including cards, games, toys, gifts, wrap and more.

What is interesting abut cute is that people purchase cute items because they are cute, nor necessarily because they have an immediate need or because of product function. This is what makes cute products valuable.

The Guardian published an article in 2016 that explored the science of cute. A quick online search soon reveals pen ty of articles about cute and why cute products sell. While rooted in Asian, and, in particular, Japanese, culture, interest in cute is worldwide.

In a newsagency today you can leverage cute through existing product categories of cards, gifts, plush and toys, even more. To maximise the opportunity, however, you need to promote outside the business, to connect with people who might otherwise not visit the shop to see what you have to offer in the cuteness space.

Using a keyword analysis tool, I can see that there are in excess of 100,000 cute related searches online in Australia ever month. man of these searches relate to products. People are looking for cute products. This is a need we can serve in our evolving newsagency businesses. Sure, it is hard to play in a space that is not easily understood. However, there are groups, suppliers and others ho can help.

Take a moment and do your own research. be aware of what other retailers around you are selling. Test some products yourself. Test, too, a cute approach to product displays – there are many inspiring images online to guide you.

Testing is important because playing in the space of cuteness is all about playing in a way with products and opportunities outside what may be usual in your business. You are unlikely to have a relevant reference point. This is why I suggest playing, experimenting.

Cute is popular right now. Find ways to embrace not and you may tape into a new source of customers for your business and that has to be goal #1 right now.

17 likes
Management tip

Marketing tip: visual merchandising for stationery

The best way for people to see your business and what you sell in a different light is to show them through your visual merchandising. Here are four inspiring examples from the many I saw last week.

You can choose to display products like a shopkeeper or a retailer. These examples are from retailers. They pitch a different, more engaged, more inspiring narrative than you would see from a shopkeeper.

6 likes
Management tip

Advice on signing agreements with suppliers

A newsagent told me recently that a supplier deceptively changed the terms of their agreement by modifying text on one page relating to the term of the agreement. They found out when they asked for a copy of the signed agreement to be sent to them.

While they are certain of the term, the agreement sent to them had a different term, a longer term with penalty for earlier termination.

Situations like this can be avoided if simple processes are followed.

For every agreement you sign in business:

  1. Only sign an agreement with which you are completely happy.
  2. Initial every page of the agreement.
  3. Take a copy of every page and store this in a safe place.
  4. Return the agreement to the supplier for countersigning and ask, in writing, for a copy of the countersigned agreement to be sent to you.
  5. Check the copy of the agreement the supplier returns to you with your own copy. If there is a discrepancy, point it out in writing immediately.

Because of the lack of evidence it could be hard for the newsagent to make a case against the supplier. It would come down to recollection.

I am aware of this happening previously, of a supplier changing an agreement. In one instance, the newsagent did have a copy of what they signed. In that matter, the supplier quickly retreated.

10 likes
Ethics
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