A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

marketing tip

Cash continues to trump points in the loyalty stakes in newsagencies

Since Tower Systems launched discount vouchers in its newsagency software in February 2013, they have lead in the loyalty stakes, helping to drive terrific sales for newsagents.

I hear stories regularly of how shoppers have behaved on receiving a voucher, often looking around the shop for something else to purchase. The bigger the discount offered the more engaged them become in my experience.

The $11.18 discount offered on the voucher above will typically have no real cost to the business since the business has settings options with which to encourage shoppers to spend more than they might have usually spent. This is what a good loyalty program is about – encouraging shoppers to be more loyal than traditionally.

Discount vouchers are perfect for the times in which we find ourselves today: offering a cash discount off their next purchase captures the mind of and budget-conscious shopper.

Another thing to love about discount vouchers is that they are owned and run by the store, thereby helping to drive overall store performance. This is better for the local business than a specific supplier funded loyalty program that only seeks to drive sales of products from that supplier. That type of loyalty tends to be of lesser value to the local store.

The best loyalty program is one that lifts the overall business performance, rather than merely shifting sales between suppliers.

Points based loyalty programs have been ruined by supermarket behaviour. Most customers would not know the dollar value of a point if asked I suspect. My thinking is the value of points is the inverse of the money spent by a retailer promoting their points. Noisy points program marketing = lesser value for consumers.

Looking at shopper basket data from plenty of newsagencies where discount vouchers from the Tower Systems newsagency software has been used I can see that magazines continue to benefit – the magazine department accrues the least value in voucher dollars yet it benefits the most from purchases made with a voucher as part payment. There are some departments, however, where vouchers accrued and redeemed tend to match, demonstrating terrific efficiency.

If you are one of the 1800+ newsagents with the Tower Systems newsagency software and you’re not using discount vouchers, check them out, they could deliver a terrific bottom line performance boost.

11 likes
marketing tip

Newsagency marketing tip: reinvigorating Saturdays in your local retail newsagency

Years ago, Saturdays were big in the local newsagency. Shops were full and humming. Back when lottery draws were fewer, Sunday trading was a rarity, and late-night shopping wasn’t a thing – Saturdays were it! Those days might be gone, but that doesn’t mean Saturdays can’t be big again for any local retail newsagency.

The key reinvigorating Saturdays is a thoughtful, planned approach that makes Saturdays special in your store. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Make your shop a Community Hub:

  • Fundraisers: Invite local groups to fundraise inside or outside your shop. Let them feature their local work for locals..
  • Local Clubs: Start a club that connects with your products with local. A knitting circle, jigsaw club, a mindfulness group, local cooks sharing local recipes.
  • Show and tell. Bring in a local with specialist knowledge relating to items you sell. Ask them to do a talk, to share knowledge.

Make it Fun!:

  • New Product Showcase: Saturdays can be your “New Arrivals Day.” Unpack the latest stock with fanfare and make it a reason for customers to visit.
  • Interactive Saturdays: Let customers play with new products, sample games, or get creative with craft supplies.
  • Host a competition: paper plane making and flying for example, or the best yoyo tricks.
  • Teach: How to make paper mache, how to play marbles, how to play hopscotch.

Sweeten the Deal:

  • Free Treats: Partner with a local bakery to offer a free slice of cake at a set time each Saturday, or a butcher to feature their awesome sausages.
  • Lucky Draws: Hold in-store draws for lottery or other prizes. Being present boosts a customer’s chance of winning!

Visually Appealing:

  • Shop Refresh: Make Saturdays a day for a big display overhaul. Fresh layouts and eye-catching presentations will draw customers in.

Promotional Power:

  • Saturday Savers: Develop a “Saturday Savers” campaign with special deals and discounts exclusive to Saturdays.
  • Weekend deal. From, say, noon, offer deals for items you want to be rid of by the end of the week. get known for these deals.

Reinvigorating Saturdays in your shop

These are just a springboard for ideas. Tailor your strategy to your shop and its products. Focus on what drives sales for you, not necessarily what other local businesses might be doing.

Here is a choice you can make: do nothing and Saturdays will continue to be what they have been. Or, do something considerably different, chase change. If what you do works, celebrate. if it does to work, learn, adjust and go again.

My point is that Saturdays are not what they used to be and we need to change that.

10 likes
Management tip

The one tip that helps customers choose a Mother’s Day card

I customer was wondering whether the card in their hand was right or whether they should shop elsewhere. “Have you checked the back of the card”, I said. They turned the card over and saw that the purchase supported the McGrath Foundation and that the card was Australian made. They bought the card.

Australia made matters with plenty of shoppers, as does a good charity connection.

If your Mother’s Day cards are Australian made and they pitch a good charity connection, ensure everyone working in the newsagency knows to gently suggest customers look at the back of cards they are considering.

Supermarkets are too disengaged with shoppers to do this. The same with department stores and discount variety shops. Newsagent can own this turn the card over engagement. Well, at least those of us with cards made in Australia.

11 likes
marketing tip

More newsagents with websites

My newsagency software company, Tower Systems, has delivered more websites for newsagents. Here are some of the recent new websites:

In my own shops we have a number of websites doing terrific business:

All of these are connected to our newsagency software for syncing of inventory and sales between the physical and online shops.

It’s easy to  say no to a website if you don’t have one because you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s also easy if you had one in the past and it didn’t work.

Most websites don’t work. Smart people use a failure to do better next time.

At the core of success of a website is filling needs and wants. While needs and wants are quite different, they compel good online business.

Here are the top reasons why I think every retail business needs a website:

  • Capture sales when you are closed. Typically, more than 50% of online purchases are then the brick and mortar business is closed.
  • Engage browsers when you are closed. You can have chat turned on and answer questions from your phone, or you could really geek-out and have an AI chatbot do this for you.
  • Reach people not currently shopping with you. Typically, 75% of sales are from people located nowhere near your shop.
  • Have a second outlet for quitting stock.
  • Have a place where you can experiment.
  • Playing with a plan B in case your shop finds itself in choppy waters.
  • To learn. A website, especially your first website, teaches you so much, and this is especially. What does it teach you you ask? What people want. What they could pay. Haw awful some people are. How to earn income when you are asleep.
  • To get you out of a rut. If you;ve been in your shop for ages and are mailing it in each day, a website could put a spring in your step.
  • To make your shop more valuable. Having a website, even if it is not fully realised or successful, could make your shop more appealing when you decide to sell.
  • To leverage a secondary brand. This could be the first step in a shop rebrand.
  • To drive traffic to the shop. People will find products on your website and visit as a result, for sure.
  • To give you another source of revenue that is completely unrelated to anything you do in your shop.
  • To harvest email addresses you can market to. Email marketing from Shopify is a breeze.

Now, in case you think I am writing this to get you to use Tower to make your website, I am not. I don’t care who makes your website.

You should go with the web designer you want. Beware tho, web development has some shonky people offering services.

Having a website gives people a landing page from your Facebook, Instagram and TikTok posts. This is important.

A website is a hungry beast, demanding your time daily, weekly, long after launch. It’s not easy. But, if you get it right, it can be tremendously valuable.

The work after launch includes regular blog posts, social media posts and more.

6 likes
Management tip

FREE advice for local retailers: Nine one-percenters that could add thousands to the value of your retail business.

One-percenters are small things, easy things you can do for a win.

They are often things others forget.

Today I share nine of what I think are the best one-percenters for any local indie retail business.

I’ve experienced the value of on-percenters like these.

This is free advice. You don’t have to buy anything to access it. I love seeing local indie retailers thrive.

  • Place 2 or 3 products at the counter for impulse purchase. Change weekly, unless they are selling well.
  • If you have a front window, change it weekly. The goal is to stop passers-by and have them notice you.
  • Never be out of stock of popular products. Use your software to predict sales and order so you don’t sell out.
  • Price new stock on the shop floor, located to disrupt shopper traffic, so they notice. People don’t buy from the back room.
  • Use social media to share knowledge and have fun rather than promoting products. Entertain.
  • Have a staff product of the week in a good position with a handwritten note from the staff member explaining the why.
  • Write the value of dead stock somewhere where all staff see it. Update it weekly for a whole of business focus on reducing this.
  • Offer genuine loyalty rewards that don’t cost you the farm and are easy for shoppers to understand and access.
  • Colour block in a prime position. This gives products rarely in prime position to be seen. It shows off your range diversity.

What you do with this is 100% top to you. The thing is, I know these tips work. Combine them and you compound the value you achieve. It’s simple – a small time investment for a terrific return.

I like engaging with small steps. They are manageable, safe, certain. It means you’re not relying on one or two big moves, often costly moves, for your success. By spreading the risk, the load, you strengthen the foundations of the business and position it for more certain results.

Here’s the colour block tip in action. It took half an hour to do, and shoppers noticed while it was being created, they added suggestions too. The result speaks not only to red, but also diversity and to fun we have in the shop by being different.

What you do about the 9 tips is up to you of course, but let me ask you this: are you happy with the performance of your business? If you say yes, great! If you say no, you know you have to make some changes because doing the same things will give you the same results.

The advice in this post originated from newsXpress advice to its newsagency marketing group members years ago. The one-percenters list has evolved considerably, as it should.

8 likes
Management tip

Helping newsagents find local shoppers using the free Google Business Profile

The advice in this post was written for and shared with newsXpress members last year. I gave it to ALNA recently, to share it with their members. I share it here today to try and reach more newsagents.

This is free advice that costs nothing to implement and is likely to attract shoppers to your business.

Google Business Profile. Steps you can take to be more easily found.

Having an up to date Google profile is more important than ever. Google uses profile content to deliver search results.

Google‘s own data indicate that 46% of all searches have local intent. Use of Google Maps is common by people looking for something right now. Maintaining your Google My Business profile is the most important step to indexing well in local search and map results.

Google preferences Google My Business content in providing search results since it is verified content.

Sharing posts via Google My Business is possibly more important than what you share on social media.

Okay, so where do you start, what do you have to do? Here’s a simple to follow list. I have done this over the last few days for 2 of my businesses to ensure the advice is current.

  • Do a Google search for Google Business Profile. It should bring you to: https://www.google.com/business/.
  • If you don’t have a Google Business account, create one. If you do have an account, log in.
  • Once in your profile, if your business is not listed, click Add business (top right), search for your business and request it be added. If someone else ‘owns’ the business listing it could take a few days to be released to you. If your business is not found in the search, add it manually.
  • Do not rush this. Make sure you review everything.
  • Click on the pencil icon to edit your profile.
  • Choose your business category. Too often retailers select one. Select as many as apply to your business.
  • Description. Make sure you describe your business. Use at least 500 of the 750 words allowed as Google uses this in search results.
  • Hours. Make sure they are accurate.
  • Location. Make sure your business location is correct. The service area is the area you serve. Choose wisely. You can put in multiple locations. So, put in your town first, then, put in the bigger city you are near if appropriate.
  • More. Click on every option available under more as they matter in Google results. For example, noting the business as woman owned, if true, will help with results.
  • Add a profile photo if you do not have one already.
  • Click on the create post icon – it’s the third icon, next to the camera. Create a post.
  • This should be about a product.
  • Include at least one photo.
  • Start with a headline.
  • Write text. Aim for less than 200 words. Think about what people will search for. Have a good headline. Use paragraphs.
  • If you sell the product on your business website, use the add a button option to add a link to the product on your business website.
  • Google will check and approve the post.

Once you have done this, you should see the profile and post online in less than a day. Once that happens, the Google door is open for you.

Our advice is that you add a post at least weekly. Each post should be about a single product or single brand, something people are likely searching for. Keep the focus narrow. Write as you. Be relaxed. What is it you love about the product? Who is it for? Be grateful about having it available.

If you are just starting, consider a post a day for the first two weeks to get your content up and running, to encourage Google to notice you.

On the posts themselves, they should be more informative than, say, an Instagram post. remember, you are writing for people on their phones searching.

Google will preference profiles that offer fresh content. This is why I say posting weekly is important.

Your Google business profile works best for you when you have a website as that facilitates shopper browsing.

The other benefit of creating and maintaining a Google business profile that reflects your businesstoday is that suppliers will see it. This could help suppliers who pigeonhole you as a newsagency realise that you are not.

We appreciate some of you may have read this and thought it’s the last thing I need – more work to do. The thing is, more shoppers today search online than not.

Footnote: if you are thinking of paying someone to do this for you, I advise against that. This is your business. You know what you want people to find, and buy. A marketer or a friend will do more of what they want, and that may not match what you and your business need.

Now, we asked ourselves some questions for you:

  • Can I use content I put on my business blog? For sure. Google may see it as duplicate so maybe trim it for your Google profile.
  • How long should a new post be? Given that this content is most often accessed on the phone, 200 words is considered the max.
  • How long do posts last? Currently, 6 months. It used to be 7 days. Google will continue to play with this.
  • Should I always include a photo with a post? Yes.
  • How many photos should I add? At least one. My suggestion is 4.
  • How detailed should the photos be? Each photo should be one product, clearly visible.
  • Should I use hashtags? Hashtags serve no purpose on these posts.
  • Can I schedule posts? Yes, by using an external platform like Loomly, Sendible, OneUp or similar.
  • What else do I need to do with the profile? Engage. Respond to reviews. Answer questions. Show the business as engaging.

Of course, it’s up to you if you create a profile for your business. It costs nothing and is likely to help people find you, and visit.

9 likes
Management tip

newsXpress launches national Thank You card give away to encourage Aussies to share appreciation

Today, newsXpress launches Thank You card giveaway promotion through participating newsXpress stores. This is a newsXpress exclusive promotion.

Offered at no cost to newsXpress members and funded 100% by newsXpress and not suppliers, this promotion is designed to help Australians appreciate others.

The pitch is simple: buy any 2 cards in a single transaction, and you get a Melbourne-made, Melbourne-designed, Thank You card (valued at $6.99) for free. There is no card purchase brand requirement.

newsXpress members have been provided with the free cards, envelopes and double sided A2 posters for promotion, as well as access to digital assets.

The campaign was soft-launched a few weeks ago in my own stores to test shopper reaction and see if there were any kinks. It has gone amazingly well, driving growth in card sales, generating excellent word of mouth.

Customers who know about the promotion are keen to get their free card while those who do not know love receiving the free card.

In creating the promotion, my goal was to shine a light on a vital product category while providing customers with a way of appreciating others. We know that people keep cards they receive, meaning the free cards given by our customers will be keepsakes warming hearts for years to come. This is a good news promotion, a heartwarming promotion, something all involved can feel proud of.

I figured that by mid 2022 we’d all have people to appreciate, people we could say thank you to. The free card is a no-cost prompt to spread the appreciation, to help do good in the world.

The campaign actually started when I was looking to create a mid 2022, valley fo retail death (you know, between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day) promotion to drive shopper traffic and engagement. That was more than 6 months ago. Yes, this campaign has been a while in the making.

Here is the card design. The finished card includes beautiful and quality gold foil and embossing treatments, reflecting the $6.99 price tag on the card. Having the price printed on the card was a key piece as it denotes value.

I am proud that newsXpress has been able to bring this promotion to life for its members, to do so without cost, without supplier obligation and in support of one of the most valuable product categories a newsagency offers.

I am not aware of any similar promotion in our channel in the past. Sure there have been card giveaways but they were supplier specific and requiring more cards purchased. I wanted to ensure there were minimal barriers with this promotion. This is one reason I did not ask any suppliers for funding, even though I am sure they would have offered financial support.

The 2 card purchase requirement was set based on basket data. Less than half card purchases have 2 cards in them. Subtly, the promotion seeks to raise that number.

The Thank You card caption is one of the best performing in Australia. Thank You cards play a vital role in appreciating others and reminding them of that appreciation years down the track when they look at the cards they have received.

In local small business retail it can be challenging to differentiate ourselves, to be noticed. Too often I think we imitate big business strategies and tactics. I also think there are too many supplier-led promotions that are cumbersome and designed to serve the supplier first.

 

This promotion serves the customer first. We did this knowing that it would also serve us. Our trial in recent weeks has shown this happening, wonderfully, valuably.

Okay, here’s my core newsXpress pitch: this campaign reflects what’s different about newsXpress. It creates innovative, engaging and compelling marketing opportunities for all newsXpress members, regardless of size, location or product supplier allegiance. We do this to help you encourage existing shoppers spend more, new shoppers to visit and for shopper visits be be more financially valuable to you.

newsXpress works across a range of product categories. Cards, though, deliver excellent results with many reporting 20% and more year in year growth, adding many thousands in a year to net profit, and often doing this on a lower capex.

The national newsXpress exclusive Thank You card promotion starts today. I am grateful to be part of this local store led movement of Australians appreciating other Australians and that we can do this with Melbourne designed and made product.

23 likes
Greeting Cards

Having an A team and a B team is still necessary in retail in this Covid impacted world

Last year, a few months into Covid, plenty of retailers that could open set their roster so that the business could function of Covid impacted their workforce. They’d have an A team and a B team, and, sometimes, a C team.

I know of some newsagents continuing with this approach today, which makes sense given how much infection continues to spread in the community. In my own businesses we have them structured to minimise interruption should an infection hit the workplace.

The arrival of Omicron in Australia and news of the ease with which it spreads is a reminder, I think, of the importance on business owners to determine settings that appropriately serve the health and safety of all who work and shop in the business – regardless of state or territory government regulations.

I am fortunate to have spent the weekend in Sydney. It was interesting seeing retail outside of my home state Victoria. In big businesses the approach to protection pot employees and shoppers was more consistent than in small business.

In small businesses while check-in was monitored as was vaccine status, there was little checking of shopper distance and in most situations, no acrylics at the counter separating shoppers from employees.

For what it’s worth, I think all retail situations in Australia right now should have acrylic panels between shoppers and employees, along with easy access to hand sanitiser, free good quality masks for all employees and rest / cleaning breaks.

We keep hearing that there is no stopping Covid spreading. A business that is a point of infection does have to close, and be cleaned. Any step we can talk to reduce the opportunity for this the better in my view.

5 likes
marketing tip

Finding happiness in your retail newsagency business

2021 has been some year for sure, packed with challenges, things that can make your retail business less enjoyable than you hoped.

I am grateful through my work to see retail in many situations and, over time, have learnt from these businesses and the people in them.

There is no doubt for me about the value of being happy in retail. But, it’s not something you can decide to feel. It’s not a switch you can flick.

Finding happiness in retail takes planning and engagement throughout the business. While it does sound like work, it is also about respecting the business and that there will always be challenges, and knowing that being happy can help you get through them.

Here are my tips for finding, nurturing and managing happiness in a local retail shop:

Have good data. Yeah, I know this is a boring topic for many. But as a POS software company with decades of experience we know the value of good data. Good data is your rock. Build on a rock and life is, for sure, good. Good data will make you happier because your decisions will be better, and by better we mean you’ll make more money, and that will make you happier.

Be in control. Stop getting pushed around. If a supplier pushes something on your, use your data to deal in the facts. This, too, will make you happier. Facts matter. Any time someone says fro this or that ask for evidenced preferably in your business data. yes, we are still banking on about the value of good business data.

Price for margin. Maximise when you can.

Price for turn. You can’t bank a gross profit percentage until you sell something. So, price to turn, and bank dollars.

Lean on others. Spread the load, share the responsibility. Hire well. Train well. rely on the team to help you and this will make them happier, you happier and the business a happier place overall.

Set your narrative. In social media posts, stories you share in the business and in your marketing set the tone, set the narrative to be positive, happy and optimistic. This will encourage others to do this too. Own your narrative and own your happiness.

Of course, there is way more everyday practical stuff too: happy music paying, happy window displays, happy product displays, featuring happy products, samples, taste tests, games, fun events, giveaways, competitions … all these things and more can make the shop transactionally happy, which is good, too.

Happiness is good for business and all who interact with it.

Good luck. Now, get out there and smile. 😃

17 likes
Management tip

Sensory key to sales success

  • If you sell products with a scent, let customers smell them.
  • If you sell products people can eat, let them taste them.
  • If you sell products people can drink, let them have a sip.
  • If you sell products for their feel, let people feel them.

Okay, this is basic retail advice. Yet, too often it is ignored. I tried this with a business recently. They sell fudge. Setting up a safe taste test option and sales took off, way beyond anything they had achieved in the past. I also tried it with a business that sells tea. They were struggling. the sip offer drove excellent sales. Finally, I tried it with a business that sells expensive candles ($75+). They had not lit one because of the cost. After they lit one, the candles started selling.

Even in this Covid world, retail is sensory. Engage with the senses and you will sell more. 

My advice is take a look through your shop and embrace opportunities to engage with the senses. It’s easy, and should drive an immediate response from shoppers. And, yes, this even applies to things you have had forever, like the old Turkish Delight chocolate – people like it and remember it when reminded. Remind them with a taste offer.

Footnote: There are plenty of people telling newsagents right now that they can supply this or that for better margin. You cannot bank a percentage. You can only bank dollars. You make dollars from selling things. So, get the retailing right, the engagement right, and then work on the margin for the items you choose to sell.

6 likes
Management tip

Focussing on self care in the newsagency

We have been pitching self care on the lease line in one of our Westfield centre businesses. It’s working a treat.

This multi-category pitch is attracting shoppers and purchases. Coming out of Mother’s Day with this has worked a treat as it appeals to a comfort people have sought through Covid and a comfort that is familiar in Winter.

You know a pitch is working when you have to refresh the products on offer regularly.

3 likes
marketing tip

Easter marketing tips for newsagents

Easter is what we make of it in our stores. We decide through our engagement whether this is a big or not so big season.

My advice is don’t get caught up in tradition, think about this season as one of connection. This can broaden your focus and provide a more useful pathway to sales success.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking…

  1. Have fun. No matter what you do, make sure it involves fun.
  2. Promote connection. Easter is a good this for people to connect with people nearby and far away. help them do that.
  3. Do good. Collect for something during the season. Given the animal theme of so much Easter product, maybe a local animal shelter.
  4. Have fun give rabbits a discount on a set day or days. Give a doubt to everyone who presents as a rabbit. Promote it widely – get the local paper in for a photo. Make the discount worth it for them dressing up.
  5. Invite a wall of stories. If you have a wall available, cover it with paper and invite your customers to write or draw what Easter means to them. this makes the season more interactive.
  6. Make a giant papier-mâché egg with things you sell (old newspapers, coloured paper, paint). Go big, I mean really big. Taller than a person. Let the kids paint it. Make it a local thing for people to come see.
  7. Have an Easter Egg hunt for over 70s. Egg hunts are usually for kids but those over 70 will have a different recollection of the season from when they were kids. Cater to them with a hunt in your shop for tasty eggs.
  8. Respect the season. Easter means different things to different people. Respect this outside of the fun you may have. Be sure about your greeting and that it is appropriate. Maybe include a nice message on your receipts.

Easter is considered by many to be a small season. I see it as full of opportunity and primed for fun in the newsagency. Chase year on year growth.

5 likes
marketing tip

An important 2 weeks for newsagents

This week and next are vital for card sales in newsagencies with Valentine’s Day front and centre.

Valentine’s Day is either the second or third biggest card season in plenty of retail businesses.

Achieving sales success with Val depends on interesting products being on offer, displayed well and pitched out of store in clever ways.

Our out of store promotion needs to guid people who might not purchase a Valentine’s Day card to consider doing so. I think the best way to do this is through subtle and inspiring posts.

Posts that shine a light on products people don’t see as Valentine’s related work it drawing attention to the season of those who otherwise may let it pass by.

The photo I have shared in this post is one of the Valentine’s Day gift displays in one of my stores. You can see a varied range of gifts, non traditional gifts for this season.

newsXpress has gone with the love day branding to play away from Valentine’s Day that most will use. This is because the day has evolved. I think it is important that we evolve the appeal of this and other seasons.

I encourage newsagents to make the most of the next two weeks, to play outside of what is traditional, to try and broaden the appeal of what is a key season in our businesses.

10 likes
Greeting Cards

Local business collaboration tip for newsagents

A fruit and veggie shop near where I live home delivers mystery boxes of fruit and veg for a fixed price. They also offer a magazine with each delivery. Here’s what it looks like.

This is an easy collaboration opportunity for a newsagent and a fruit and veg shop. Okay, you get one magazine sale, but, hey, that with a flyer inside could attract shoppers to your business. Also, if they deliver 50 of these mystery boxes, that’s a good number.

My point is, collaborations like this one are smart and local and local is key in 2021.

Also, it is this type of small step initiative that can help a local business. There is much foundational strength to gain from many small steps as opposed to one big step.

3 likes
magazines

Making Valentine’s shopping easy

Offering ready to give gifts is a terrific way to increase gift sales in the newsagency or any retail business.

Placing the wrapped ready to give item next to a clear description or a showing of what is in the gift makes the purchase easy.

Offering a diversity of gift choices is key, too … where diversity can be in the wrapping itself. This is especially true for Valentine’s gifts given the evolving diversity of this season.

What I particularly love about the gift pictured, which I did not wrap by the way, is that it looks non traditional and it appeals more broadly than is common for val gifts.

To me, this gift and others from the pre-wrapped range represent a good example of us differentiating our business and making our own success.

It is also a way of repositioning existing inventory. In this photographed package, for example, is a candle, which, alone on the shelf, may not feel like a val gift. Packaged this way it does.

Valentine’s Day 2021 will be different to other years because of what we all went through in 2020. Engaging early and outside traditional is key to maximising this difference I think.

4 likes
marketing tip

Christmas marketing tips for local retailers

Christmas is a noisy time for shoppers. Every retailer is pitching to them on TV, radio, in print, on social media and in-store … even more so in 2020.

Christmas marketing tends to be the same: jolly, celebratory and, often, price based.

It is a challenge for small business retailers to cut through all of this noise. Here are some tips for cutting through.

  1. Make it easy. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the business that makes it easy. The ways to do this are have bundled gifts ready to go, pre-bagged or wrapped, with some card selections that are relevant, offer easy payment options including buy now pay later, free wrapping, better shop floor help, guide buying advice or tips on perfect gifts no one else will think of. Consider making Christmas easy as being a key part of your messaging.
  2. Be thrilled people are in your shop. Your personal smile or greeting is something they may not see in a big business where employees are less invested in each shopper and where the owner is usually thousands of kilometers away.
  3. Make the giving easy. If people purchase form you to send somewhere else. Offer a one-stop shop. Save them the trip to the post office.
  4. Make the shop less about Christmas. Consider pulling back on the Christmas visual noise. Go for something simple, muted, respecting the season but making a calm statement. Consider declaring the shop a Christmas carol free zone – not because you hate carols but because you want to help customers take a break.
  5. Help people rest and recharge. Create a Christmas shopping rest and recovery zone. Offer free tea, coffee, water and something to eat. Encourage people to take a break in your shop – without any obligation for them to spend money with you.
  6. Let your customers help each other. Setup a whiteboard or sheets of butcher’s paper, yes keep it simple. Get customers to write gift suggestions under different age/gender groups. For example: Girls 18 – 25, Boys 55+. Encourage your customers to help each other.
  7. Make price comparison difficult. If you sell items people are likely to price compare with other businesses, package them so price comparison is not easy. Put items into a hamper as a perfect Boy 8 to 12 bundle for example. Or offer the item with pre packages services if appropriate for an item.
  8. Less is The stack em high watch em fly mantra can be wrong. Indeed, it is often wrong in retail. Shoppers can be store blind because a shop is too full or a display is too busy. Consider creating simpler less cluttered displays and window promotions. Draw attention to what you want people to see by promoting that one thing.
  9. Christmas season in your shop should evolve. Major change weekly is vital for people to see what you have that they could buy.
  10. Be socially engaged. On Facebook, Instagram, twitter and elsewhere, be the calm voice, the person people enjoy reading or seeing photos from. Provide entertainment this Christmas rather than the usual retailer shrill of come and shop here!

The key to a more successful Christmas is to be different to what people expect from your business.

6 likes
marketing

Shareable social media content driving newsagency shopper traffic

We are having terrific success with videos of artists behind products we sell. Whether shot on a phone or put through a production process like the video I share in this post, this content is referred to by marketers as shareable content. This is ideal for social media as it is a glimpse beyond the product.

Engaged suppliers are good about providing this content to retailers, to help them reach new shoppers.

This video below is for a high-end $80 metal ornament of Ariel and Flounder, from The Little Mermaid. We have this in-store and online.

I’d love to see more suppliers provide shareable content like this or in an ever more raw form that retailers can brand with their store brand.

4 likes
marketing

Promoting Christmas in the newsagency

Further to my post yesterday about Christmas in the newsagency yesterday, here is one of the social media posts that I have created for one of the shops I wrote about. This is for my Southland business.

For those who think this is an expensive production, here is what I did. I shot the video at my Southland store a week ago on my iPhone. I loaded that to iMovie on my Mac and stripped out the background sound. I added a filter to soften the image. I then loaded that video into a platform called Promo where I added the text and music and, voilà, you have this video ready for the socials…

In case people are wondering – I have posted this to show what can be done for no cost and a small time investment, to pitch the business differently to what peso,e expect from a newsagency.

 

5 likes
marketing

2020 is a good year to embrace the Halloween opportunity

The circumstances of 2020 offer an opportunity to embrace Halloween in a fresh and engaging way. I am seeing excellent early sales, good value sales for the season.

Now, before you say been there done that or it won’t work in my area, it is different this year and the best growth I am seeing is in areas where the season has not been strong in the past.

While you want to sell products, this is a season with which to have some fun. Here are some practical and low cost tips for leveraging this

  1. Get people to dress in costume and offer them a discount for that on the day, October 31.
  2. Wear make-up yourselves.
  3. Run a scary sale and offload things you are struggling to sell. Create bright red bloody signs. Make it fun.
  4. Run a midnight sale or at least a dark night sale – this is another way to get people seeing your shop differently.
  5. Have free bite-size candy at the counter.
  6. Select a spooky playlist on Spotify or your in-store music platform.
  7. Run a colouring competition for kids with a prize for the best and a charity donation to encourage engagement.
  8. Print a recipe sheet and give this away.

These ideas are to get you thinking. Go on, have fun. Boo!

FYI, here is a quick and dirty, unbranded, social media image I made to promote a Halloween sale. It’s designed to get attention and, like all good social media content, be disposable.

9 likes
marketing

Landlords and developers evolving how they pitch retail locations

I hope this video I received this week pitching a new shopping centre location. It’s an example of using smart tech to take us into a new development to get a visual feel. Sure, it’s marketing and glossy, but it’s also more enticing than a text email or a brochure. I know retailers doing things with video for their stores, with success.

5 likes
marketing tip

The GP% value of unique gifts

Further to my post yesterday about GP%, this display is a good example of  the objecting in action on the shop floor.

This is 50%+ GP stock that no other retailers near by stock through which we are pitching outside what is traditional for the business. It is opposite female cards, ideal positioning for the ranges represented.

7 likes
marketing tip
Trending Articles

Fairfax changes approach to TV Guide, disrespects newsagents

Published on April 20, 2011

What do you think of the Powerball changes?

Published on February 16, 2018

IPS releases new magazine contracts

Published on June 21, 2011