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.
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.
Here is what we have had behind the counter for the last couple of weeks at one of retail newsagencies. This is what shoppers see when they are at the counter. People are pointing to the one they want, happily adding to their purchases, on impulse.
It has been working a treat. Shoppers love that they can choose without touching and knowing that others, too, have not touched. They also love the Squishmallows product as it is a perfect huggable gift in this moment in time when hugs are not possible – here in Melbourne at least.
That wall beyond the counter is more important than ever here in Victoria as we can use it to drive impulse purchases with tactical placement, such as with these Squishmallows.
Plush sales were up 25% in July across Australia, not only in newsagencies but in other retail channels as well. I think this is because giving a plush item is like giving a hug.
Tactical placement at the counter is key to leveraging the opportunity. Try it.
This iconic jigsaw at the front of the shop in Victoria makes a timely and powerful statement right now.
While the image on this jigsaw represents a message from another time, the simple words resonate today. I was at the shop Thursday and heard a couple of customers comment positively about it. It reminded me that sometimes products can be a better advocate than pretty signage.
We have been sharing stories on social media for our newsagency, stories that provide context for greeting cards beyond the transactional, stories like this one Fromm 2 days ago – it had 170 likes / loves in less than a day:
Storytime. The twenty-something guy had been standing looking at cards for ten minutes. He seemed lost. “Hey, mate, you need a hand?” I said, without wanting to intrude. “Yeah”, he said with a sadness uncommon for a young guy looking for a card. “What are you looking for?”, I was careful in my approach. “My best mate’s dad died suddenly”, he paused. “He’s angry and wrecked” he paused again. “I, I want to tell him I’m here for him. I figured a card could be good,” he looked back at the range. “But, they’re too flowery.” He was right, the sympathy cards he was looking at were too flowery. After a while, we found a blank card with a dog on it, because his mate likes dogs. We worked out some words that got across what he wanted to say without being flowery.
Some days in retail we get to help in ways that will stay with us for years.
And then there is this one:
Storytime. Joe is 89 years old. He lives in a nursing home. When he moved there, he was limited as to what he could bring. The old shoebox with the collection of cards he’d received was the first thing he chose.In that box are cards from his time as a local community Aussie rules coach. Parents and players had written cards over the years and Joe had kept them. “Each card is a memory”, he says with a smile, looking through his collection.The oldest card Joe has is from 40 years ago from a player grateful for Joe’s help. Here it is so many years on, making Joe’s day.
Greeting cards hold the most wonderful memories.
Storytime. Ethan’s school assignment asked that he write about his earliest memory. “That’s easy,” he said, “it was the first letter I ever got. It was a birthday card from grandma. I was 4 and she posted me a birthday card with a tiger on it and it came in the mail. That’s the first memory I have. I still have card, and the envelope. Mum got them framed for me.”
The card created in Ethan an interest in mail and letters more specifically. Now, 6 years on, every couple of weeks Ethan will write to a relative in the hope of receiving a response in the mail. And it all started with that birthday card, which remains his first memory.
Cards give us memories and stories long after they are received.
Storytime. “Sorry, it’s just a card, no money for a gift this year.” That’s how Chris signed off the card to Jules, her friend of more than 20 years, since they were in high school together. Swapping birthday gifts with a card and a note were a tradition. Since they lived on opposite sides of the country, they’d usually include a note with the card and gift each year.
Jules wrote back: “your card and note mean the world to me, every year. While I may have, possibly but please don’t judge me, re-gifted the odd gift from you, I have kept every card, every single card from you. I have 23. They the story of us. They are a perfect gift. Thank you.”
The card we send today can provide heart-warming memories for many years to come.
Social media provides us an opportunity to share the narrative of our business. Newsagents are well placed to have wonderful stories they can share.
My advice to newsagents is to take a break from the shop local or look at this new product we have type of post and tell stories, set your narrative, use words to tell people more about your business and more about you.
Oh, and to answer an expected question for comment about using text and not images? Most social media posts use images. Going with text content could be more easily noticed. Certainly that is my experience in using posts like this over recent weeks.
I think it is good use of social media to sometimes not try and sell anything but, rather, to show more of the emotion at the heart of the business.
In my recent experience, these text and other text posts have worked a treat.
I first shared this idea seven years ago. It is even more relevant today given this bushfire season.
Embrace the love theme of Valentine’s Day but focus on your community. Cut out hundreds of hearts and ask your customers to write what they love about your town / community.
Put the hearts on show – so people can read the messages. Create a display in or on your window or create a tree-shaped frame onto which the hearts can be placed as leaves.
The completed tree or display, hopefully overflowing with heart-shapes with notes of what people love about their community becomes an inspiration for you and everyone who participated and looks at the finished art.
Let your council, chamber of commerce, community groups and schools know. Maybe invite a gold coin donation for each heart for a local charity. Let the local paper know as this is the type of local community story they should love.
There is no commercial goal here. No, this is a marketing idea designed solely to deepen the connection between your business and the local community.
For 4 years newsXpress has run a January is Jigsaw month promotion. It’s a simple promotion that shines a light on jigsaws. There is no price deal, no special offer, no commercial pitch to shoppers other than a front of store placement of jigsaws with purpose-specific collateral. Jigsaw sales spike with revenue up at least eight times the monthly average, often more. This sales spike coupled with bonus margin from deals delivers an excellent commercial result for zero additional investment.
The idea started out of a discussion about what businesses not into back to school could do to boost traffic and revenue inn January. Jigsaws have turned out to be a hit in the city and country, in mall based businesses as well as high street.
Better still, the promotion does not appear to harm jigsaw sales later in the year. If anything, the focus helps drive later inn the year sales as more shoppers realise the range of jigsaw titles a store has.
There is plenty that I have to covered here provided by newsXpress to make the promotion a success. It’s not quite as simple as I have made it out here. There are layers and activities that combine to drive the success.
My point is that there are low and no cost opportunities for driving non-seasonal success in newsagency and similar businesses. Jigsaws in January is one example of this.
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 CommentWhile 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:
- 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.
- Talk about the game online, on Facebook and other platforms where you represent your business.
- Tell stories about what the $20,000 a month could mean.
- Run a competition on how would you spend $20,000 a month.
- Consider launching with a competition or promotion where one customer wins a $8.40 Set for Life ticket – run this for four weeks.
- 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.
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:
Here are some ideas for leveraging big lottery jackpot traffic:
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.
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:
The value of any lottery jackpot to your business beyond lottery commission depends on what you do.
Find a wall in your shop and turn it into a mini gallery space for local artists. Make it available at no cost.
Choose artists based on their social media following and the shoppers they could attract to your business. Check their Facebook and Instagram followings. Look at numbers as well as how they engage. This is important that new new traffic is key in business today.
The benefit for them is that you help them find new customers too. The relationship has to be mutually beneficial.
The photo is from a shop I have visited. On the wall they had a small showing of photos taken by a local young photographer. There was nothing commercial about it.
To me, this idea is a not brainer for any regional, rural or high street independent retail business. The more we support our local community the more likely the local community will support us.
The added benefit is the beauty you can bring to the shop.
Be a force for good: support local artists and give locals another reason to visit your business.
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:
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.
This is our latest Harry Potter pitch in the newsagency. It is in a prime location and attracting plenty of shopper interest, and purchases. The display header was created by our graphic design team specifically for this in-store location.
With the Harry Potter play on in Melbourne right now at the massive Princess Theatre and the franchise of books and movies continuing to do well and the new Pokemon game, Harry Potter reaches many people, multiple generations. This is what makes it a successful licence for us to leverage in retail.
We source products from multiple suppliers and bring them together to branded location in-store you can see in the photo.
Harry Potter items are bought for gifts but also by lovers of the brand. This helps make it a valuable licence.
The Hilton Hotel is Sydney has this wall for messages people can leave about / for their mums. It is part of an awareness and fundraising campaign for the Mother’s Day Classic, an event in support of Breast cancer research. This display is setup in the foyer of the hotel.
What I like about is that it is complete. There is the large wall onto which people fix their messages. There is the poster explaining it. And, there are the materials for participation. They make it ease to engage.
This complete approach is worth remembering when running similar shopper engagement opportunities in our businesses – making it easy for shoppers to engage and thereby leveraging the benefit opportunity for the business.
Creating a wall of remembrance and thanks for mums has been on my list of Mother’s Day marketing tips for newsagents for years. How they have executed it at the Hilton is inspiring.
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.
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?
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.
I took some photos of guy cards at one of my shops yesterday and used them to put this video together for newsXpress members to use on social media. It is deliberately simple, short and narrow if focus. By narrow, I mean I deliberately selected cards offering humour – I’ll do a different video on expressing other emotions.
The video is a small part of a broader strategy around male card giving. I want to help newsagents sell more and be seen by more people as the destination for cards, especially male cards.
In our card departments it can be chaljenginnto find a car because of a sea of colour. The video calls out some cards people could / should identify with.
For those wondering why the whole card is not shown, that is a design choice.
newsXpress releases between four and six new videos each week for use on social media. They cover cards, stationery, gifts, jigsaws, games and more. They, along with a library of social media images and other collateral are available for newsXpress member use anywhere.
Stock Angel Flames from Jasnor and place some stock at the counter. Yes, people will purchase them on impulse. I have seen this work in city and country, high street and shopping mall, big and small businesses. Make sure everyone working in the business can explain the product in 30 seconds. The right explanation significantly increases purchases.
This advice is part of the newsXpress one percenters – many simple, no-cost, steps you can take to maximise existing traffic, increase word of mouth recommendations and drive new traffic. The one-percenters advice is one piece in a big jigsaw of that newsxpress does yet it is full of low handing fruit opportunities – easy and fast to implement with almost immediate returns.
Is this a pitch for newsXpress – yes, if you wan it to be … no, if you try the idea for yourself, without obligation.
A good marketing group is whole of business in attention covering big picture strategy through to small focus tactical, like this Angel Flames idea that has been part of the newsXpress pitch for more than twelve years.
My POS software company offers indie retailers a range of collateral for pitching shop local. Some is created exclusively while other collateral uses an existing base and enhances it for purpose.
Friday, I released this video I put together using existing imagery for indie retailers to use to say thank you to local shoppers. The video is unbranded, making wide use easy. Click here to download a copy if you would like to use it.
Big brands and retailers are spending up on non-shoppable content. That is, content designed to entertain with only a small acknowledgement of the brand behind the content.
Successful non-shoppable content is entertaining, highly shareable, accessible and, often, inspiring. Dollar Shave Club in July last year released a video, which has now been viewed close to three million times. The video is an excellent example of non-shoppable content. It is fun, inspiring and for our times in that it reflects diversity without judgement.
The financial resources of Dollar Shave Club are considerable, enabling them to fund the professional production of the video. Small business owners could watch the video and say we can’t afford to produce something like that.
The reality is that atone with a smart phone, slime time and creativity could produce effective non-shoppable content. There are plenty of small business retailers I see who do this already. Creativity is key. Massive tech. skills are not critical.
Here is the video.
Please take a moment to think about non-shoppable content you could create that might get people watching connect with your brand.
Too often I see newsagents on Facebook saying look at what we just got in or come shop with us when a more successfully engaged campaign could be hey, we thought you might enjoy this.
People are on social media for entertainment. Often, that is why people shop too. Putting entertainment as the top priority could, indirectly, do more good for your business than a more direct ad on social media.
I love the Dollar Shave Club video. I watched it all the way through, which is rare for videos I often see on social media. The stats for the video speak volumes.
Now, if you have got this far in the post and think it does not relate to you, please pause for a moment … because, I think this topic of non-shoppable content is relevant to every retailer. Everyone in retail has an opportunity to find new customers through a non-linear approach to marketing, by entertaining first, y having fun in the name of your brand.
This is retail today, in tis world of myriad social media platforms. It’s exciting and filled with opportunity.
Too often, retailers are driven by seasons, obsessed by seasons. Everyone hops in the one boat to focus on the one calendar event. While I understand that, I also see it as a missed opportunity.
In my shops we play more outside of the major season focus, often creating local seasonal opportunities of our own. This works because we have no competition and because we do it with minimal or no capital outlay.
This is on my mind today as we are between Valentine’s Day and Easter. Smart retailers have one or two mini seasons or focuses running right now as being up now with easter is too early. These same smart retailers will, during Easter, have at least one other local ‘season’; or focus running, to broader the appeal of the shop to passers by and on social media.
The less we follow the heard and the more we engage with unique opportunities the broader the potential of our reach.
What minor seasons or focuses to you engage? … this is 100% up to you, the products you have, your local area, your interests.
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.
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.
