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.
Using TikTok to reach a target audience and have fun with a competitor
The youth team supporting Dr Monique Ryan in Kooyong released this TikTok that comments on the plastering of the Kooyong electorate with posters, billboards and walking billboards supporting Josh Frydenberg.
What’s this got to do with newsagency? Okay, TikTok is an interesting platform through which you can reach a demographic that is likely not shopping your shop. The team behind this and other video is reaching out to an audience important to the electron campaign. It’s also an audience we need to better connect with.
More publisher support for newsagents on Twitter yesterday
Koorie Mail:
Great news 🎉@koorimailnews has returned! @IndigenousX
For the first time in 30 years, they had to close up production due to the floods on Bundjalung. But today is the day they are back, and Edition 774 now @ local newsagents or subscribe
Subscribe https://t.co/fAsxT16XRh pic.twitter.com/zygIBX1NrO
— #ClosetheGap 🖤 💛 ❤️ Campaign 💙 💚 (@closethegapOZ) April 20, 2022
AFL Record:
Our annual Anzac edition is out tomorrow at the usual locations – Coles & Coles Express, Vic newsagents and all nine games, for just $5.
Or subscribe to any or all editions by visiting https://t.co/cDEpSM9qSg.@1116sen @AFLNation @1629senSA @SENWestAus #LestWeForget #AnzacDay pic.twitter.com/xMmFAmhFOK— AFL Record (@AFLrecord) April 20, 2022
And this from last week:
This week’s Best Bets cover. Magazine out now in NSW. First thing tomorrow elsewhere if your newsagency is open in the morning (many are, but not all, sadly). Otherwise Saturday morning. pic.twitter.com/XIZMPNtpYn
— Best Bets Racing (@bestbetsracing) April 14, 2022
If only more publishers would support the channel on social media.
The cozy appeal of the newsagency
We have pitched this cozy look at the front of one of our shops over the last week, as part of our approach casting the business outside off what is usual for a newsagency.
The response has been wonderful with new customers visiting, and purchasing. The comments have been terrific.
All the items in the display are full suggested retail even though a third of the products were purchased at half off wholesale. The GP% being achieved form this table is above 60%, which plays against what is traditional in a newsagency.
Vicual merchandising is storytelling and the creative person who put this display together is sure a brilliant storyteller. I am so grateful to have people in the businesses who can do this.
Playing outside traditional retail seasons is vital to growth in retail newsagencies
Blue ocean strategy is all about positioning your business in clean and clear waters with less competition. Red ocean is where most are, it’s crowded and bloody.
Major seasons like Valentine’s Day are red ocean. Crowded. Competitive.
At the newsXpress newsagency marketing group business we love creating blue ocean opportunities for our members. Here is a short video from me, which I shot Thursday last week, in which I talk about blue ocean opportunities in 2022 for newsxpress members.
Photo background remover tip
Remove BG www.remove.bg is the best tool I have ever used to quickly and easily remove backgrounds from photos.
Before:
After:
And, with a black background:
From the 3 images above you can see the value of a quick tweak of an image, especially if you plan to use it online.
From the taking of the photo through to the final image, it took less than a minute.
We’ve been using this in the newsXpress community for ages along with other graphic design and adjustment tools for better images. remove BG is a must-have in the toolkit. It’s 100% free.
Having fun with Valentine’s Day in the newsagency
Where there is the traditional approach to Valentine’s Day in the newsagency of celebrating love, there is also the opportunity of having fun. The Valentine’s Day cards from the dog and from the cat cards are one example of this opportunity – these cards offer retailers an opportunity to subtly poke fun at the day, for us to not take ourselves too seriously.
Big retailers, of course, are all in, at one high-volume level, with front of store displays and, primarily, focussed on cliche items like chocolates, cheap plush sold at a premium price, flowers and cards. By playing with the quirky and at the fringe, I think we have an opportunity to stand out.
That’s what we are doing. Through some social media posts and in other ways, we are pitching an alternative, fun Valentine’s Day. Okay, we offer the traditional cards and are pitching them – but even there we are trying to be less commercial and more 2022 in the pitch. We really don’t want to get lost or unnoticed in the big retailer Valentine’s Day noise as that’s a cacophony that local retailers are less likely to win from.
I like the dog and cat card because they are niche and quirky, because they give us permission for some fun. So, that’s what’s we have been doing already on socials and in-store.
The more we play outside what is expected the more we are likely to be remembered. This is vital for our local retail businesses … and, seasons like Valentine’s Day provide is the perfect platform on which to speak to outpoints of difference, without being too obvious.
For the more traditional, but still nuanced, pitch, here;’s what we have at the counter at one of our stores.
I say nuanced because of the card selection chosen for the counter.
And, here’s what we have for Valentines Day inside the shop door. This is in a shop serving primarily retirees.
That’s not it though. We are pitching Valentine’s Day in three different locations in-store, to make the most of the opportunities its and knowing that shoppers will pass a pitch twice before noticing it the third time.
Valentine’s Day offers a unique opportunity in 2022 to pitch something to distract from the messy and challenging Covid situation and the heightened poison of this being an election year in Australia. It’s a distraction, a welcome distraction. The dog and cat card are, to me, a perfect example of welcome distraction that we can play with.
What does newsXpress offer newsagents?
To answer a query from a newsagent about newsXpress and what it offers newsagents, I decided to shoot a short video Saturday. In it I share actually results, talk about the focus on high street and regional / rural businesses and explain why the membership period is 5 years.
What I share in this video speaks to optimism about local newsagency businesses, and the channel more broadly.
Newsagents sell memories
I made this marketing pitch yesterday for my newsagency software company.
While it is a pitch for my newsagency software company, the video reflects how I see local newsagents ties connecting. We really do sell memories through many of the products we offer.
Strong November retail sales in small business newsagencies
I am grateful to the 56 newsagents who quickly shared their November 2021 vs. November 2019 sales results so I could compare and see how the channel appears to be faring this year. the dataset is a mix of businesses, city and country, in marketing groups and not. All bar two were not in major capital city shopping centres.
I compared 2021 with 2019 so as to check-in with pre-Covid trading and now, with relatively open retail settings.
After comparing data from all 56 businesses here are the averages for business performance measurement points and categories, comparing 2021 with 2019:
- Revenue: Up 27%.
- Sales count: Down 6%.
- Basket value: Up 43%.
- Items per basket: Up 10%.
- Average item value: Up 38%.
- Greeting card revenue: Up 24%.
- Magazines unit sales: Down 15%.
- Toy revenue: Up 45%.
- Gift revenue: Up 30%.
- Stationery revenue: Up 9%.
There are other categories but I’m not reporting them here as the dataset is small. For example, jewellery. I have data for five businesses and the growth is excellent, but the numbers are too small. Similar niche categories are: jigsaws, calendars, baby, homewares and garden … all delivering excellent results.
Several businesses reported no revenue growth and several others with extraordinary growth.
It is in the average item value and items per basket where we see the value for a business in that the value compounds. Now, if you can get more shoppers returning, that compounds further.
Of particular interest is the ratio of gift revenue to cards. The goal here now is $3 to $1. Some were at $.5 to $1 and others at $10 to $1. The gap in performance is considerable. Any newsagency business can sustain excellent gift revenue. I have seen this in small towns of around 1,000 people in the area through to capital city businesses. When it comes to gift revenue, population size is not the mot important factor, your range choices and in-store engagement are.
Overall, this benchmark is showing excellent results – good growth not only in revenue but good growth in overall business GP%. This is vital as selling higher GP% items sets the business to be able to sustain a revenue decline without profit decline.
The newsagency channel is healthy. The average newsagency is reporting a revenue surge and a GP surge. Newsagents have every right to be happy. Well done to everyone involved.
…
I own and run three newsagencies. Over the years I have had three others. I own newsXpress, the newsagency marketing group.
Footnote: I usually do newsagency sales benchmark studies comparing 3 and 6 month periods. 1 month is too small to call a tree on. However, it does provide an insight that can be useful not only in terms of performance but also in terms of transition, and that is evident in the data from this benchmark. More newsagents are evolving outside the lanes traditional to newsagency businesses.
CoComelon attracting new customers to the newsagency
A brand achieving YouTube video plays in the billions is sure worth considering. CoComelon is one such brand. This Bath Song video has been viewed 4.5 billion times.
In Australia, CoComelon is searched close to as many times as people search for Lego. yet, it is a brand that you will not commonly see in a newsagency.
The majors have CoComelon, as you may expect.
In my work with newsXpress I started research CoComelon, understanding what else people were searching for, understanding the shopper in the context of what we offer in our stores today. That research revealed a niche opportunity allied to another category segment doing well for us. CoComelon offered an opportunity to expand reach and to be seen by shoppers not currently seeing the business.
Now, with the brand well established in-store, it is kicking goals, attracting new shoppers as well as driving impulse purchases from existing shoppers.
But, my point today is not abut CoComelon as such. Rather, it is about using data to help uncover new shopper traffic opportunities. This is where expansion, growth, get their footing. Playing with new brands and new segments within categories is vital to our retail business journey.
From a small in-store stock weight, we have been able to deliver consistently good results already.
There is this product and allied product and then there are cards and gift packaging. It’s the whole opportunity value we are looking at and chasing when considering a marquee brand like CoComelon. This is where the data research plays a role for it is in here that we can see what the CoComelon shopper is looking for, what they are buying.
Back in the day a supplier would say, hey you should stock this, and often we would. Today, I am seeing better value from researching, chasing suppliers, often new suppliers, and discussing where the brand / range fits within the business strategy. Because this is all about being strategic from planning to buying to floor placement to social media narratives. This is where our small business nimbleness can play a role in driving success.
I use a range of commercial tools to assist the analysis. Having multiple sources helps facilitate accurate data and accurate data fuels better decisions.
I look not only for volume but also longevity, so that the pay back period for investment will fit something more useful than a fad product.
This is what newsagency management looks like today, researching, looking for new traffic opportunities, chasing data down rabbit holes and backing the evidence in the data. It is exciting in that for every ten or so we investigate, we are lucky if one is worth pursuing.
The turmoil of newspaper delivery for a regional newsagent under new News Corp arrangements in Victoria
Victoria is in the middle of considerable changes to newspaper distribution let by decisions of News Corp.. While change can be challenging, as we have seen in Queensland and New South Wales, the newspaper distribution experts at News Corp. are certainly expert at the botch up. Newsagents are suffering, enduring higher costs and upset that they are letting their long-term customers down.
Here is the experience of one regional newsagent in Victoria in dealing with the Herald and Weekly Times:
The Herald and Weekly Times replaced the reliable transport company they had used for decades to deliver papers to us and many newsagents in regional Victoria. Under the new transport company arrangement, it has been a nightmare.
Previously, papers for home delivery were delivered between 2:30am-3:30am, giving us time to unload, wrap and deliver by 6:30am. This meant deliveries were done when there was less traffic on the road. Delivery people are working longer hours and are delivering to homes in a less safe situation given more traffic on the road later in the morning.
Newspaper home delivery drivers are angry and threatening to leave. Customers are disadvantaged with later papers, often coming after they have left for work.
Circulation people at the Herald and Weekly Times have been disinterested. They tell newsagents to be patient and that what newsagents are experience are teething issues. For the first couple of weeks this could be the excuse, but months in, it is no excuse at all. To be fair to them, maybe they are saying all they can given the company’s decisions.
The Herald and Weekly Times people set the OH&S standards that newsagents are consistently unable to meet now because of their failure to deliver newspapers on time. The consistent failure puts delivery drivers and the public at risk.
The failures of this change in newspaper delivery transport arrangements is impacting the mental health of some in our channel. Yet, management at the Herald and Weekly Times, and their masters at News Corp. headquarters in Sydney appear disinterested. It feels like the News Corp. financial situation is all that matters.
I get that News Corp. wants to cut costs. But to do so in a way that even more burdens are shouldered by local small business retailers reflects a lack of ethics, it represents poor social responsibility.
I tell newsagents who tell me about the challenges relating to getting newspapers on time for home delivery to quit newspaper home delivery. There is no upside. What you make today in real terms from newspaper home delivery is less than a couple of years ago. Few newsagents genuinely profit from it. It is a distraction to other parts of the business that should be experiencing double-digit growth, and which make you happier.
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.
Why I’m not supporting National Newsagent Week
Besides it having a truly awful logo, National Newsagent Week does not interest me since it seeks to pitch all newsagents. This encourages the channel to by judged as a channel.
A retail channel is only as strong as its weakest link.
I think about the newsagency I saw recently that was dark, with half the lights off. Or the newsagency near my office with more than half the card pockets empty. Or the newsagency that sells topped magazines at a discount. Or the newsagency with stationery covered in dust.
And, then, I think about the newsagency doing close to $500,000 a year in gifts. Or the newsagency doing $100,000 a year in online sales. Or the newsagency that stopped selling magazines and tripled the money they used to make from that space.
All of these, the good and bad, could be businesses loved by local shoppers. All of them identify as newsagencies. But, can they all be promoted as one? I don’t think so.
I get that some folks want to promote the channel to nurture relevance in the mind of consumers. Their hearts are in the right place. Their intentions are good. But this execution? It’s off in my view, not developed by professional marketers.
A black and red logo that has no emotion other than what you attach to black and red: anger and stop.
As a channel we need to address the worst of the worst and understand the negative impact their businesses can have on the perception of all other businesses in the channel. This has to be addressed if we are to run a successful national campaign.
I understand that some will embrace the campaign and say they do well from it. Good luck to them and kudos to the suppliers supporting the campaign.
It’s not for me. I am happy promoting my businesses, locally, and in service of my own local communities … by offering products they want / love and doing this in a way that is truly local.
Good marketing starts from within a business. It is embedded in business decisions, which reach out into the community to attract shoppers. It does not, in my opinion, start with a campaign outside the business pushing people into any business with a common shingle. That’s very 1970s and 1980s. We have evolved from that agent world.
So, what’s the alternative? My proposal would be to take the money pitched by suppliers and somehow have this available for investment in local communities by newsagents who engage with the campaign. rather than a campaign saying come and shop with us it could be action of businesses engaged in local community support, and thereby reinforcing, through the actions, a value proposition that folks in the local community can understand. Participating newsagents could match dollar for dollar the supplier contribution.
Plenty is written about the importance of newsagencies in the local Australian communities. I think there needs to be fewer words and more action.
Newsagents: beware claims of fast profits and stellar growth
There must be something in the water, something bringing out people with loud claims of fast profits, amazing results for newsagents, the best offer ever put to newsagents, a revolution for newsagents.
These are some of the claims being pitched to newsagents in recent times.
Not one pitch I have seen recently provides evidence. Sure, there are newsagents talking them up, but, again, no evidence, no facts that can be verified.
We all want success, right?! Any pitch that feels believable, that offers success that feels attainable, can be successful for the party making the pitch.
History has shown that get rich quick schemes are not likely to succeed, that fast profits are not easy, or fast, that revolutions tend not to be.
If you’ve received a pitch that interests from you, be inquisitive. Ask tough questions. Seek evidence, get it in writing, making it clear that you want it in writing should things not go as promised.
Asking for evidence in writing will have some back off. They’ll probably say that you are not a good fit for them our that your question demonstrates lack of trust or that they don’t have time to answer you because they are too busy with people who want to proceed.
Slick sales people leverage the fear of missing out to get people to sign up quickly, before they have done any due diligence.
I have researched a couple of recent claims that have been put to newsagents and can’t find any evidence to support the claims of success.
In one case a claim about margin failed because the sales price needed for items was found to not work in shops. The real margin at which point the products did sell was half what was claimed.
In another case, online sales claims feel inflated in that the website is getting around 50 visitors a month and is ranked at the bottom of page 2 on Google.
My point is, buyer beware, do your research. It may turn out the pitch is right for you, that it delivers what you hope for, which would be terrific. It is better you make the decision with the facts and not the hype, because anyone can hype.
And, yes, I have made claims myself here at this blog. Most recently about card sales growth of 50% and more. These claims from me are based on evidence in the data. Greeting cards continue to be the best margin and easily grown products in a newsagency today.
Absolutely chase growth and success for your newsagency. But … do so based on evidence.
Videos of 4 free workshops this week for local small business retailers on how to take your business online
Monday through Thursday this week I hosted four free workshops covering a range of topics related to creating POS software connected Shopify sites and how to drive traffic to them. The goal was to share insights and offer free advice and training for retailers looking to grow online sales.
All up, the four sessions covered close to six hours.
Here are videos of the workshops for anyone interested. If you are considering a website for your business, buyer beware. There are plenty of shonky business people in the web development space. My hope is that the four workshops share information that you find useful in navigating a path to growing your online sales.
This last session is all about writing good blog posts and how they play a key role in driving traffic.
We are grateful to the retailer who participated.
SEN promotes local newsagents on social media more than any other magazine publisher
Kudos to SEN for their relentless support of local retail newsagents when promoting their flagship AFL Record. For each issue they hit their socials and promote our channel. I have not seen any other publisher do this with such consistency. Their call out for our channel is wonderful, something Victorian newsagents especially should appreciate and applaud.
In this week’s magazine, @hashbrowne pays tribute to Alastair Clarkson and retiring Blues champs Marc Murphy and Eddie Betts. Previews, stats and info, we have round 23 covered.
On sale at Coles and Vic newsagents, plus selected games for just $5.@1116sen @AFLNation pic.twitter.com/Dy1QIC6pGv— AFL Record (@AFLrecord) August 20, 2021
Join us on a walk …
It’s a trend on social media in lockdown situations to bring the shop to people who otherwise may not get to see it, by using video. Here is a video I shot at my Southland business Tuesday last week using my iPhone and a bit of software to add music and text.
With shopper traffic down, creating video content is a good use of your time, from walkthrough videos to product videos. You can collect content for release over the next couple of months.
Now, if you think this is too hard to do … seriously, I spent less than 10 minutes on this whole thing. I’ll pitch it 2 or 3 times of social media. It’s content unique to the shop, which matters with so much same same content out there.