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

Google needs to do better in managing business reviews

A colleague retailer recently experienced someone posting a negative review for their business based on an incident that had occurred more that a year prior.

The review was unfair given that it related to a customer complaining about the business following the public health mask guidelines at the time.

The reviewer used an email address that does not work and did not use their real name.

The review was clearly posted to harm the reputation of the newsagency, and done so anonymously.

I have seen plenty of local retail businesses unfairly attacked through Google reviews. It’s time Google provided a transparent process for managing them, to ensure fairness for all concerned.

In my own case I have had a couple of different people using fake names, and who were never customers, post negative reviews for my software company.

That Google allows anonymous reviews to be posted and does not engage in reasonable discussion as to the facts as claimed in a review damages the reputation of reviews overall. The company needs to provide checks and balances given the commercial harm that negative reviews can cause.

6 likes
Social responsibility

Free online workshop: Websites for newsagents

You’re invited to a free online workshop Thursday this week @ 2pm.

Websites for newsagents will look at:

  • how newsagents can be successful online
  • why this matters
  • pot holes to watch out for
  • what it costs
  • what about after you are live
  • easy steps you can take today to prepare

I’ll be hosting the session and sharing plenty of lessons from the last few years.

Please have your camera on so people can see who you are. Please come with questions, too. Here’s how you can connect. :

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86342284316?pwd=M1A1WGw2MkNDL0lFQVQrWjdRd3VSZz09

Meeting ID: 863 4228 4316 Passcode: 586410

Thursday June 23 @ 2pm Melbourne time.

I will record the session for people keen and who cannot make it.

Being online is as important today as having a photocopier in your newsagency was 10 or 15 years ago. The biggest challenge I see confronting newsagents in particular is what to sell online. I’ve seen some spin their wheels over this for months. Some take the approach of putting as much of their shop online as the can while others treat the new website as a start up business. I am more from the latter camp.

In this workshop my goal is to not try and sell you anything. rather, I am keen to share experiences so that you can make more informed decisions. I see too many retailers, including newsagents, making decisions about websites that waste money.

If you can spare an hour Thursday I am sure it will be worth your while.

4 likes
Newsagency management

The nursery opportunity for Aussie newsagents

Nursery related sales are strong in newsagencies strong in this segment. It stands to reason since our shops are the go-to shops for baby cards.

Too often, though, newsagents with strong baby card sales fail to leverage the gifting opportunity. This is true across the card captions – we have excellent data indicating purchase intent that we miss to leverage for gifting sales.

In my own shops, nursery product sales are terrific. This is driven in part by out of store marketing, but very effectively through in-store product placement and display. Like this feature display.

And this one.

These displays are not what shoppers expect to see in a newsagency, in terms of the displays themselves and the range of products on offer. These displays have been done by a team member with a gift for creating visually appealing and engaging displays, ensuring they are shapable, and enticing.

The displays in the photos are next to each other, with related products the same shopper may find appealing on the wall behind – to maximise the visit value for us.

Currently in Australia, there are 200,000 searches online each month for baby and nursery related gifts, placing the segment among top performers of retail related product searches. This search engine dataset is useful in that it reinforces the value of the segment, proves interest among shoppers. But, we can see that ourselves in our greeting card data, as I noted above.

For me, greeting card data is key to exploring other product segments we could expand in. We have used it for years, and benefited commercially from its use.

Any newsagent can do what I have described here. It’s easy:

  • Look at your card data.
  • Expand, with a modest budget, based on shopper intent opportunities.
  • Pull together existing product and modestly supplement with new product.
  • Create visually appealing displays.
  • Measure and adjust to need.

It’s all basic retail management really. It’s essential, especially in 2022 when we have the pandemic led opportunity to play outside what has been usual for our channel and when so many more people are living and working locally than prior to the pandemic.

If you’re not offering nursery related products check card sales in your newsagency … if they show opportunity, dive in.

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Newsagency management

Promoting magazine range

It is disappointing that there is no marketing of magazine range in Australia. The only marketing is modest spends for some titles. The category itself is ignored. We make our own. Here’s one we launched for one of my shop in Malvern, VIC, yesterday.

I’m pretty happy with 1,800 views in 24 hours.

9 likes
magazines

The battle for early toy sales

Big W kicked off their annual toy sale yesterday with some massive discounts including claims of up to 50% off some LEGO, Barbie, NERF, Bluey, Disney, Marvel and more.

Their goals here are to drive traffic in a usually quiet time for retail, and to capture early Christmas shoppers.

Given the reach of the Big W marketing spend across a range of media, including a strong social media presence, the toy sale presents a challenge to indie retailers in the toy space.

I think this is what the back half of 2022 looks like: big retailers promotive massive sales. Advertising discounts is the only tool they seem to know.

At local indie retailer level there are smarter moves we can make. For example, offering genuine in-store experiences, safe LayBy, Christmas wrapping parties, special orders, local delivery and more.

It is easy to get caught up in a price fight. The thing is though, local indie retailers done;t win from a price fight. Discounting is a no-win situation.

If you sell products that compete with mass retailers, the next few months will be challenging. The more you play away from their red ocean the better.

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Newsagency management

How small business retailers can manage and be prepared for the increase in labour cost

The Fair Work Commission decision to increase award wages yesterday is being reported in some media outlets as a blow to small business owners.

The increase in wages is still less than the increase in rent. I mention that solely as a reference point – given that retailers sign leases with those increases locked in.

To deal with rising business costs, it’s appropriate that businesses increase what they charge where they can. Here are some things newsagents can do:

  • Cards. review the average sell price of cards you stock and consider whether your supplier could help you stock more expensive cards without negatively impacting sales.
  • Photocopying. Most newsagents undercharge for this. It’s a convenience service. Charge as such.
  • Stationery. The common mark up is 100%. Consider increasing that to 105%. In many newsagencies, stationery sales are convenience based. Charging a convenience premium is fair.
  • Gifts. Your target gift revenue should be at least 3 times your card revenue. This is a category over which you have more control on price. Reach beyond what you have been doing.
  • Be serious about a loyalty offer. The more people purchase in a visit, the more valuable the visit. It takes work, but can easily fund itself and enhance the bottom line.
  • Review the roster. An hour trimmed each week funds 20 hours of the increase.

This list is a start. Smart newsagents will already be doing these things and more.

On balance, the actions need to include increasing margin where you can, getting existing shoppers spending more, attracting new shoppers and driving total floorspace efficiency. These are all retail management 101 steps, all achievable. Those focussed as agents may struggle, but that is the lot of an agent. retailers, engaged retailers, will be in good shape.

Talk to your marketing group, seek their advice. They should already be onto this with you.

Any local retail business managed well can digest the modest hourly rate increase without missing a beat.

This is an opportunity for us to show some business journos and some in big business retail trade groups that dealing with the wage rise can be done successfully in local small business retail.

7 likes
Newsagency management

ACM announces significant price increases to regional newspapers

Daily and weekly regional newspapers published by Rural Press’ Australian Community Media will cost more from the end of this month. Here is the announcement sent yesterday afternoon to newsagents:

Dear Retail Outlet

The cover price of most of our print titles will increase from Monday June 27, 2022.

This is only the second increase we have had in the past four years, and whilst the last increase was just 12 months ago, there have been significant cost changes for our business recently.

We here at ACM want to let you know why this change is necessary so that you and your staff are fully informed.

We want you to be able to engage meaningfully with customers about this change because it is our firm belief that we all – our readers, our advertisers, our staff and our retail partners – recognise the continuing value of trusted local news coverage that serves our communities.

As our publications have reported in recent weeks, Australia’s regional newspapers have been hit with an unexpected 80 per cent increase in the cost of newsprint.

These higher costs begin to take effect from July 1, 2022.

With rising fuel and energy prices and other supply chain pressures adding further unavoidable costs to the production and distribution of our products, we are asking our readers to support their favourite local newspaper by paying a higher cover price.

This will be a vital contribution towards keeping our publications in print, and it will help sustain local journalism, our business and in turn yours, by keeping our products available in the local marketplace.

The cover price rise will go some way towards offsetting the higher cost of newsprint but it won’t fully cover it.

That’s why we have also sought government support to protect local newspapers, regional news coverage and journalism jobs.

As we told our readers in May, ACM’s 140 mastheads around the country have joined with Country Press Australia, representing 190 other smaller titles, to seek emergency relief from the newsprint price shock.

The new Labor government’s commitment to deliver a $10 million “crisis response” package for the sector is most welcome.

As we await details of the promised funding measures from newly sworn-in Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland, we will be explaining fully to our readers why this cover price rise is unavoidable and essential for the future of their favourite local newspaper.

For the readers of our 14 daily titles, we will also be offering the chance to win fuel for a year.

This promotion runs for two weeks from June 27. In every day’s paper we’ll be publishing a different secret code word. With the purchase of each day’s paper, you get a new code word to be able to enter the draw to win one of 10 x $4000 Fuel for a year prizes, plus additional minor prizes of $500 fuel cards.

A similar competition last year was enthusiastically received by our readers and we look forward to our network of retail partners backing this year’s promotion with point-of-sale displays and word-of-mouth endorsement over the counter.

As always, thank you for your continuing support for our products and the vital service they provide the local community.

Increasing prices is fraught in any business. Keys to acceptance are the value of the product and how you communicate around the increase. I think ACM management have done a pretty good job in this email to newsagents.

2 likes
Newspapers

Local school parent groups and charities need to change their approach to asking small business retailers for donations

Local small business retailers are asked several times week by school parent groups and other local community groups and charities for donations. Here is one example I saw yesterday. I share it as it demonstrates what not to do. It’s lazy, ignorant and disrespectful. It’s one-way. While I’m sure they think acknowledging the business on advertising has value, it does not.

If I was speaking with this school parent group I’d tell them the one thing they could do to get engagement from local retailers:

Shop with them.

Yes, it’s that simple.

Now, this could work a couple of ways. Getting parents to shop with local retailers could be leveraged to get local retailers to donate to the parents group. Better still,  local retailers could set up a mutual loyalty program in their POS software. each purchase could reward the parents and the parent’s group. It’s easy to track this, to trade with local retailers to build a bank that is donated to the parent’s group.

Local retail businesses are only able to donate to community groups if they have the financial capacity. The only way they achieve that is when people;e spend money in their shops. This is why the starting point for any charity or community group putting their hand out to any business is to ask: What are we doing for them? What are we doing to enable them to donate to us? If the answer is nothing, then fix that first.

Big businesses say yes to donations as they budget for it and because they see it as easy marketing. They have a corporate umbrella cover bring them. A family owned local retail business is stand-alone. It relies on day to day trade. This is why any donation needs to be considered transactionally.

Local small business retailers could be on the front foot about this. They could setup a mutual loyalty program so it’s all set and ready to go, so next time a charity or community group puts out their hand they, instead, pitch the loyalty program that, if engaged with, could be more financially rewarding for the community group or charity.

Now, there may be some in the community groups or charities who say it’s too complex or challenge why they have to shop in a shop to get it to donate. If you hear that, it shows ignorance, and it demonstrates how little they actually value you.

I’d written about this topic before. It is frustrating seeing the ignorance displayed by some groups when they ask for donations. Their approach, like the example above, demonstrates a lack of understanding about how business works.

22 likes
Social responsibility

Appalling editorial decision by the Sydney Morning Herald in seeking to out Rebel Wilson

So, it was an abundance of caution and respect that this media outlet emailed Rebel Wilson’s representatives on Thursday morning, giving her two days to comment on her new relationship with another woman, LA leisure wear designer Ramona Agruma, before publishing a single word.

Big mistake. Wilson opted to gazump the story, posting about her new “Disney Princess” on Instagram early Friday morning, the same platform she had previously used to brag about her handsome ex-boyfriend, wealthy American beer baron Jacob Busch.

This ‘story‘ in The Sydney Morning Herald reflects, in my opinion, poorly on the editorial decisions of the newspaper.

They are upset that Rebel Wilson decided to come out, ahead of their story. While we will never know if Rebel would have made the announcement as and when she did, what we do know is that the enquiry from the SMH and their advice they would run the story preceded it.

In the SMH story they try and justify their behaviour.

Considering how bitterly Wilson had complained about poor journalism standards when she successfully sued Woman’s Day for defamation, her choice to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming.

This, in a story that reflects poor journalism, poor editorial decisions and reads like bullying.

No news outlet, no person has the right to out anyone. It is no one else’s business until the person or people directly involved decide. When it is done it is hurtful, harmful and, too often, dangerous.

There is no newsworthiness in Rebel Wilson’s personal life, unless your business model is predicated on making money off of gossip.

The story in the SMH makes them the story, their editorial choices and how they treat gay people, threaten them, bully them. That’s how I see it. And, yes, I have a vested interest in that it happened to me years ago, not in the SMH or any newspaper, but my agency was taken from me by gossips and others.

How the SMH has handled the story could impact others in the closet, famous or not as it shows anyone that outing someone is okay and that pressuring them about their sexuality is okay. It is not okay to out someone and it is not okay to pressure someone to come out.

The SMH has diminished itself through its behaviour on this. The masthead owes an apology to Rebel Wilson.

Why does this matter here? We sell this stuff and some days I hate that I do.

17 likes
Ethics

Not all shopping centres are recovering from Covid the same

While high street shopping appears to be strong and better than pre-Covid, for at least most of the stores I have seen data for, in shopping centres it is a different story.

Retailers in some centres are doing well while some in other centres are down significantly on 2019 trade.

I’d like to see state and federal governments work together to capture accurate data to assess the situation, to help us understand how shopping centres, overall, are performing in 2022 compared to pre-Covid and, then, how each centre is performing. 

I suspect an independent study would reveal significant differences in the performance of each centre. I am sure we would see some centres have bounced back while others have not. It is in that second group, where tenants are dealing with annual rental increases of 5% and more where we may find significant financial pressure, brought on by Covid.

Any study should only be about understanding the situation, and not about laying blame. If one centre is performing poorly while another is performing well, it does not mean the poorly performing centre is being run poorly. There are many factors that could be driving the different results. We can’t consider that until we have the data. That’s why a government-led study would be useful.

While landlords have sales data, their interests are too vested, too narrow, for that to be of value nationally. An independent assessment of the situation would be helpful, especially for the independent retailers in these centres.

In one situation I was looking at this week, revenue is stubbornly sitting at 20% less than in 2019 for a vibrant and appealing business that is engaged on social media and undertaking other marketing to attract shoppers. Their business is in a category that is strong out on the high street.

In another situation, revenue is down 15% which nearby retailers in the same category are up 20% … and the nearby retailers are doing less marketing and offer a less appealing (in any opinion) experience than in the shopping centre.

But this post is not about specific retailers. Rather, it is a call for a national assessment of retail performance in shopping centres so that we can understand if there is a problem, and if so, the centres in which the problem is amplified. Again, landlords are unlikely to drive this. That’s why I hope governments engage.

With most of the Covid support now gone, small business retailers have few options. Those in shopping centres that are yet to be back at pre-Covid trading levels are facing operating costs that, for some, will be unsustainable. No one wins from that – the landlord, governments, the community, the owners. The sooner we have data to understand if there is an issue and the scope of it the better.

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Newsagency management

With Covid impacting staffing and other aspects of retail

Here’s our approach to mitigating to Covid challenge in our shops:

  • Screens at the counter. We have retained these as they offer protection for us and customers. There is zero customer push-back.
  • Masks. We urge team members to wear masks when working.
  • Sanitiser. Remains freely available in-store.
  • Cleaning. Remains at peak Covid levels. All common touchpoint are cleaned on a regular cycle.
  • Vaccination. All team members are asked to get vaccination boosters as soon as they are eligible.

This pandemic has a ways to go yet. The reported infection rate is high, meaning the real rate is much higher. Worse, the death rate is tragic.

5 likes
Social responsibility

Advice for suppliers pitching to local small business retailers

Do you have any idea how many pitches a retailer gets from suppliers every day?

Many, too many, every day. And, what makes it worse is that there is a sameness to the pitches – over written, loaded with claims and rarely tuned to my local business needs. Most emails or calls or visits come from a place of selfishness, based on what they need. A better approach would be them thinking first how can they help, how can they add value to your business without you having to commit?

There is too much lazy communication. And, I say this as a retailer and a supplier to retailers. I have made the mistake of sending emails and letters that were selfish. When I switched my approach to add value, or at least try and genuinely add value, sales surged. It built trust. Giving away knowledge that any retailer could use without having to spend anything is key to this.

So, what matters to retailers, what does a supplier need to do to get their attention?

In my opinion – I say that deliberately since every retailer will have their own views on this – here is how a supplier can get my attention:

  • Be clear and efficient in communication. Don’t over write, don’t wrap your pitch in fluff.
  • Be factual. Give me data, which can be fact-checked, that shows the value of the pitch to my business. For example, what Google search data is there to indicate shopper interest in the products or the product categories?
  • Be helpful. Explain what you provide beyond inventory that could be helpful: images, social media collateral, product descriptions, electronic invoices.
  • Be focussed. Sending me a link to your catalogue is hilarious. Sure, I have an hour to click your link, probably apply for a password if you are really bad at your job, and trawl through pagers looking for what I am not sure. The fewer keystrokes I have to click to engage with you the better.
  • Have stock. Suppliers selling in advance of having stock only to find not everything arrives is a waste of our time.

I am in business to sell product as this is what enables me to pay rent, wages, overheads and myself. Anything that you send my or pitch to me that does not obviously support my needs is a waste of my time.

Thinking about this, sell price, margin and stock turn are all factors. I am keen for products that leverage all three. A supplier pitching a product at a discount has me wary, regardless of the extent of the discount. Cheap product is useless unless it sells, and, ideally, faster than usual.

For too long, our channel has been pitched to through old-school approaches. Covid, thankfully, has shown that we can thrive without some of these. The future is ahead of us, not back in those past ways. Smart suppliers have learned through Covid, they have found ways to pitch efficiently and effectively, to cut through and deliver to retailers what retailers want / need. Fewer rep visits. fewer cold calls. Fewer bland emails.

When I am buying today I preference:

  • Genuinely Australian made.
  • Immediately available.
  • Free samples for products that sell more easily if there are samples for customers.
  • Ranges that tell a story.
  • Ranges I can leverage to find new shoppers.

Here are some other points related to this discussion about supplier engagement with local retailers …

You are not entitled.

I appreciate that may came off as offensive. That’s not my intent. But, it is true. We owe you nothing, regardless of your connection to our business. Any supplier is only as valuable as their last product supply.

No thanks.

That’s the best default response to every supplier pitch. Start with no. make them work for it. make them work harder to get their inventory into your shop.

Start with no and encourage them to make a business case.

You don’t have an appointment.

That alone should have you showing any drop-in the door. The moment you agree to meet with a drop-in rep weakens your position. The more we make the point that drop-ins are not welcome the better they will treat us.

A coffee, a beer or lunch are irrelevant to what you should stock.

There are plenty of old-school suppliers who think buying you a coffee or a beer or more is the best way to get you to bu from them.  I’m in business for business reasons, not social reasons. Let’s stay focussed on business, and is good social times flow, great – but let’s not lead with that.

Buying space.

Some suppliers seek to guarantee engagement by paying for shelf space or fixtures. Too often, this does not serve the retailer well. While a supplier funding a nice looking fixture or covering the lease cost of some space may feel like a good move for cash flow, it is only a good move if the inventory they please there turns well, better than what you could do yourself. This type of funding comes at a cost to the business.

13 likes
Ethics

Playing outside tradition helps drive new traffic

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the Avant Cycle Cafe in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a few weeks ago. How this bike shop has curated shopper traffic appeal beyond what is traditional for that channel is an opportunity for any local retailer to consider.

Lake Geneva is a small town with a. population of abound 8,000, which swells in the summer. What they have done at Avant to broaden appeal is smart. I’ve seen newsagency businesses in Australia do similar. Join me on a closer look at this business.

What I particularly like is that each business, the cafe and cycle shop, is separate, but they link, cohesively. I also like that each part of the business is rooted in passion, and that stands out, it also is key to driving traffic.

10 likes
Newsagency opportunities

News Corp. updates VIC newsagents on product printing and distribution

News Corp. sent this to newsagents Friday last week. It doesn’t address the fact that the old newspaper home delivery arrangements better served local communities than the current arrangements, even though the old arrangements underpaid newsagents for the work they did.

3 June 2022

Update on printing & distribution of newspapers in Greater Melbourne & Geelong

Dear Newsagent/Retailer,

As you would be aware, we have recently moved printing of our newspapers to a new production facility in Truganina. We also commenced the transition to a new consolidated distribution model.

We acknowledge this has caused challenges and whilst we are making progress, our team is working hard to further improve and ensure that we provide you with a consistent and timely service. We do appreciate your continued understanding and support with this.

PRINTING:
Background
In 2020, News committed a significant investment to construct a new facility in Truganina that included modern equipment needed to enable production long into the future.

This investment helped to deliver an improved product for readers, such as full colour availability throughout the paper. It also increased our capability to provide more supplements into our papers, such as the recently launched VWeekend in Saturday’s Herald Sun.

Amongst the normal challenges of a new facility, the project was managed over the peak of CoVID and lockdowns.

Status
Production performance and equipment reliability has been slowly improving, as have dispatch times. We recognise that further improvement is required to ensure we consistently meet our targets.

What’s Next
To further improve dispatch times, we have a number of initiatives underway such as:

Earlier editorial deadlines on some products
Installing a second inline automated wrapper for home delivery copies
Increased on-site offline wrapping capability for home delivery copies

DISTRIBUTION:
Background
In late 2021, we commenced transitioning our distribution model towards a consolidated distributor. The transition plan is spread over 15 months. It is a process that has previously been undertaken successfully in Sydney and Brisbane, providing a more sustainable model to get papers to our valued retailers and subscribers.

Status
Our consolidated distributor, NDS is currently delivering about half of all newspaper copies printed in Truganina each night. Like many industries, the supply chain has been challenged by driver recruitment and retention.

What’s Next
To further improve our delivery arrival times a number of steps are being taken, including:

Increasing the number of vehicles used
Recruiting additional drivers
Improving delivery run sequencing
Increasing warehouse capacity for retail product preparation
Deferring the timing of some upcoming distributor transitions

We’re also working towards introducing reporting of arrival times at retail outlets, which will help improve visibility of problem territories.

CONTACT US:
To better support you, we have increased staffing in our call centres, including on weekends.

Should you have any questions or issues, please contact your Area Logistics Manager, Area Sales Manager or the News Retail Support team on 1800 639 700 or via email at newsagents@news.com.au.

Kind Regards,

News Corp Australia

5 likes
Newspaper distribution

Omega Mart by Meow Wolf – an immersive and confrontative retail-inspired art installation

I am grateful to have been able to visit Omega mart by Meow Wolf at Area 15 in Las Vegas recently. This retail-inspired immersive art installation gets you from the moment you enter the shop.

It sells the most ridiculous of products.

Omega Mart challenges the senses, especially when you step trough the retail displays into the behind the scenes of the ‘shop’.

As a retailer I found it fascinating looking at the perspective of retail the artists brought to life in this. It was a very different cultural experience, one I enjoyed immensly, and one I have reflected on plenty of times since as I have contemplated retail of the future.

5 likes
Fun

UK partworks publisher Eaglemoss ditches Aussie newsagents after years of loyal service for a paltry margin

UK artworks publisher Eaglemoss has decided to supply the Doctor Who part series from issue 201 on direct to customers in Australia. The decision was announced in a letter to collectors.

Eaglemoss has not written to newsagents thanking them for their years of loyal service.

I reached out to the company through a couple of social media platforms querying the decision and received no response.

Eaglemoss has consistently failed to provide newsagents reasonable supply of artworks titles, so I wonder how they will go at providing their direct customers with product. Given their lacklustre customer service, I wonder how Australian subscribers will fare. There is no evidence to suggest it will go well.

It is disappointing the artworks experts at Are Direct were unable to retain previous distribution arrangements for newsagents. I wonder what their take is on the decision? Maybe I missed an announcement from them on this.

Is this the end of artworks in Australian newsagencies? It’s hard to say. But, the future is not bright. That won’t bother plenty who gave up on artworks after years and years of supply failures and the ever present competiton of sweet direct subscription deals.

To some us, however, artworks have been terrific traffic generators that we have sought to leverage into other opportunities. I have written about this plenty of times here. While their value has waned in the years since the closure of the Bissett business, a good part series was one I’d always engage with – primarily because of the TV campaign that specifically tagged our channel. It was the one time we were exclusively named in a TVC.

But back to Eaglemoss and their decision to ditch local Aussie newsagents as the retailers of the Doctor Who part series. Shame on them for their treatment of Aussie newsagents. We deserve better from them. Their Australian collectors deserve better from them.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Of course, this decision plays into a narrative about magazines, which is challenging to avoid. The problem is, we have big business vested interests who are unlikely to engage in genuinely transparent dialogue on the topic.

11 likes
Ethics

Connecting with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations

There was a time when every royal celebration or anniversary was a big deal in Australia, and shops would have a range of products with which people could engage.

It’s 2022, and times have changed. That said, there is good interest in the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. As an authorised partner of the Royal Australian Mint, I am grateful he have access to mint coin products marking the occasion.

The coins have the dual appeal – to those who support and / or loyalty the Royal Family, and, too coin collectors.

We have found them useful in attracting shoppers who might otherwise not have considered us. Having an online store to easily connect with them has been key – not only for sales but for those who use the online store to find products they then come into the shop to purchase.

We have made the most of the opportunity through in-store product placement, email marketing and social media engagement, with collateral we created ourselves.

While we do have all the magazines with the Queen on the cover, plenty of other retailers have them too. The coins are a little less accessible elsewhere, which I like. They have given us an opportunity to differentiate.

I’d note the price point range of $12.50 to $100.00 makes these collector coins accessible to a wide group.

While I am no booster for the Royal Family, I am glad to haver had these products and plenty of our customers are appreciating them.

3 likes
Newsagency opportunities

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

Stocktake training for small business retailers

My advice to retailers is to never pay an outside party to do your stocktake and never do a stocktake outside of your POS software.

The most accurate stocktake result for any retail business is doing it yourself, using your POS software.

Recently, I got together with one of the stocktake experts at Tower Systems to discuss this and answer common stocktake questions we are asked.

Again …

  • Don’t use an external stocktaker.
  • Do your stocktake yourself.
  • Use your POS software to record, live, m the stock count.

This is the best approach for maintaining accurate stock on hand data and for valuing stock prior to a change of hands of the business.

1 likes
Newsagency management

Newspaper publishers continue to fail to understand shopper loyalty

The marketing approach by newspaper publishers is, in my view, selfish and ignorant. Look at these offers from The Age:

They discount to customers far more than the meagre margin made by retailers. They offer the discount by locking you into a service that is patchy in performance at best.

And, their offers ignore the easiest low hanging fruit opportunity to drive loyalty – the already loyal over the counter newspaper customer.

They could easily pitch to over the counter customers a pre-pay offer that achieves the same lock in, which is what the publisher wants for their advertising pitch.

If they had not disrespected newsagents so much, they could have worked with the channel for a genuinely mutually beneficial result. Instead, they pursue poor performing home delivery at a discount far deeper than the wholesale cost of the paper.

Maybe I am missing something, but, from where I sit, the move looks ignorant.

6 likes
Newspapers

The Texas Tribune coverage of the horror at Uvalde is a reminder of the value of local independent journalism

What happened at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde a few days ago is awful, horrible. That it is a repeat of too many similar tragedies represents an appalling failure of leadership at many levels of US government.

The Texas Tribune is a not for profit newspaper.

The Texas Tribune is the only member-supported, digital-first, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

The Tribune was founded in 2009 by John Thornton (a venture capitalist in Austin for nearly 20 years and passionate believer in public media), Evan Smith (the veteran editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly and host of a weekly interview program on PBS stations), and Ross Ramsey (former owner and editor of Texas Weekly, the state’s premier newsletter on politics and government, now rebranded as The Blast).

This Twitter thread from Sewell Chan, the Editor in Chief of the Texas Tribune shows the importance and value of community funded independent journalism. I share it today to highlight their excellent journalism and to provide insights from Texas on what happened and some history. If you have a moment, I urge you to read what Sewell shared on Twitter:

9 likes
Social responsibility
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