Marketing: Make It A Top Priority!

 

You know marketing is key to business success—and that much of the publicity you generate can cost little or nothing. So why leave marketing tasks simmering on your store’s back burner? Shirley Frazier, gift and gourmet industry specialist and president of Sweet Survival, helps you turn up the heat on your marketing efforts.

 

Q. Why should every retailer have a marketing plan in place?

A. A marketing plan assures that your business continues to thrive and not just exist. It truly brings more traffic through your door month after month and increases sales based on what you plan to promote. Of course, you [want to continue to draw in] your loyal customers, but you also want to steadily bring in new customers. A marketing plan will assure that more people find out about your store.

 

Q. How much do most retailers spend on marketing each year? What are some realistic marketing goals?

A. The rule of thumb in most industries globally is to spend 3 to 5 percent of annual gross income on marketing. Objectives depend on a retailer’s goals. I suggest you look at your store’s previous-year income for one quarter, and plan to increase the [same quarter] current-year’s income by a minimum of 10 percent. Most store owners want 20 percent and more. But in certain areas [of the nation], that might not happen. In today’s economy, fewer people are buying because of their own strained incomes. You need to consider that when deciding how you will bring people into your store

to loosen up the change in their wallets! Also, you need to give them an idea of why they should come into your store.

            This can be done in several ways that don’t cost a lot of money. Call a staff meeting and have a brainstorming session with staff on different ways to increase income in the store. Out of that brainstorming can come ideas for contests, window displays, artist demonstrations and more. Only one activity per month or every other month will increase traffic.

 

Q. What are some marketing ideas that can generate free publicity?

A. Anything to do with children will bring customers and the media out. It could be a face-painting event or an art contest where children’s art is put in a window display or hung on store walls. Everyone loves to see what young people have created, and whole families will visit your store. One retailer’s brainstorming session resulted in a window display that was created by incoming high school seniors. Their displays had to do with going back to school.

            Contests that take consumers back to the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s are popular, especially those involving home decor. Have participants bring in the items they have from those eras and let people judge which are the coolest, wackiest or tackiest. These retro items can be for display only and placed in a store area with current retro-themed products.

            One of the best ways to get the media involved in an event is to have them take part as a judge. So many reporters are stuck taking notes and really like being involved. At one retail store, customers were being shown how to wrap gifts with different types of tissue and bows. The store owner asked the reporter to wrap a gift, too. She put her pen and paper down, and went through the motions.  She absolutely loved it!

            A contest could be for the person wearing the most outrageous shoes, hat or sunglasses. Costume events also bring in customers and the media. These contests don’t have to be just at Halloween. There can be “flapper” costume events during the summer. Or you can time a contest with the premiere of a movie and judge the best costume based on the movie. An example would be the best “Iron Man” costume.

 

Q. What tips can you offer for writing press releases and contacting the media?

A. Press releases must give readers [and reporters] a good reason to travel to your store. Keep superlatives like “best” and “greatest” out of the release. It’s better to describe the event or product in relation to how your customers would think. They will think about how an event will benefit their lives or streamline their time.

            It’s acceptable to quote yourself in a press release, but the quote is best when it has benefit-driven information in it. If you have photos of your store or from past events, include them before the text in the press release begins. Or type in that “Photographs are available.” Be sure to include your day and evening phone numbers in releases. Also, have an alternative person to speak with the press if you’re not in the store. [If not,] a reporter will be working within a deadline and will pass you over. Remember that it’s okay if your first press releases don’t get picked up. The more you write [and send] monthly releases to reporters, the closer you [are] to getting the publicity you deserve.

            Research your local paper to find the food, lifestyle and local section writers.  Send releases to [them] every month about upcoming events in your store.  Call the editor directly to ask what types of stories he or she is working on.  Call the roving reporter at your local television [and radio] station, telling him or her about your store’s upcoming event.  If requested, send a short letter by fax or email regarding the event.  Call the media two weeks in advance of an event.  It’s also okay to call a day or two before an event as a reminder and to learn if [a newspaper or TV or radio station] will have a reporter or photographer in your store for an event.

Note: To find out more about Giftbeat, the trend-tracking newsletter, go to www.giftbeat.com. You can reach Shirley Frazier at 973-279-2799 or shirley@sweetsurvival.com.

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