Part I:
The economy is particularly rough right now and you are seeing a loss of sales from prior year's same time frame comparisons. What do you do?
Advertise and reduce pricing is the obvious and instinctive choice; but how do you do it effectively?
By ranking, the forms of advertising available are generally as follows.
- Word of Mouth
- Direct Mail
- Newspaper/Internet
- Radio/T.V.
- Other
I'm going to attempt to assist you in thinking through a few alternatives for you to consider.
Word of Mouth is quite simply generated through your prior history in the community that you serve. Direct Mail is very effective, provided you are targeting your audience. You can purchase supplemental lists that can be refined by income, location and various other criteria suited to your needs. (Shopping distance from your store, should be reasonably limited to two to five miles in urban areas and further in rural areas.)
We've all seen most of the forms available of post cards, flyers, fold over glossy handouts and some direct mail letters. I'm going to give you an assumed example for you to play with and adjust to your needs.
One page, inserted in a simple legal size envelope with a suitable stamp on the envelope - not indicia addressed. (That gives away the contents and generally gets tossed in the trash without opening it.)
The following page contains an example of things you can try or embellish upon suitable to your store.
Your Store Logo
Address
(No Phone number)
Dear Friends, Neighbors and Clients;
Commencing Wednesday (date), we will be offering ALL Gizzmo's at40% OFF!
In addition we will be Celebrating our _________SALE and inviting you to visit us on Wednesday morning for Coffee and Danish between 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
You are the first to know, we won't advertise this until Thursday in the Picayune Peep in our weekly advertisement.
There will be many additional events and offerings over the next four weeks and we want you to be able to take advantage of those events, first as well! So be sure to give us your current address and bring a friend that you want to share in your priveleges.
On Saturday (date), we will be giving out free crayon sets and a coloring book for EVERY CHILD that you bring to the store. The more, the better!
A little extra hintas to one event that will be coming, we will be inviting children with their parents to participate in a window mural contest. We'll provide the water colors and our Mayor has kindly consented to officiate as Judge.
Remember to plan to stop by on Wednesday (date), for Coffee and Danish and take advantage of the phenomenal price break on ALL Gizzmo's starting that day too!
We know exactly how rough things have been for everyone, what with the news and various prognostications. We just want to try and pick up the mood a bit.
Your Good Friends at Fleeglecaugh's Emporium;
(First name only and possibly the entire staff's first names)
I want to go over the letter with you now and explain what you are accomplishing. First of all, you are executing the inverted “S” method of advertising that insures that the reader's eye flow continues throughout your message. By highlighting/italicizing and/or underlining, you are causing their eye to follow down the length of the letter and thereby getting more of your message across to your audience.
You have offered a tremendous price break (on Gizzmo's) that isn't being matched anywhere in town. (Gizzmo's should be something of a high turn nature in your regular inventory or a new line that you simply know will be popular from the onset.) You can and I would strongly suggest adding other items or categories. The reason for % discounts vs. a specific price is twofold. You want the offering to have impact without giving away your intended price to competitors and you want your regular audience to possibly check out the regular price before Wednesday and return on Wednesday.
You have acknowledged the tough times by responding with a positive effort. You are planning events for the children of your community and giving them tantalizing insights of future events. What you are accomplishing is WORD OF MOUTH advertising and generating interest in not only this weeks offering but future offers.
You are inviting the community to help you expand your mailing list or e-mail list if you prefer. You are setting a tone of privilege for your long time customers and their friends.
*Whatever you intend to give away, be sure to have enough. Also, have letters available at the store to hand to anyone that happens in or has been invited in with your regular clients.
Be creative, as creative as you care to be or can be! By all means change it; simply don't violate the inverted “S” or the psychological good you are attempting to convey subliminally and overtly.
Why would I suggest you not put your phone number in the letter? Simple, you don't want your customers to let their fingers do the walking in your store. You want them walking in your store! (In some instances, where delivery of furniture or various types of goods may require that you keep the phone number, by all means do so.) Use first class mail and drop it at the Post Office on Monday morning prior to your Wednesday event. I wouldn't even necessarily put my Store name and address on the outside of the envelope. Builds in more assurance that the letter will be opened!
(As to my background and experience?) I Consulted to Independent Retail Store Owners throughout the U.S. during the Farm Crisis and Drought and Economic downturn of the 80's.
I and others like myself went in and got stores going again from Anchorage to Florida and many stops between in all general types of retail. We generated 3 times the sales from prior year when we went in and in the cases where we were asked to close a store; we generated 110% of cost of inventory in 8 weeks and in some instances more quickly.
This is the first installment of a complete program that is identical to the one that I would teach if I were contracted to execute a promotion in your store. I'm too old to travel and I genuinely fear what is coming in the economy. My livelihood was primarily through retail for over 40 years, in multiple capacities from stock boy to General Mgr./Buyer/Marketing Mgr./Consultant.
