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Mail and Parcel Center Stores' Article: Autumn Advertising and Planning Ideas
To continue with our seasonal sales and marketing ideas, following are some ideas to promote your business in the autumn months of the year. Autumn is my favorite time of the year, even though I plan for it in the late summer. As I sweat in the July and August heat, I feel a cool breeze.
As August rolls into September, finally sales are increasing from the summer slump and the air in the great outdoors is getting cooler. The fresh cool air gets me going for the upcoming heavy seasons!
This is the most important season, second to the December holiday season. This is when businesses gear-up from the summer vacations and when residential business gets back to normal. Companies have experienced changes. People have moved during the summer, so you have new people in your area. You are preparing to go into the December holiday season!
Fall
Cleaning
Just like spring, this is the month to do some cleaning and fresh updates
in many areas.
Clean
Your Advertising
Evaluate how your spring and summer advertising worked. If something
didn't work, try to determine why and make other plans for your advertising
budget.
Clean Your Mouths
-
Evaluate how you and your employees speak to customers and vendors.
Many store phones are answered as, "Pack Store." Try changing this to, "Good morning. Pack Store. This is Jason. How may I help you?" -
There is a lot to be "said" when one has a happy tone in his or her voice. Make sure that employees know to be cheerful when answering the phone.
-
Make it a standard to greet customers within a certain amount of time as they enter your store. Ten to fifteen seconds is a reasonable time frame, even if the greeting is a smile with direct eye contact with the new customer during extremely busy times.
-
Make it a standard that every employee smiles at customers when he or she gives their greeting. Smiling makes the employee feel better, too.
-
Those of you who have bought our marketing books know that you should clean your mouths of certain sayings. Never start a statement by saying, "To tell you the truth," or "To be honest," since this implies that you normally lie. I've had a lot of fun with these statements. All fun aside, if you use these statements, you are implanting a subliminal idea in the other's person's mind that you are dishonest on occasion.
Clean Your Store
-
Spring cleaning isn't just for spring. Do a thorough cleaning of your store and update it to make it more appealing to customers.
-
Clean every nook and cranny, including those cobwebs in the window sills.
-
Go through all retail stock, and put any inventory that is damaged by time or sun into a big display barrel or table. Put it on sale for 50% off. Note what didn't sell so that you won't buy it in the future.
-
Rearrange lobby counters and displays. Note the customers' path into the store, and make sure that they see the inventory that you want them to see.
-
Look at adding at least one new retail item that your customers need.
-
Do something new with your window displays.
Window
Displays
Many merchants ignore window displays. This is one of the best ways
of advertisement that major merchants use for attracting "window
shoppers." Why stop your store advertising when you are closed?
Are you closed when other merchants in your shopping center are still
open? 'Nuf said.
The
Front Door
In this topic of window displays, I am including your front walkway.
What your customers experience starting at your front door is important.
I got a big wake-up call when I was in my mid-twenties and going through
restaurant management training. Our area supervisor took me for a walk
around one of our restaurants. When I didn't pick up a cigarette butt,
he did, and then he blasted me for not getting rid of this trash. I
did notice it, but I was trying to be "professional." What
I learned from this great lesson is that "professional" means
taking care of every aspect of your business.
-
Is the sidewalk clean at the front entrance of your store? If it needs pressure washing, I bet that if you call your property manager and complain, they will do it. This is in their best interest, too.
-
Can you display some sort of seasonal plants on each side of the entrance to your store? I know that in some large cities this is not feasible. However, in many, it is. We place two huge terra-cotta planters on each side of our entrance doors, and we keep these filled with seasonal plants.
Window
Displays
When we had a store that had windows that were built for a retail clothing
store, I had a lot of fun with window displays. As I had fun filling
the windows with seasonal displays, this taught me another lesson.
-
Make certain that anyone who passes your store sees what you do.
-
This includes window graphics.
-
Show displays of the work that you do or products that you sell. You can set bags of retail packing peanuts and displays of custom packaging in your front window.
-
Do you want to be creative? Try being like the big retail merchants and put an actual seasonal display of products in your window. For example and in line with the autumn theme, try putting brown shredded kraft paper as a base with samples of shipments sitting on it. One idea is to put a scarecrow or pumpkin in a custom box, and have the display tell the viewer that you can ship large items. Surround it with other items that you sell, elegantly displayed and in the theme of the season.
Seasonal
Promotional Ideas
Corporate Sales
Don't forget that this is a good time to do corporate sales. Businesses
are going into a new "frame of mind" this time of year, too,
so now is the time to do those sales calls.
Mailings
Now that you have a good grip on what works with sales and marketing
from your past efforts, do a mailing. Even if you only do a mailing
to fifty people a week with a good offer, you may see results.
Halloween
This is a great time to put out some candy bars for your customers and
promote your specials. Following are some store
signs that you can print for free from our web site.
Regular
Profit Centers
Never forget your other profit centers that bring you profits. Promote
these in new ways. As an example, are your mailbox rentals "just
doing okay"? Make your customers take notice by posting signs that
make the mailboxes talk to them. In essence, let your customers know
what a mailbox rental can do. Following is another sign that you can
print from our site:
Use
One Good New Idea
Use one new idea, at least, to help your business. Folks, times are
changing, and competition can be tough if you aren't competitive. Most
importantly, times can be rough if you aren't innovative and keeping
with our time.
See our article on December planning!
Happy Profit Making!
Fran
Scarborough
Vision Alliance Network, Inc.
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