Month: August 2011

Improve your Retail Sales, Promotions and In-Store Events

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

I know that a lot of stores and businesses are having all kinds of promotions and events right now so I want to talk about evaluating your events and how you could make them even better. Bob and Susan Negen of Whizbang! Training covered this topic splendidly recently so I’ll have them tell you about it. Take it way, Bob and Susan!

After EVERY promotion or event, big or small, have a Recap Meeting. This meeting is a chance to celebrate a job well done or talk about why something didn’t work as planned.It also gives you a chance to get everyone’s ideas on how to make the event better the next time around.These meetings are best when you have them right after you close, but you can wait until the next day if it works better. Don’t wait any longer than the following day. Wait too long and you’ll lose all the little impressions and fun, interesting ideas that are so important to continually improving your event.Here’s a quick list of things to things to make notes about in your meeting:

  • Sales: Planned vs. Actual
  • Cost of Event: Budgeted vs. Actual
  • Pre Event Planning: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do better/differently next time?
  • The Event Itself: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do differently/better next time?
  • After the Event: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do better/differently next time?
  • Promoting/Marketing the Event: What worked, what didn’t, and what can we do better next time?
  • Other Thoughts/Comments/Ideas

Write everything down, put your notes in a file and you’ve got the beginnings of a bigger, better and more profitable event the next time around!

 

New Retail Catalog

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

Specialty Store Services’ new catalog is out! Have you seen it? Following are some great new retail supplies and retail store fixtures that you will find in the new catalog.

All in One. Get a glass front display, register stand with drawer and service counter at a great price to fit modest budgets, all in this All in One Counter System. This clever All in One Counter System is 72″W x 20″D x 38″H and is available in white, maple, cherry and black.

You’ve got mail (supplies). SSS now carries mailing supplies and packing supplies! Choose from three sizes of bubble mailer envelopes to send out your smaller, more fragile items or pick up some bubble wrap which is great for packing boxes or for wrapping up breakable items for your customers. If you need to mail out CDs or DVDs then our new corrugated media mailers are what you need.

Wood displays. I am crazy about the Rotating T-shirt Display! It’s compact at only 23.5″L x 23.5″W x 63″H yet can hold a bunch of folded shirts. This 4-sided melamine display features 5 shelves per side so you can display up to 20 different styles, acrylic fronts to display the t-shirts next to folded stock and casters for easy relocation. Other terrific wood displays that we now carry are in the Sophisticate Collection which features maple melamine coupled with attractive matte silver frames. Choose from Display Pedestals, Nesting Display Tables and the Wall Shelving Display.

Attention getters. LED Rope Lights! Who doesn’t love them?! These new 9′ long LED rope lights are constructed of clear plastic with colored lights inside and plug directly into your AC outlet. You can string together up to 40 (yes, forty!) rope lights end to end without the need for connectors! Choose from red, blue, orange, green or white.

Security. Keep an eye on your investment with a new DVR Security System. This affordable security system comes complete with 10″ monitor, 4 channel DVR and 4 indoor/outdoor cameras. No need to worry about the security of your business while on the road because this plug and view system is Internet ready and smart phone compatible so you can access your system remotely!

If you currently do not have a catalog please do take a look at Specialty Store Services’ website to see all the terrific new items that we now carry.

Off-site Event Signage and Marketing

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

I was at a music festival recently, got a little peckish and decided to get some food from the vendors set up at the fest. The vendors were varied in the way they promoted, or did not promote, their wares.

Many of the food vendors had large, professionally done signs stating their restaurant’s name and printed posterboard menus. Most of the remaining food vendors had handwritten posterboard menus but no business information posted. What surprised me most was the fact that a few of the vendors has no signage at all! Not a menu board, nothing; they just relied on people wandering up to their stand, looking at the food and (hopefully) ordering.

So, which vendors do you think had the lines of people waiting for their food? Yep, the vendors with restaurant signs and menu boards, followed closely by the vendors with simple hand-written menus. Now, I’m not saying that you need to spend big bucks on professional signage but, for Pete’s sake, handwritten signage is better than nothing! If you don’t do off-site events very often and want to save money by making your own signs that is perfectly fine, just make sure that they are neat, legible and only feature 2 colors at most. A couple of the signs I saw were apparently done by a younger person who tried to jazz them up by making every other word or letter a different color. All that does is distract and annoy people just trying to read a simple menu so simplicity is key. If you’d like to have a sign you can change and reuse then you may want to get a write on/wipe off sign. This double-sided sign will be perfect for use at off-site events and also out on the sidewalk in front of your store.

Some of the food I purchased was from a sign-less booth, simply because there were some ethnic dishes that I never tried before. I also purchased food from a vendor with full signage. The food from both booths was delicious but unfortunately, I cannot go to the tasty ethnic restaurant. Because I don’t know the name or where it is located.

Moral of the story? Don’t be shy, promote yourself! Now, this doesn’t just apply to restaurants. Any business that is presenting itself also needs to promote itself. Let people know who you are and where they can find you after the event is over. A weekend festival may bring in some extra cash for you but appropriate signage (and cheerful, helpful employees!) will bring in future business, as well.

Retail Window Displays – Part 2

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

We went over some interesting window display ideas in a previous blog entry that I hope you found useful and here are a few more ideas to keep your window displays interesting and draw in more customers.

Phone a friend. Or, in this case, phone a vendor. The vendors who sell you merchandise will be happy to provide you with POP displays and posters to help promote the items you sell. After all, if you sell out of their merchandise you will need to order more so that’s a big incentive for vendors to assist you by providing marketing materials. This is a great way to decorate your window and promote your merchandise at a minimal cost to you.
Spread the love by sharing the window. Create a sense of good will and community by offering your window space to local non-profits who are doing good work in the community. Every few months you can have a local non-profit or community organization use the window for a couple weeks to promote their cause or events. The change of pace will draw attention to your retail window display while giving deserving organizations the opportunity to spread the word about the services they provide.
Get artsy. Approach local artists or art students and ask them to paint backdrops appropriate for your store’s retail window display, images that reflect your store’s brand and personality. They will get exposure by having their work displayed and you will have eye-catching backdrops for your displays. The artists may be more eager to help if you allow them to leave gallery or studio information at the counter for customers to view. Keep in mind, though, that everyone has a different vision so it’s a good idea to go over ideas for the backdrop to make sure you’re on the same page. After all, a painting of a flaming bicycle flying off a cliff may be captivating but will it really help showcase your body oils or pet food?
Scrub-a-dub. Remember to keep your windows clean and smudge-free! You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of potential customers so you want them to focus on your retail window display, not on the sticky hand prints or dusty rain spots.