January.

For retailers, it’s cold not just outside, but indoors when it comes to moving the stock off the shelves. After the Christmas-buying sprees, most shoppers are back at home cooling their heels while retailers try to entice them back out to buy. The one stand-by many local store owners turn to is holding big sales, and they’re finding that in a tough economy it’s necessary to offer deeper and deeper discounts to get folks back and willing to buy. It’s great to have warm bodies in your store again, but it’s not great if your sale ends up making you no profit due to all that deep discounting.

So what’s the method of success that allows you to get the customers back and still make a profit? Is there a way to get both?

There are several methods you can employ to attract business and still maintain a profit margin. See which one of these (or more than one) will work best in your restaurant, retail store, or service-based business and give it a go.

Know Your Bottom Line, and Sell Just Above

This is the method to use with that inventory that needs to move out the door, not with that great new batch of products that just came in for Spring. Calculate your bottom dollar on these items: how low can you go and still make something, even if it’s a small something? Then make your strategy to sell many of these items, each bringing in that small amount of profit, and you’ll end up with a good amount of profit when all is said and done. Plus you’ll have cleared your store of excess, aging inventory.

Create a Loss-Leader

Grocery stores use the loss-leader method just about every week; their circulars advertise a deal that’s “too good to pass up” for their shoppers. In many cases, the grocery stores are taking a loss on this item, but they know that just getting the customers in the store is worth that small loss. How many times have you gone to the grocery store and bought just one item? Most of us don’t shop for groceries that way, and why not? Because in the process of locating and purchasing the loss-leader item, we’re unable to ignore the displays of other great merchandise – some also discounted, some not – that we have to walk past and around to find our goal. Use the same strategy in your store; advertise a huge discount on a popular item, set up a great display for it, and put it smack in the middle of many other great displays with enticing offers of their own.

Offer Package Deals

Another angle on the loss-leader strategy is to offer package deals and discounts; this method allows you to package your items of choice together, being sure that one of them is a cheaper item for you to purchase, which gives you greater wiggle room for a discount. You can offer a greater discount on a combined package, knowing that your combined investment in all the package items is still well below the discounted package price. You might even use a “buy one of these, get one of these other things” free method to sell a costlier item without a discount while taking the “loss” on your cheaper, freebie item. It’s the same method beauty product companies’ use when they offer a “special gift” with a purchase.

Add Value that Doesn’t Cost You Cash

What can you offer your customers that doesn’t come with any cash cost to you? Look beyond the basic inventory, and think about subscriptions, memberships, special discount or dining clubs, consultations, or other perks that offer a huge incentive for customers thinking about a purchase. The value is still there for the customer, who would otherwise have to pay to get the subscription or membership or consultation; but the value-added item isn’t costing you cash that you can’t afford to lose. Use these value-added items to upsell; offer them as freebies or part of a package, which allows you to give your customers an increased value for the same cost without decreasing your profit margin.

What method sounds best for your business?

Image by Alan Cleaver2000.

In his book “Free,” Chris Anderson (Twitter link) talks about the power of the digital economy to minimize the cost of producing and distributing a product to the public. We’ve all seen and participated in examples of this, whether it’s from using a free e-mail service like Google to downloading free e-books or getting free apps for our phones. Free is nice.

For retailers dealing in tangible items, though, how does the low cost, and ensuing “freeness” of many digital products matter? You’ve still working in terms of concrete stuff: food, clothes, gift items, raw materials to be transformed or tangible lines to be distributed. The good news is that you can still take advantage of free, using it in terms of your own business to attract new customers, retain loyal customers, build sales, and build your business – all with digital content that costs you next to nothing to create and distribute.

A blog is one of the easiest ways to create and give free digital content. It doesn’t have to cost you anything to set up a blog; you can invest in a professional design and hosting service, and at some point you might need to, but getting started can be as simple as setting up a free blog on one of the many web services. After the initial set-up, the cost for you is in terms of time. You need to put the time in to create 1 – 3 posts every week, on a regular basis. These posts are your freebie; they’re informative, valuable, helpful, and, of course, somehow related to your business.

One step up from blog posts are digital products such as e-books and e-newsletters. Both, again, can be produced for only the cost of your time. You can easily create an e-newsletter weekly or monthly and mail it out to your email list of customers who want to hear from you. Make sure the articles you include in your e-newsletter are informative, valuable, helpful, and somehow related to your business. Even though you’re giving this content away free, if it becomes irrelevant, then it moves into the “spam” category.

An e-book can be a collection of the blog posts and e-newsletters you’ve produced, or it can be new content entirely. You can format an e-book in an office program, convert it to a .pdf file, and offer it as a free download on your website, blog, and Facebook page. Here are a few examples:

A restaurant owner could offer an e-book that contained any or all of the following:

• A recipe collection
• Ideas for entertaining
• Cooking tips
• A “day in the life of a restaurant” story
• Ideas for creating restaurant-worthy menus
• Ideas for cooking at home
• Tips on using fresh, seasonal food
• Essays about cooking/eating green
• Essays about food/eating in general
• Tips on any food-related specialty topic (spices, herbs, growing your own veggies, ethnic cooking, desserts, etc.)

A retail storeowner could offer an e-book that related to its products in some way, as the following:

• A style manual for spring/summer/fall/winter
• An up-to-the-minute clothing & fashion trend tip list
• Advice on putting a great wardrobe together
• Help on dressing for your body/personal style
• Tips for wearing accessories
• Profiles of fashionable people
• Great gift ideas for men
• Great gift ideas for women
• Tips on hosting a great party
• Ideas for fun dinner parties
• Ideas for family activities

The list is endless, and limited only in how much time you can give to producing the content. Of course, if you’re thinking “I am not a writer,” then look to your staff for someone who is. You can often find a willing volunteer, someone who can dedicate some portion of their working hours to helping create and promote these digital products.

As you create the digital freebies, of course, you want to let your customers know about them. Facebook and Twitter, flyers in your store, e-mail sign-up sheets at the counter, and some simple training so that all of your employees promote your digital freebies by word-of-mouth. Every customer who walks into your store should know about the great e-book they can get (free!) or e-newsletter they can sign up to receive (free!) or regularly updated blog they can follow (free!).

Every digital freebie you distribute builds your reputation and strengthens your connection with your customers; and, since digital is so easy to share, it gets passed along from one network to another, extending your reach well past where you can go with a print mailing or newspaper ad. It’s cheap for you and free for them, so everybody wins.
Image by Ken Hawkins

Lately, we’ve pinpointed that our search traffic to this blog is heavily weighted towards posts like this holiday-focused one that hands out retail promotion ideas with retail window display ideas coming in a close second. A quick Google search – followed by disbelief and more digging – showed that there simply isn’t a wealth of retail promotion and window display ideas floating around on the web. So, while we’ve got lots of resources in store for you in this new year, I am boldly stealing both inspiration and format from Chris Brogan’s newly launched weekly blog topics program. You’ve got a small business – and you’d like to keep the customers buying. Want some new ideas?

What’s the plan?

I’ll send weekly e-mails with FIVE OR MORE PROMOTION IDEAS for you to implement in your small business or store. In addition, I’ll be including quite a few visual and window display ideas each month as well as some general marketing strategy and sales advice.

Click to learn more about how to get an endless supply of promotional ideas for your small business!

What Types of Ideas?

The ideas will be widely flexible to work in a variety of scenarios – flower shops, coffee shops, clothes boutiques, grocery, restaurants and gift stores. And everything in between. We’ll be doing seasonal ideas a few weeks ahead of the season or date to allow for advanced planning. The ideas will go far beyond discounting and include many ideas to sell at full price, to inspire repeat purchases and to catch new customers. Your creative juices will get a weekly fix – and your store will never look more inspiring to customers!

It’s not free. It’s $27 a month. Think of it as a magazine subscription. Is it for everyone? Definitely not. Is it for someone who wants to keep their business booming and looking fresh and interesting year-round? Is it for someone who could use the creative encouragement and steady dose of fresh ideas? Yep, that’s who this will serve best.

Each mail comes with a lot more than FIVE OR MORE RETAIL PROMOTION IDEAS. It comes with ideas about how to improve your business, ideas on sales, marketing and customer service in general, retail window display and merchandise display ideas as well as lots and lots of modification ideas as well. The first message was just over 900 words long. The second message is nearly 1000. They’ll stay pretty meaty, because that’s what I’m known for – and I always want you to feel like you got far more than value than you paid and always leave with something you feel you can accomplish immediately.

Want to learn more? Check out the weekly Revolutionary Promotion Ideas email.

As we explained in a previous article , the key to locally owned businesses surviving and thriving in a competitive, online marketplace and tight economy is to find and dominate a niche of their own.

Small businesses can’t compete with the advertising dollars and inventory numbers of huge national chains; they can establish themselves by finding a specialty and being the best in it.

You Can’t Please All the People

The toughest part of becoming a successful niche business is realizing that you simply won’t be able to make everybody happy. If you choose to specialize your small business in science fiction, for example, then you won’t gain a following of classic literature lovers. But you will gain science fiction fans. If you choose to specialize your locally owned restaurant in a specific type of cuisine, perhaps Italian, then you’ll lose the people who don’t like pasta. But you’ll have fervent and loyal customers in the pasta lovers.

The Trade Off

For a business to succeed in a specialty or niche, it has to make a trade-off. You trade the complacent, so-so, average customers for the fervent, dedicated, enthusiastic ones. Sounds like a good trade, right? It is, because a few enthusiastic customers will give you more in lifetime value and passionate referrals to their peers than many average customers.

Finding Your Enthusiastic Fans

The first step to identifying those customers you want to find and keep for the life of your business is to clearly define your specialty. What are you offering that’s different, better, or more unique than your competitors? Once you’ve identified your own niche – your special offering – you’re in the right position to find the people who will be interested in what you have to offer.

The second step is just a bit of simple brainstorming: who is going to be the most interested and the most enthusiastic about your specialty, your niche? Don’t focus on the people who might be interested. Focus on the people who will love what you offer. If you’re selling science fiction books, you need to be at the sci-fi gatherings, clubs, and conferences, and partnering up with the local theater when the next sci-fi movie opens. Market yourself to the most passionate people in the particular niche; they, in turn, will market you to the people they know. When you find and convert enthusiastic customers, they do the advertising for you.

Places to Look for your Niche Customers

• Specialized online communities and groups
• Local clubs and meetings
• Conferences
• Meet-up groups
• Fan clubs
• Organizations and associations
• Trade shows

Note: If your “niche” is too big to define and go find in groups like these… then your “niche” isn’t a niche at all – and you need to work harder to find your small business’ niche – a truly narrow scope or specialty that will create a winning formula for your business in a difficult economic time.

Where would your ideal customers hang out? Where do they gather? That’s where you need to be.

Image by Rachel Voorhees.

The good news for retailers this Valentine’s Day is that consumer spending is on the rise. An annual Valentine’s Day survey, conducted by the National Retail Federation, suggests an 11% increase in spending on Valentine’s Day purchases. The expected total spending on all the romance is in the neighborhood of $15 billion dollars.

If you’re a retail store or restaurant owner, you should definitely be reaping some of those benefits from increased consumer spending.

And if you’re a retail store or restaurant owner, you should definitely be planning how you will attract those sales. Throwing a few paper hearts in the window is great, but come on: you can do better than that.

Even though we are less than one week to V-Day, you can still make the time count.

10 Last-Minute V-Day Marketing Ideas

1. Market to the ladies! Though men traditionally spend more on their Valentines than the other way around, women still comprise a large chunk of Valentine’s change, with the average female consumer expecting to spend around $80 on Valentine’s purchases this year. So clear out some of that lacey, heart-shaped stuff and put together some gift packages and product promotions that any red-blooded male would be happy to receive as a gift.

2. Put together a last-minute shopper’s package. Or several. There will be many who delay shopping until the last minute, and if you can present options that are thoughtful, creative, beautifully packaged, and good for several price points, you can get their business.

3. Hold extended hours on the weekend before Valentine’s Day. If you’re not usually open on the weekend, make an exception. Stay open late on Saturday night. Open up for a few hours on Sunday afternoon. Advertise your additional hours, of course, as a special time for Valentine’s shoppers.

4. Offer Early Bird Specials on V-Day itself. This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday; open up a couple of hours early for those wanting to grab a gift on their way to work. Put together a special discount for the Early Bird Shoppers. Have some piping hot coffee available, too. Donuts wouldn’t hurt.

5. Offer free delivery. Of course, not every business is set up for this, but if you are, then capitalize on it. Restaurants could offer pre-made romantic dinners to be delivered the day of (or a day ahead) with instructions on cooking or reheating as needed. Retail shops (beyond florists!) could offer beautiful wrapping and timely delivery of any Valentine’s gift purchased. It doesn’t have to be free, either.

6. Offer a custom shopping service. If you have some talented sales staff, offer to assist shoppers; uncertain or time-crunched spouses can call in with a price point, a few details about their significant other’s tastes, and then have you pick out, wrap (and deliver?) and charge them for a great, custom-selected gift.

7. Appeal to the rebels and creatives. Break out of the traditional Valentine’s Day flowers-candy-chocolates-dining gift list. What do you have that is quirky, funny, creative, off the cuff, special in a non-sappy way? There are plenty of people who are tired of the same old options. Give them something refreshing for a change.

8. Go with a red-and-white color theme. Help yourself think out of the box by promoting anything that fits into your red-and-white criteria as potential Valentine’s material. You could even offer a discount on any red or white items purchased between now and February 14th.

9. Offer an incentive with a future deal. Give a coupon towards 20% off future purchases with any purchase made for Valentine’s Day. Designate amounts if you want. Or make it for a specific product or service.

10. Extend your great offers through “Valentine’s Week.” Offer deals for the dudes in the doghouse (“Forgot Valentine’s Day? We can help!”) or the gals who didn’t get what they wanted (“Not loving your Valentine’s gift? Come pick out your own!”). Hey, when love is in the air, don’t just leave it hanging!

Image: Samantha Marx.

Why a Valentine’s Day Special?

Once we make it beyond the great buying and gifting extravaganza that is the Christmas season, local retail stores tend to hit a low point in retail sales. It can be a very low point, and even if you’ve pulled in a great amount of business over the holidays, you still have to keep paying bills and, well, making money. So, local business owners, don’t forget that the other holidays coming up on the calendar – even the minor ones – can be an excellent way to promote sales and increase slow winter business.

Options for a Valentine’s Day Special

1. Get a partner.
Valentine’s Day is all about romance, remember? So emulate the love by starting up a business partnership with another local business. Business affiliation for particular events and special deals can help you pull in a new crowd of customers, and give your current customers another reminder of why they want to give you more business. Contact local business managers and owners and start a conversation about promoting a Valentine’s Day event together, putting together a special Valentine’s Day package, or promoting each other’s businesses in some other way revolving around the Valentine’s Day holiday. If things go well, you can extend and work that partnership for other events and specials.

2. Promote what you need to sell in a Valentine’s package or deal.
Unwrap and repackage that older inventory you need to move by including it in part of a Valentine’s special deal or package offer. Not everything sold as part of a Valentine’s Day special has to be heart-shaped. And if you need to move inventory, you can use it to add value to the specials you do offer for this heart-shaped holiday.

3. Host or participate in a Valentine’s Day event.
This option is perfect for local restaurant and retail shop owners. These type of brick-and-mortar small businesses lend themselves readily to a Valentine’s Day theme. Restaurant owners can host a special Valentine’s banquet, offer special meals, desserts, and wine tastings. Retail shop owners can showcase their Valentine’s merchandise, have special shopping hours, and offer gift wrapping and delivery. Don’t forget the option of partnering with another business for a Valentine’s event, as well.

4. Offer 2-for-1 Deals and Couple’s Packages.
Play up the romance of Valentine’s Day by offering tailor-made discounts and packages for the holiday, and the days leading up to it. Restaurants, event venues, specialty shops: come up with 2-for-1 offers (2 appetizers for the price of 1, 2 tickets for the price of 1, or buy one item, get one free..) and packages for couples along the same lines. Make them exclusive, time-limited offers and promote them with all your online and offline advertising options.

Put your heart into it, and you’ll be able to see a boost in those slow winter sales.

Image by clevercupcakes.

In this week’s marketing strategy, we’re going to explore how to give customer rewards (customer loyalty rewards) in return for customers sharing your business on popular social media sites.

iMingle is a fairly new player in the social networking scene, and it brings in an element most people don’t associate with social networking: insurance. It works by rewarding people for networking and purchasing insurance; when individuals network, and get a group together to purchase insurance, they can get a multi-policy deal and garner big discounts that otherwise they’d have no way to access. The insurance companies get more customers, and the purchasers get a better bargain on what they pay.

So far it’s working pretty well, and it’s a new concept that small businesses can grab onto and use in their own way. Here’s how:

Putting the Strategy to Work in Your Locally-Owned Business

To apply this strategy to your own small business, ask yourself two questions: what do customers want most from you (what can you provide) and how can you give your customers what they want with your social networks? Let’s break that down a little bit by looking at a hypothetical case: a small-town restaurant owner with a good business and the desire to expand with online sales.

So our restaurant owner – let’s call him Jerry – thinks about what his customers want most from him. That means both his local customers and his (potential) online customers. Jerry wants to use his online presence to connect with local people and to increase his customer base for Internet sales of his packaged gourmet foods. He knows what his local customers want: they want to get great deals and discounts on meals at the restaurant. He’s asked them in various ways, and that’s always the most popular response.

Jerry’s not so sure about his Internet customers, because he’s still getting into that world of online sales. So he takes a guess that they probably want great deals on the stuff they’re going to buy from him, too. They want high-quality, unique gourmet food items and they want to get deals and discounts on those items.

In both cases, what Jerry needs to provide is a better deal or the opportunity for a discount: a way for his customers to get an insider’s bargain on his meals and gourmet items. The second question he thinks about is this: how can he use his online presence to give his customers what they want, in a way that rewards them for interacting with him (i.e. his restaurant) online?

Jerry comes up with these ideas:

• He can give a coupon every time someone refers a friend who becomes a fan of the restaurant’s Facebook page or a follower of the restaurant on Twitter.
• He can offer group discounts; when a fan or follower gets X number of people to make a purchase (in the restaurant or via the online store) they all get a certain discount. He can use coupon codes for this.
• He can give a coupon for any type of social interaction online which promotes his restaurant; customers can “earn” a discount by sharing a link to his webpage, his Facebook page, or his Twitter account, or by blogging about his restaurant, reviewing his products, or getting a friend to sign up for his e-newsletter.

What ideas do you have for your business to expand your reach to new customers while rewarding the loyalty of existing customers?

Image: One Laptop per Child