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.

So you’ve decided to host a holiday event at your locally owned, brick-and-mortar retail or restaurant business. You’ve got a night picked, a theme, and you’re busy planning decorations, entertainment, food… and, of course, plenty of holiday specials to boost those end-of-year sales. You’re on the right path, but the one thing you don’t want to forget is promotion. If you don’t put some time and planning into promoting your big date, you might have a very small turn-out. And after all the work you’re putting in, you want a great response. Here’s how to get one:

First: Identify the specific reasons people will want to come to your holiday event.
You think it’s going to be fun, and you know you want to boost sales. But you can hardly invite the general public – or even your favorite customers – to a special night just to “help boost my sales.” So you need to figure out the appeal for your customers. Is it the great food? The holiday atmosphere? The amazing deals and one-night-only specials? The entertainment? The raffle with over-the-top prizes? The chance to support a charity (here are some ideas in these posts), be part of the community, or get a coupon or freebie by bringing a friend?

Second: Think about all the ways you can communicate with your customers.
Do you have a business website? That’s one way.
How about a business blog? There’s another way. (Here are some business blogging ideas if you need them.)
A Facebook page?
A Twitter account?
An email list?
Those are your online options.
How about the local newspaper? Are there any community or trade magazines? Do you advertise on radio? Do you have a mailing list of customers? An ad in a local newspaper can be relatively inexpensive and can be a great way to promote your event. You might also look into community calendars, both online and in local print publications. Many will put your event on the calendar for free.
You can create a postcard or invitation and mail it out; you can create brochures and hand them out. You can hang signs in the windows of your store.

Don’t forget simple word-of-mouth as well. Have your employees invite every customer who walks in the door. It’s even better if you can hand each customer a paper invitation or flyer, so they can take the information home. Offering a “reward” (such as a special discount, coupon, or freebie) for every friend a customer brings to the event is a great way to increase word-of-mouth.

Third: Partner with other local business owners.
Think about the other businesses in your area. Some may not be set up to adequately host their own holiday event; would they be interested in becoming an event partner? They can help sponsor the event, cut some of your costs, advertise their own products or services, and promote the event to their own customers. Many professionals such as lawyers, CPAs, and consultants, may work from a small office or from their own homes; hosting an event may not be feasible for them, but partnering with you can be a great option. You both benefit from the increased exposure and from the new prospects you will bring to each other.

Fourth: Do something every day to promote the date.
Invest some money in traditional advertising, if you can. Post daily updates and news about your event online. And make a few phone calls, personally inviting people to the event. Five phone calls each day can add up to quite a lot of responses when the event rolls around.

A well-planned, well-promoted, and well-executed holiday event will not only boost your end-of-year sales, it will also leave your customers with a delightful impression of you and your business. You’ll get a chance to mingle with customers new and old, build new relationships, and re-establish old ones. And that kind of investment will carry over well into the year to come.

Image by Smart Destinations.

Tis the season for a holiday marketing strategy. Want to sell more in your retail store or restaurant this year? Try these marketing tips for your holiday sales event, and we bet you’ll sell more stuff!!

Know what people like about the holiday seasons? It gives everyone the excuse to party a little bit more. Holiday events – complete with holiday food – are one of the things people like most about the winter holidays. From Halloween bonfires and chili fests to New Year’s Eve late-night bashes and appetizer buffets, the whole gamut of winter holidays gives us all plenty of opportunities to get together, celebrate, eat, and enjoy the season.

So why not use the natural inclination we all have to mingle and munch? Create a holiday event for your brick-and-mortar local store; invite your customers; promote it publicly; and then be a great host or hostess and watch sales happen.

Keys to a Successful Holiday Event

First, you’ve got to create some holiday spirit.
Don’t try to host a Christmas open house if the only decoration you have is a spindly wreath on the front door. Put up a Christmas tree, hang some lights… you know, deck the halls. Get a selection of Christmas music and make sure it’s playing throughout the party. Make the place smell Christmasy by burning cinnamon-scented candles or having a big bubbling pot of apple cider.

The point to remember is that if you’re going to invite your customers in to celebrate the holidays at your retail store or restaurant, you need to create a holiday-themed, celebratory atmosphere. Go all out.

Second, give people a reason to linger.
Food is a key ingredient in a successful event; have plenty of munchable items and a selection of drinks. Make it easy for people to munch, browse, and talk. Keep trays and drinks refilled.

If you’re hosting a holiday event in your restaurant, your food options increase exponentially. You can host a themed dinner, a dessert party, anything you want because you’re equipped with the kitchen and seating. If you’re a retail shop, set up a food area and a bar, hire a couple of servers, and make the food easy to eat (think finger food) so people won’t struggle with using a fork while balancing a plate and a cup.

Entertainment is always a good option as well. You can have party games, a live band, an old holiday movie showing on a big screen, a raffle, a dance floor, a stage for karaoke. It’s up to you and what will work for your space and resources. People don’t need expensive, fancy entertainment to have a good time.

Third, display your products prominently.
Don’t be shy about what you’re trying to sell. Create holiday specials and make big, beautiful displays to show them off. Make it easy for people to see what you’re offering. You might consider having a raffle or giveaway and let one of your holiday specials be the prize. Offer special, event-only discounts and deals. Go over the specials with all your employees so they can easily show them off to guests.

Use your online presence (website, blog, Facebook, Twitter) to promote your event. If you have an email list, send out a special invitation to your email customers. Put up signs in your store. Put an ad in the local paper. Invite the town and be sure they know what you’re offering: food, drink, entertainment, a fun night out. And, of course, some of the best deals of the holiday season.

Image by ms. Tea.

You’ve heard us talk about the phenomenon for small businesses that is Twitter. We’ve talked about everything from fun Twitter contests to writing tweets that get the picture or link opened.

But what about Twitter basics? Lots of brick and mortar retail stores and local restaurants are catching onto the fact that their customers are on Twitter – and that deals are being done there. Is it time for you to catch on to Twitter and capture some of those deals?

I say an emphatic YES!

First things first:
1. Setup an account on Twitter. Go to www.twitter.com and get started… It’s easy and painless. And unlike many social networking sites – if you choose a username or “handle” as they’re called in Twitter circles – and decide later that you made a bad choice – you can change it! Twitter is cool like that, so don’t sweat it – go sign up!

2. Upload a PICTURE of you or your store logo for your avatar. This is a critical step.

3. Tweet a few times. Just say something about your business, what you like, what you’re doing. You can’t tweet too much – unlike Facebook where you can really overdo it and drive folks nuts.

4. Download Tweetdeck to your computer. It will be your new friend.

5. Visit Twitter’s Advanced Search engine – type in some searches about your community, business district, business niche or even your business name. Watch in amazement at what pops up.

There’s more to a successful run on Twitter – like writing a description that gets you found, creating a Twitter background, who and how to follow, how to grow a following – and most importantly how to start doing some business on and thru Twitter. That’s exactly what we’ll be covering in our webinar on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 called (remarkably) Twitter for Small Business 101. Andy and I will co-teach this webinar – and you will leave FULL of great and valuable information whether you a complete Twitter novice – or have been on Twitter for a while. We’ll talk Twitter strategy perfect for retail stores, small business and local restaurants and the like. Join us by registering here… and stay tuned. We’ll be talking a lot more Twitter in the coming days and weeks.

With social media usage and marketing efforts growing by leaps and bounds, it’s not only important for your small business to be on social media – it’s important to say the right thing. How can you tell when you are saying the right thing?

Here are some of my tried and true tips for improving what you say – and therefore the engagement and resulting sales – from social and new media marketing.

What’s wrong with ordinary?

We live in a world with thousands of messages coming at us daily. Is your message boring? Possibly. For example, I received an e-mail from a statewide organization this morning. The subject line simply said “May e-newsletter XYZ organization.” I had no reason to open it.

We recently helped (through HALO Business Advisors) with an e-mail campaign on a weekend when snow hit Mississippi. This doesn’t happen often, and when it does—our world shuts down. For this small business owner, restaurateur, client and good friend of mine, closing on the weekend wasn’t an option. With little time to make it happen, his text message to me went something like this. “We have to send an email – let folks know we are open!!”

I could have sent an e-mail with a simple subject line stating “WE ARE OPEN.” Instead, we sent an e-mail out that said: “Who won the ROCA snowball fight?”

This e-mail had the highest open rate of any email we’ve ever sent. Significantly north of 40% of the list opened it within 12 hours, and sales that weekend were very strong. (The body of the e-mail message showed a picture of the chef throwing snowballs with his boys with the announcement that the restaurant was open that night.)

Traditional newspaper folks are losing steam in some areas, but they know how important a headline is to sell a newspaper.  The same thing is equally important to having a tweet read or an e-mail opened. Words matter. Pick a few good headline concepts from the major media outlets or note their style – and copy them!

Here are a few more of my tried and true tips for improving what you say – and therefore improving the engagement and resulting sales – from social media and marketing. These rules apply especially well for both e-mail subject lines and for tweets with pictures:

1. Shorter is better. People are reading 20 characters on their Blackberries and iPhones in the subject line. It’s becoming the tool that more e-mails are opened on. Shorter subject lines will work better than long ones, but you have to also follow rule #2.

2. Make me open it. If you can tease me with a question or factoid or humor, I’m going to invest the extra 10 seconds to read about it. Just tonight I sent out four different photo tweets. The one with a short title and a little humor had 35% more opens in the first 10 minutes than the rest of the tweets.

3. Grow a personality. If you aren’t witty or funny, find someone who is. That class clown or guy that always makes folks laugh is probably a good person to help you figure out the subject line of an e-mail campaign. Use teasers like: “Why didn’t Joe Smith eat supper here last night??” (Joe Smith can be interchanged with the name of a local celebrity or local news anchor.) More people will open that e-mail to find out that Joe is coming TOMORROW for a special event that THEY should plan to attend as well.

4. Follow through. Having a great subject line is important. Test it out on your staff or friends for some quick feedback. This shouldn’t be a 2 hour process, but maybe 20 minutes. Remember that spending an extra 20 minutes on a subject line that gets 10-20% more opens on an e-mail campaign is probably well worth the time. Look at the numbers. Let’s say you have a moderately sized 2000 person e-mail list for your small business with a nominal 8% open rate. This means 160 people confirmed opening your email. If you can fix your subject line problems and get that number to 20%, you’ve more than doubled the number of people who open your e-mails therefore improving the overall ROI of your e-mail marketing campaign.

5. Check for typos. Send your e-mail to a select group of your staff or friends who will promise to catch errors. We try and make sure EVERYTHING that goes out has 2 sets of eyes on it. It’s too easy to look at something for an hour and miss a glaring typo because you just aren’t focused anymore.

In closing, I’ll leave you with these sample social media messages that could work for different types of businesses.

Retail Menswear: “What can $250 buy at our store?”
Most people will want to know exactly what you are talking about — they’ll open.

Woman’s fashion line: “Your mother wouldn’t be caught dead wearing this…”
Wonder what that’s all about? I better check and see… They’ll open.

Restaurant: “The best lookin’ plate of food you’ve ever seen… details inside”
Hrmm, wonder what’s so special about the plate of food?

Retail Store: “The ONE thing you need to see from our trip to Market last week.”
Wonder what that one thing is?

You guessed it, they’ll open.