Retail Marketing, Retail Promotion: Your Start on Better Branding, Bigger Profits

How-To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns Using Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques

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Scroll down for the introduction to A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions.

Scroll down for the contents of A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has nearly three decades of retail experience plus oodles more in the fields of journalism, public relations, publishing, and marketing into this Survive and Thrive series of books. She consults in the three Ps: publishing, promotion and publicity and is the author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and award-winning books of fiction and poetry.

She founded and operated stores ranging from home décor to gifts to antiques and other collectibles. She owned and operated the souvenir shop at the world renowned Santa Anita Race Track. During that time, she served on the boards of directors of the malls where her stores were located, of the boards of cooperative catalogs her stores utilized, and on the board of the California Gift Show. She puts this world of experience in retailing to work for you with this series of Survive and Thrive books or in private consultation sessions.

Howard-Johnson was named by members of the California Legislature Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment and American Women Business Association (ABWA) Impact Council’s Woman of the Year. She has also spoken widely at retail industry conferences including The National Stationery Show, The California Gift Show, The California Mart and the LA Mart. Find more information on her speaking in the retailing industry and others at here. and

Visit her literary pages on this Web site as well as the published works almanac on this site. Her formal education includes a BA in English Literature from the University of Southern California (USC), a certificate of completion for instructors at UCLA and courses at these universities in writing and editing:

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 h In-Store Promotion: The Frugal Way to Turn Bad Times into Good

BE CLEAR ON THE BASICS.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR AN EVENT

2 h List Building: Your In-Store Promotion Campaign’s Major Goal.

BUILDING YOUR CONTACT LIST

3 h Map Your Campaign in Advance

THINK AHEAD AT LEAST SIX MONTHS

4 h Not the Usual Way: Turn Your Store and Your Whole Community into Promotion Zones

NICHES, CRANNIES, AND WORKPLACES AROUND YOUR STORE

Big spots
Off-site
Your office, waiting room, or rest spot
Your point-of-purchase
Your display windows
Satellite services

SOME IN-STORE EVENTS ARE FRIENDLY GHOSTS.

Contests can be one of those friendly phantoms
Gift-with-purchase or purchase-with-purchase offers
Reward cards
Layaway programs
Gift certificates
Referral programs
Writing notes
A formal gift registry
Catalogs

5 h Your Major Events

MAKE YOUR EVENT PROFITABLE

Frugal ways to advertise
Here are some frugal oomph builders
Coupons
Let partners help you attract new clientele
Be a supporting partner

VARY THE VENUE OF MAJOR EVENTS

Don’t overlook your warehouse or backroom
Your parking lot
A local restaurant
Give parties in other people’s homes

6 h The Big Occasions in Your Store’s Life

Look internally and externally for events
Let’s talk about merchandise-driven events
Upbeat events
Unhappy days can be event worthy
Look for events in unusual places

BIG EVENTS MAY BRING CHALLENGES

Projecting sales is not easy
Planning for the lines of people you hope to attract
Developing products with perceived value
Planning for large quantities of food

7 h Signs, Display, and Categorizing Merchandise

YOUR SIGNS

RECATEGORIZING AND REMERCHANDISING

Appendixes

APPENDIX ONE: STUDY FOR BETTER RETAILING

APPENDIX TWO: SAMPLE MEDIA RELEASES

APPENDIX THREE: SAMPLE BLOG ENTRY

Other Books by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

BOOKS AND CHAPBOOKS

ANTHOLOGIES AND FOREWORDS: A SAMPLING

Forewords
Anthologies

Index

ADVERTISING: RETAILERS’ AIDS

About the Author

Excerpt from A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How-To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns Using Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques.

The Introduction

The Survive and Thrive series of books is designed to position any given independent retailer as the go-to store in its community. Whether the book addresses the more mundane aspects of retailing or the parts that are most exciting like display, promotion, and customer service, it is my intent to provide not only basic texts on how to conduct a given aspect of your retail business (that would be way too dry!), but to make them fun. I hope anecdotal guides will inspire your entrepreneurial spirit and provide enough nitty-gritty detail to take the fear (or dread!) out of doing what you must to carve your niche in the retail world.

As an example, I may not try to explain the open-to-buy procedure in a booklet on that subject. You can find that at your SBA office or any college text on retailing. Instead we would talk about why using an open-to-buy formula is important and how such a concept might be adapted for those who are not likely to use one anyway. Most of us choose retailing because it is creative and because we are too darn independent to follow every rule thrown our way, so the idea is to get motivated first, then to find ways to do things that work for our personalities and for our businesses. And then to have the resources at hand to do the job.

Further, the size of these books (some will be booklets!) doesn’t allow me to cover every facet of every subject. Therefore many will include a page of suggested reading for those who want more additional information. I want the books in this series to make every segment of your business run like finely-tuned machine cogs and to make them so fun you’ll want to read them while you’re on the fly or curled up in your favorite reading spot.

This book is aimed at retailers of every ilk. Some readers may be new at the game and others old-timers. I try to give enough details that newcomers won’t be left scratching their heads and asking, “Well, yeah. But just how do I go about that?” And I believe there are enough new ideas, slants on old topics, and inspiration in this book to make seasoned retailers sit up and take notice.

This book is about how to make in-store promotions—everything from your point-of-purchase to your events—both profitable and exciting. You’ll also learn a little bit about the real reason you should continue to promote and—surprise!—that isn’t necessarily to up your profits for any specific promotion or even to “advertise” your store—though no marketing-minded retailer would sneeze at those goals. So read on . . .

Here are links on this site where you will learn more about Carolyn Howard-Johnson's books, audios, and more:

Audios I coproduced to share the ins 'n' outs of writing, book promotion and marketing on the net. Retailers who are perfecting their online promotion skills will want to work on their writing skills, too--beyond business letters and advertising copy.
The Frugal Book Promoter, my way to share the pitfalls of publishing with other authors in hope they won't fall into the same potholes I did. Retailers will find essential marketing skills like writing media releases here--at least until I get to a book on these specifically for retailers. (-;
The Frugal Editor, second in the HowToDoItFrugally series, sharing my system for keep editing gremlins at bay. Retailers will find great editing an essential tool as they develop their online promotion campaigns.
Other publishing including shorter works.

Contents

Excerpt from A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How-To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns Using Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques.

The Introduction