Marketing

What is marketing?

Marketing is everything that you do that relates to your store. It goes beyond external advertising to the products that you carry, the way they are presented, the way they are explained, and how your staff interacts with customers. These Websites have informative newsletters on the subject of marketing.

• Avant|Marketer
• Marketing Profs

So how do you make sure all your marketing is consistent (which is an absolute must)? First cast aside any urges for you or your store to be a high profile media star and accept that retail marketing is very different from traditional marketing. First, most stores pay for a location that will in many case provide sufficient quantities of targeted traffic. Second, most individual stores do not have marketing budgets that allow for mass media marketing. Focusing on marketing gets people talking. This "viral marketing" is the more common path to retail success. Everything in your store will be constantly visible and therefore everything you do must be looked at from a marketing point of view and project properly coordinated messages.

Have you evaluated these key marketing areas in your retail planning?

Customer service

A significant part of inside-out marketing involves internal marketing efforts geared toward your staff. The staff is absolutely critical to return revenue; if one customer is treated poorly, no matter how great the store looked, they are not likely to return. Retail Concepts often helps retailers with internal marketing activities to ensure employees believe in the store and the merchandise just as much as the owner does. This often involves the creative use of incentives and working to empower the staff to do whatever it takes to make customers happy.

Looking for ways to measure your customer satisfaction? Businesses such as Customers First offers suggestions and tools for understanding your customers and their impressions of your store.

Word-of-mouth

Every opportunity for a customer to say something about your store is marketing. You want to make sure they say something positive! Give them something to talk about whether it be their overall experience or a story that goes along with a specific product and why it is so special that everyone needs to buy one.

In-store events & promotions

Get creative and get people into your store. Try to come up with something interactive and related to your identity. The more you get people spreading positive word about your store, the more successful the event. Some examples include a children's fashion show with local kids as models for a children's clothing store, or a free makeover giveaway for a cosmetics store.

Website!

As part of our inside-out marketing approach, we believe that a Website is an integral part of a consumer's interaction with a retailer and, as such, should send the same messages and create the same image as the store does.

Database marketing

Are you collecting information on your customers? If not you should be! This is an easy way to remind them about your store and give them reasons to come back and visit you. Your database can be used in many ways, from email newsletters and announcements to mailings in regards to their birthday, special events and promotions. Sound good but not sure you will have time to keep up with writing a newsletter or keeping in touch with them? There are plenty of resources out there to help you.

• getsugar (email marketing services)

Advertising

If you have something big to announce, running advertisements or sending targeted mail can be something to consider. Some resources to use for pricing and information:

• MediaPost
• Radio Advertising Bureau
• Yahoo Search Marketing (Search Engine Advertising)
• Inside Direct Mail

Signage & in-store communications

While well-trained, friendly salespeople can help create sales, many of today's customers will not allow their involvement in the process. Signage does not need to be sterile - it should work with your image and add to the shoppability of your store. According to Paco Underhill in the bestseller Why We Buy, "You can't waste a chance to tell shoppers something you want them to know." Restoration Hardware has mastered in-store advertising for their products. They can romance even a dustpan and compel shoppers to make impulse purchases.

Getting ideas from others

Join an association or attend a tradeshow to stay up to date on trends and happenings in your industry.

• National Retail Federation
• Retailers Association of Massachusetts (RAM)
• Ladies Who Launch
• Tradeshow Calendar

Read more retail marketing tips.

Need help with your marketing plan? Contact us. Our experienced marketers, media buyers, and designers are on hand to help assess the needs of every customer and plan accordingly. We always produce plans that respect retailers' budgets and meet carefully articulated objectives. Once the plan is developed, we can also assist in coordinating its implementation and management to make sure it is successful.