The abundance of real news this week provides us with an excellent opportunity to remember that we are newsagents with the emphasis on news.
While digital platforms are providing immediate coverage of the major stories – Lybia, Egypt, Bahrain, Christchurch and, yes, Ricky Nixon – on our shelves we have newspapers with the analysis and the pictures.
I’d encourage newsagents to take a moment and check how newspapers are displayed. Are they in the best position? Are you co-locating at the lottery counter as well? Are you showing off content for these top stories? Are your team members promoting newspapers across the counter? Have you considered a display around some of the big stories as you would feature a magazine?
This week newsagents have many reasons to take a fresh and bigger approach to promoting newspapers. I say go for it!
Pos comments here about what you are doing to promote newspapers in this week of big news stories.
Our papers are out the front and beyond that we provide printed out updates attached to the paper stand so that the customers are kept current on large world events.
We rejigged orders yesterday to get more papers . The shop was busy from 5:30 with lots of new faces. First replenishments were ordered by 9am. It’s a big day for us and our sub agents. Not so pleasant was the 3 hour delay in magazine arrivals. Missed the early morning delivery runs and sub agent deliveries. Anyone knows that the first day of a magazine is it’s best day. Transport companies have no sense of responsibilty what so ever.
During our recent cyclones we got the paper blown up to a massive size covering ore front windows so people could see what was in it (mainly because we kept selling out and couldn’t get enough papers )we found that this ended up being a little social meeting place over the week and customers that we did not normally have would pop in and say what a great service we were doing .
I try to promote that we are a forward thinking newsagency interested in IT and I run MSN at the front counter when something happens like the NZ earthquake and we discuss it with customers and I read out the latest updates to them.
We also use whitepages.com to look up phone nos for people (or addresses) and they really appreciate it