Sunday marketing tip: 10 free to implement ideas for driving retail sales

Here are ten free to implement ways newsagents can drive sales in their business:

1. Stop looking at your counter as your customer service hub. By the time people reach your counter they have most of the items they wish to purchase. The shop floor is where you can do the most to drive sales.
2. Include coupons (ads) on receipts.  These should be designed to drive incremental business and / or bring customers back sooner.
3. Run a loyalty program, not a competition but a loyalty program.  Track what your customers and buying and reward them.  Also, target marketing based on sales.
4. Make offers: buy two and get three.  Use the catalogue facilities in your software to make the offers.  This is where you can separate your business from others retailers with the same products – by creating packages.
5. Consider installing a LCD customer display – run ads between sales and DURING sales.  Make sure that your ad slide show is consistent and focusing on a category.  We have had a lot of success with mobile recharge ads in my own stores.
6. Run an employee rewards program.  Set sales targets and offer bonuses and rewards for over achievement.  This helps employees understand the role they play in driving your sales.
7. Use your top selling items to sell other items. Your top selling items are a magnet – what do you have near them? What do you have facing sippers heading board and away from them?
8. Track everything in the front third of your shop.  Change these items regularly.  Be ruthless – if something is not working, quit it.  For example, I look at the sales from spinners every week.  If they are not giving me a return I look at moving or quitting them.
9. Include a sales pitch / marketing message on your statements.
10. Email your customers once a month with news and offers.

This list is by no means complete. Hopefully, reading it will help you one up with your own ideas which are appropriate to your needs.