A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Month: January 2014

Very happy newsagency shopper

sonywinnerThe customer who won the Sony PSP as part of our Hallmark Christmas card promotion came in and collected their prize. They were thrilled.

The photo is another for our gallery of happy customers picking up a prize. We will have five prize opportunities like this in 2014, promoting our business with prize opportunities that separate us from the 300 or so other retailers in our centre. It’s small differences like this that matter.

We sold 8% more Hallmark cards in December 2013 compared to December 2012. One of several factors driving this year on year growth is promotions like the prize opportunity for our customers. I am thrilled we decided to spend the money on this promotion.

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Management tip

Smart Chinese New Year connection

anzhnyHere is a good example of a major business connecting with a small retail season. This ANZ Bank in downtown Adelaide has an excellent branch-wide promotion of Chinese New Year. I was surprised when I saw it as it was the only retail business I noticed downtown with the CNY connection.

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marketing

PC-Eftpos under fire in Myer Christmas Eve outage

pc-eftposThe Australian Financial Review yesterday reported on a Christmas Eve It outage for the Myer department store. The AFR report points to issues related to PC-EFTPOS. This is a bridge commonly used when connecting POS software to a bank.

With many hundreds of newsagents using Tyro it’s worth noting that PC-EFTPOS is a competitor (with banks) to Tyro. Typically newsagents with an integrated Suncorp or St George or similar bank issued terminal will connect through PC-EFTPOS.

Myer competitors not affected by the outage benefited.

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EFTPOS fees

Timely promotion of Eat Well Stay Slim

magbookeatslimIt’s timely we are promoting the Eat Well Stay Slim magbook with slimming / dieting season in full swing in Australia right now. We have it placed so the full cover is on show as it works best this way in our view. It’s in the heathy area of our food section.

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magazines

Terrific lift in Beanie Kid sales in our newsagency

beaniekidsWith Christmas over and more space on the shop floor than we have had in months we took the opportunity to move our sizeable Beanie Kids display so that it faces shoppers as they enter the store with cards on the right and the counter on the left.

The result of the move is a terrific boost in sales.

With some kids coming back with discount vouchers from pre-Christmas purchases and others coming in with Christmas money to spend, the timing for moving the display to a higher traffic location is ideal.

This move is a reminder that we need to continually move departments and categories around in our businesses to combat store-blindness among our customers and those who work in the business. Our competitors do it and so should we.

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Management tip

Promoting crossword titles to holiday-makers

magspuzzlesWith a surge in holiday travelling we are seeing many new faces. Our team has been leveraging this opportunity with this excellent aisle end display promoting puzzle titles. I was thrilled to walk into the shop and see the initiative they had taken – inncluding the crossword art backdrop and the eye-catching sign. This display is placed at the entrance on the right to our main magazine aisle and on the left to plush and newspapers.

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magazines

Another new title from Bauer challenges space

magssoapextraWith a full allocation of pockets in the weekly & TV magazine sections of the magazine department, Bauer is challenging newsagents with launch of TV Week Soap Extra. In addition to making space we’re dealing with too much stock. This is a title they could have used sales based replenishment for rather than using newsagencies as warehouses.

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magazine distribution

Sunday work in the newsagency

We use Sundays to get some serious work done, work like:

  1. Early magazine returns (I check for titles not paying their way).
  2. Deciding other items to quit: pricing & displaying to sell quickly.
  3. Card returns.
  4. General re-stocking from space stock.
  5. Putting out new card stock if there is any left to do.
  6. Rearranging non-circulation product displays ready for the week.

With Sunday labour being so expensive we run the business to ensure there is plenty of valuable work to do.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency management tip: think about how you compete

What differentiates your retail newsagency from other businesses that sell what you sell?

ASK YOURSELF: How is your card offer different from others selling cards? How is your stationery offer different from others selling stationery? How is your magazine offer different from othgers selling magazines?  And so on…

No, you can’t say service is your differentiator. I won’t accept that. It’s too vague. Specifically, what is different about your business? Think about it. Take your time. It has to be something you deliberately do in and through your business to compete.

Your difference has to be noticeable, valuable and memorable.

If you get this right and offer a genuine point of difference that truly is noticeable, valuable and memorable your business will compete effectively. If you’re losing business to your competitors then your point of difference is not working.

This is my management tip today for retail newsagents and other retailers – think carefully about how you compete, assess your performance and take steps to improve if your numbers show your current approach is not working as it should.

To read more on this see my post on How to develop your own Unique Selling Proposition.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: offer a gift registry

idea-giftregistryIf you are serious about toys or gifts or plush in your retail newsagency then consider offering a gift registry – especially if you are in a regional or rural situation.

I was reminded of the gift registry idea when in Manila early last month and I saw a gift registry promoted out the front of Toy Kingdom at the Mall of Asia. Their pull-up banner not only promoted the registries for individuals, it also promoted the service itself. Very smart.

For a gift registry idea to work, you would need to offer a reasonable range of gift / toys / plush for the target gift recipient. Plus you would need to establish a process as well as a marketing plan to promote the opportunity.

Offering a gift registry service could provide a valuable point of difference for your business over others covering the same categories. It could also be a way to pre-sell items from catalogues from your suppliers.

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Gifts

When was the last time you asked your retail employees for their business advice?

Small retail business owners often tell me that they feel lonely when it comes to the management of their business, that the have no one to turn to for ideas on how to improve the business.

My experience is that some of the best ideas for improving a retail business are in the business itself – in your employees, those who work in the business every day. The challenge for you as the leader of the business is to unlock the ideas.

Invite ideas / suggestions / tips / feedback from everyone who works in your business. Make it easy for their to share / submit their ideas. Here my suggestions:

  1. Setup a whiteboard in a public area at the back of the shop.
  2. Put an Ideas Book at the counter for people to write in.
  3. Create a Google document and share it online – giving all employees access.

Have no rules. Invite all ideas for improving the business.

I like the Ideas book best as it’s easy, cheap and accessible.

However you approach inviting ideas from employees, genuinely engage with the process, provide feedback, show that you value their input and that it means a lot to you. be open to being challenged. Trust the process.

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Management tip

Magical back to school items

magicpencilWhile back to school is not big for us – due to out situation, space restrictions,  that we make more money from plush and gifts than back to school could ever deliver and due to not being able to or wanting to match the massive investment of the majors in the season –  we are having fun with a range of magic items including some that connect with the back to school / school holiday theme like The Magical Pencil Case.

We put these out as stocking stuffers in the final lead up to Christmas and they sold well. The pencil case and other items in the range have continued to sell well after Christmas – the work as school holiday and back to school purchases.

We have the pencil cases at the counter. It’s a pleasure to see customers add them to a purchase on impulse.

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Fun

October – December newsagency sales benchmark study under way

I am currently gathering sales data for the October – December 2013 vs 2012 newsagency sales benchmark study. I already have data for more than fifty newsagencies in a range of situations and trading under different brands.  My goal is to have the analysis completed later next week – to provide a good early assessment of the busiest quarter of the retail year for newsagents.

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Newsagency benchmark

Get in early for Australia Day

colesadayColes is offering newsagents a reminder to get in early for Australia Day product with this aisle-end displays in supermarkets of a range of Australia Day themed products.

While I know newsagents who will sell Australia Day products, most would not have it out yet. By going out now, Coles is grabbing business ahead of when we would traditionally embrace season.

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newsagency marketing

Lovatts dream holiday competition

lovattsholidayI like the Lovatts dream holiday competition. It’s offering an ideal prize for the Lovatts customer. The pitch is easily understood thanks to a good design.

The floor display unit I saw a couple of days ago promoting it, while not holding product that well, stood out and should help drive sales.  The WIN headline caught my eye.

With floorspace being expensive and in high demand I’m not sure I could hold the space for the stand for more than a few of weeks – if I was given a stand.

Click on the image for a larger version.

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crosswords

Rockhampton Morning Bulletin talks down lotto

apnlottoThe Rockhampton Morning Bulletin today talks down lotto to its readership. This same newspaper relies on lotto retailers, newsagents, to promote its product to their customers.

Newspapers are happy to report stories that put other products in a negative or difficult light but rarely embrace the opportunity to do the same about their own product.

I am sure there is another angle the newspaper could have taken with the data on lottery wins.

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Lotteries

New generation Australia Post bill payment kiosks raise the bar

apbillpayIn the week before Christmas I took time to watch customer interaction with the bill payment / parcel post kiosks at an Australia Post outlet in a shopping centre where I have a newsagency. These are the new kiosks, the ones newsagents will need to compete with if they want to play in this space.

In this busy retail week before Christmas the kiosks did what they were designed to do – serving customers completely away from the counter.  I watched six people do transactions. Four appeared to know what they were doing and two seemed to be new to the kiosk. Those new to the kiosk soon sorted it out. The technology guided them. Paying bills and posting parcels seemed very easy.

That people could do all this from the kiosk without staff involvement is a point of difference newsagents wanting to play in this space will need to confront. The other point of difference is the kiosk solution itself – this kiosk is elegant and is packed with everything necessary for true self service.

I appreciate some newsagent long after being able to offer a bill payment service. If that’s you take a look at what Australia Post offers. It’s impressive.

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Australia Post

Confronting the news of migration from print to digital

Read what Andy Nulman has written for the Huffington Post about migrating his magazine reading from print to digital. Then this story from The New York Times from a few days ago about people who love special interest magazines.

It’s easy for us to focus on the bad news in magazine sales as reflected in audit results for weekly titles. There is plenty of good news for magazines. Not only in special interest titles but elsewhere. Many of us have good news in our data.

In December, my weekly magazine sales were up 1% year on year in a whole of month comparison with December a year earlier. Women’s Interests: up 18%; Sport & Leisure: up 18%; Home & Living: up 19%; Children’s: up 21%.

In each of our businesses is data indicating growth opportunities with magazines. What we achieve is, in many respects,  up to us.

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magazines

If you are using Facebook to promote your business

Facebook’s so uncool, but it’s morphing into a different beast is an excellent article by Daniel Miller (Professor of Material Culture at University College London) published last week at The Conversation. Newsagents using Facebook to promote their businesses should read this article.

Understanding the generational shift in Facebook users can help us better target our use of the medium and guide consideration of other mediums.

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marketing

School holiday configuration helps maximise purchases in the newsagency

dogscounterWhile we’re still running the Boxing Day sale and will do so for another week, we have consolidated the sale items to one part of the shop reset the other parts of the shop to make the most of the change in shopper traffic that the school holidays bring.

We pay attention to the counter and the other points where shoppers stop: weekly magazines, newspapers – plus on the way to these points.

The photo shows one of our counter positions. The shelf packed with dogs is being topped up daily. Yes, customers do purchase dogs on impulse, adding these $$20.00+ items to their basket.

The customers most likely to engage with these carefully placed products and those who do not usually shop with us. This time of the year more than half our customers are not regular – so getting product placement right for impulse purchase performance is crucial. Get it right an you can bank excellent results.

It’s this time of the year when we play the most outside the traditional newsagency model.

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Impulse lines

Parcel Point pick up service generating traffic for newsagents

parcelpointWe have been a Parcel Point outlet since the launch of the service in the newsagency channel.  I like their drop-off service – where people wanting to return something to a retailer bring it to us for collection by the courier.  It’s been interesting being part of the online Christmas rush with parcels being collected and others being returned. The process in each direction is easy.

Parcel Point has made finding pick up and drop off locations very easy vie their website.

While I write here from time to time that I don’t want to rely on agency business, the Parcel Point arrangement is simple. It cost nothing to get involved. The space requirements are small too.

A bonus is that the relationship is between Parcel Point and your business – there is no middle party taking a clip.

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Newsagency management
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