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

Month: April 2014

Taking a different approach with Easter chocolate

e4We are not running with the usual eggs this Easter. Instead, we have sourced a range of funky chocolate items from local company Freckleberry. We tried their range at Christmas and it worked a treat. Customers loved having access to chocolate that is different. I think the same will be true with this Easter range. The products are well packaged, keenly priced, provide a good margin and fun.

If my newsagency was in a country town I’d probably have a more traditional offering but in a capital city shopping centre where Easter Eggs are well represented in at least twenty shops I’d prefer to have a different Easter chocolate offer. This fits well with our Easter cards, plush and gifts.

We’re not a one size fits all channel and that can be a challenge for some suppliers to understand. Easter is a good example of the differences in today’s newsagency businesses.

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confectionary

Sunday newsagency management tip: don’t let your ignorance hold your business back

I know of newsagents who refuse to engage with Facebook because they say they are too old or that they don’t have the time. Years ago there were those who refused to get an email address saying that they would prefer a phone call or a fax. Before that some probably resisted getting a fax saying that a telegram would suffice if the matter was urgent.

Our businesses deserve to be represented where our prospective customers are. Facebook is one such place today. It’s currently free. Do it right and you can reach far more customers through your Facebook page than you would get through your front door in a week.

Don’t let your ignorance get in the way of reaching more prospective customers for your business. If you’re not on Facebook, get on. If you are on facebook, start working on what’s next – be it Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or some other mobile connected platform.

There will always be a new communication and or marketing platform to learn. Refusing to use one, such as Facebook, only holds your business back.

As for the excuse of not having time, that’s ridiculous given how much your business could benefit.

This post is not about Facebook. No, it is about every innovation you ignore out of fear or stubbornness.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: use colour to entice new customers

I have written a bit recently about using colour blocking to draw more attention to your business and to products you sell. A colour-blocked display can have shoppers noticing products they may otherwise not have noticed.

All smart retailers use colour effectively.

colourcauliThe supermarket where I photographed this cauliflower display is using colour effectively to draw attention to a vegetable that otherwise may be overlooked. Rich colours in neat sections – it’s a simple yet effective approach. I noticed a kid pulling their parent to look at the cauliflower- that’s an effective display!

colourtapeIn a Staples store this week I saw this display of Scotch tape – colour blocked. The columns of yellow, red, purple and green are more eye-catching than how these products are usually displayed in the stationery department of a newsagency. Making the display may require more stock. The display could drive sales!

Use colour blocking in your shop – in the window, on the dance floor (that open space bordered by your entrain, the counter and your main fixturing – and in key departments – to draw attention to products based on a bold display based on product colour.

The change could get regular customers noticing products they did not know you carried.

Displays like this also say something about you and your business and that could appeal to new shoppers.

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marketing

Survey on newsagent conferences and trade shows

With GNS cancelling their traditional Market Fairs this year and transitioning to expos in each state at GNS warehouses and more newsagents attending the national Toy Fair and one or more Gift Fairs, newsagency suppliers are wondering about the best trade shows and events to support to connect with newsagents.

In a meeting of several newsagency suppliers on an unrelated topic a week ago there was active discussion on conferences and trade shows. I offered to use this blog to harvest feedback from newsagents – to better inform suppliers of your preferences.

Click here to share your insights: Newsagent conference / trade show survey. Your response is anonymous. Results will be published here for all to read.

Please encourage others to participate in the survey. The more who respond the better.

Conferences and trade shows are expensive for suppliers. The more efficient they can make these events the better for their businesses and for the newsagents they serve.

I’ll leave the survey up for a few days.

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Newsagent representation

Easter plush hit drives newsagency traffic

e7This cute rabbit Beanie Boo has generated plenty of traffic for us over the last couple of weeks – driving excellent card, magazine and other purchases along the way. Even though we only have one or two left, it’s been responsible for an excellent start to Easter.

This is another example of plush driving success elsewhere in a newsagency business. We were careful to place this item such that it drove purchases of other items including some more traditional newsagency lines.

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Plush

A compact newspaper stand

newspaperstandCheck out the newspaper / magazine / candy stand being used by WH Smith in at least one Australian outlet I saw earlier this week. This stand or one even more efficient in space and with a lower profile is what I was getting at in my recent post suggesting newspaper publishers should work together. Being able to move newspapers to different locations would see them spend more time at the front of the shop.

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Newspapers

Excellent sweets display at Zoodle

zoodle-candyThis photo shows the display of packaged sweets at the Zoodle store by WH Smith at Melbourne airport. I love the red and yellow striped canopy above the product as it draws attention to this rear-wall display. It visually anchors this department within the business. In fact, anchoring departments is done well in in this Zoodle shop. Browsers can easily identify each section.  This is important in retail.

Take a look at your newsagency: do you have departments visually anchored? Are borders from one department to another clear? While it can be appealing to have departments and sections blend into each other, this can hinder the browsing experience and thereby affect revenue.

Attention given to shop layout can improve sales regardless of the age of the shop-fit.

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confectionary

The Los Angeles what?

latcoverupThe stuck on ad for Kohl’s posted on the front page of the Los Angeles Times yesterday covered the masthead of the newspaper. I love newspapers and disheartened to see such a respected masthead covered up in this way. Sure publishers need the money but why not carve out page one space in a way that respects the brand?

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newspaper masthead desecration

Newsagents have access to excellent healthy eating advice

newsagent-healthIn newsagency magazine departments we have access to excellent health and nutrition advice along side not so healthy temptations.

Time and other demands on running and working in a newsagency can challenge the health choices we make. I know I have succumbed too often to poor choices in shopping centre food courts.

One way we can help ourselves, our staff and our customers is to give prominence to health conscious magazines and issues of magazines promoting healthy recipes. We can also ensure that any topped food magazines put in the lunch room offer healthy choices over less healthy food.

With your newsagency most likely one of your most valuable assets you owe it to the business and those who depend on it to be fit and healthy. Exercise and diet are the keys to being fit and healthy. Many magazines you sell today have good advice on this. These are the magazines we should be paying more attention to: for our future and those who rely on us.

While I am no fitness expert, I have found wearing a pedometer to count steps and cooking some recipes in Diabetic Living and Australian Healthy Food Guide to be useful in feeling better.

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Happy products

Loom Bands in the news again

loombandsstoryThe Herald Sun earlier this week had a story on a school banning kids wearing the Loom Bands. This story has kicked along interest as it reinforces interest in the popular jewellery items. The million dollar question remains – when will this round of the craze end? While I don’t know, I am being careful to not carry too much stock exposure.

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Gifts

Money back guarantee for Yours

untitled_697x994In a first, Bauer is offering Yours readers a money back guarantee up to April 25, 2014. If they are not satisfied they complete a form online, print this, mail it with the magazine cover and Bauer will send a pre-loaded eftpos card that will have to be used within 39 days.

With a bit of thought there could have been a way to involve newsagents in this process and provide a better customer experience as a result.

This money back guarantee offer on the back of the discounted copy sold with Woman’s Day last week invites speculation about the circulate being achieved for the title.

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magazines

Chasing the 24/7 shopper

connectedretailCheck out the window I saw at a Forever 21 retail store last week. Whereas in the past valuable window space would be promoting the latest season fashion products available in-store, this window is promoting 24/7 connection / shopping with Forever 21.

National and international retailers are all over 24/7 shopping. More and more are using their retail shops to promote other ways to shop with their business.

In addition to the challenges we face in several traditional newsagency product categories, we have this challenge of 24/7 retail, a challenge many newsagents don’t know how to confront. The best place to start is via social media: Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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retail

Opportunity to promote Australian Traveller

at100The latest Australian Traveller out yesterday features the 100 Best Holidays in Australia. Plus, there is a free wall map that people love with the 100 on it and a bonus magazine – 16 Amazing Landscapes of Australia.  This is an excellent issue to promote with weeklies and or newspapers as well as with travel magazines. My recommendation is with weeklies since research shows women make more travel decisions than men.

Don’t early return this title – it sells through the on-sale period. This issue is getting good media coverage.

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magazines

Poor communication from Tatts lets newsagents down

While newsagents like the free scratch ticket prize from Tatts to drive scratch ticket sales, the execution by Tatts does not allow newsagents to seamlessly and efficiently track the tickets they give away. Had tatts consulted in advance they could have done this in a way that saved newsagents time and provided better record keeping of the free tickets handed out.

For years Tatts has failed to do its research and failed to ensure best practice advice for its retailers. Here we are in 2014 with another example.

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Lotteries

Promoting Easter to attract newsagency shoppers

easter2014Easter is a broad season ranging in focus from religious through to kid-targeted gifts and fun. The team at one of my stores has created a grassed mound as the foundation for promoting chocolate, egg-themed and plush items for purchase as Easter gifts. The Easter card stand is placed next to this to grab this purchase with the gifts.

Looking back on sales data for the last few years, Easter has been growing in importance for us in all categories including cards. We are chasing growth in 2014. This display will change over the weeks plus we will have counter offers for Easter related impulse purchases.

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Greeting Cards

Smart promotion of local connection

localconnectionIt’s one thing to say shop locally and another altogether to show customers the local connection of products you sell.

The photo shows how a Thomas Dux supermarket is promoting free range eggs. While not very local, the poster does show the eggs are from a farm in the state as well as giving confidence that they are genuinely free range.

We have products in our shops that could benefit from such promotion – including magazines from local publishers and gifts from local artists.

I like this poster because it is educational and that makes it feel more authentic – far more valuable than simply promoting that they have free range eggs.

Building shopper trust starts with sharing information they can believe. This poster achieves that for me.

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magazines

Impressive issue of The Monthly

monthly-apr2014The April issue of The Monthly is impressive in content and with its cover. Indeed, the cover is a stand out in the sea of colour in the magazine department. We have this issue in its usual location and with newspapers for the first week. We will also place it in our free standing floor unit as the entrance to the main magazine aisle as this will get it in front of more eyeballs – especially women who I think will be drawn to this issue.

The Monthly is a magazine we can guide customers to purchase on impulse by doing something outside the usual with it. What we do depends on the cover. This cover demands our attention.

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magazines

Check out this UK Home News Delivery association

HNDA Ltd is a UK association representing home delivery newsagents. Their aim is impressive and clear:

“PREFERENTIAL TERMS” – That is our ultimate goal for all HNDA members with HND customers.

We will represent every UK Independent Home News Delivery Newsagent when negotiating the needs of our and your business with Publishers, Wholesaler Distributors and any other organisation looking to benefit from utilising our services directly or indirectly. Our package to Publishers and Wholesalers will be recognised as a break through for the whole News Trade Industry, most importantly the package is for the benefit of HND Newsagents ONLY.

From what I can see they are not engaged in commercial activity – theirs is a pure association offering for UK newsagents.

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Newsagent representation

US lawmakers move against online gambling

It’s interesting to see US lawmakers move against online gambling. They argue online is harder to control and that poses a risk to young people, especially underage young people who can gamble without being detected.

Newsagents wanting to staunch the growth of online gambling in Australia could consider engaging in a push for similar legislation here. If this happened the live question would be whether politicians would support it. I suspect not as online gambling has too much of a commercial foot hold.

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Lotteries

When a customer hugs you

It’s usually pretty special when a customer hugs you in you or a team member in your newsagency. Maybe not so much in a rural or regional newsagency where you know most of your customers but it’s certainly rare in a capital city newsagency and rarer still in a shopping centre newsagency. So, yeah, when a customer hugs you or a team member it is very special – as long as it’s not weird or inappropriate.

I heard of this the other day when a newsagent was able to get the missing issue in a long partwork series. Where other magazine retailers would have given up, this newsagent pushed and argued and pushed and eventually got the missing issue. Kudos to them. They deserved the hug or appreciation from the customer. They represented the newsagency shingle well.

Every day in newsagencies we experience personal and often heart-felt customer interactions that are rare in other retail businesses. We ought to share more stories of these. Whether it is giving or receiving a hug, our relationship with our customers is special and often deeper than the same shopper experiences in other retail businesses. This is a difference for us to cherish.

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Newsagency management

Beware the fake $50 note in your newsagency

Fake50Here is a fake $50 I intercepted and photographed before handing it in. On a busy day, presented at the right time, I can see how this would have made it’s way into the day’s takings. Two simple checks would have avoided accepting it: the clear window did not feel integrated with the note and the material was more paper than plastic in the feel.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has excellent information on detecting counterfeits for each Australian note. I’d suggest we all ensure all our staff review this and thereby are more informed at detecting fake notes. We appear to be in a period of high circulation of fakes at the moment.

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Newsagency management

The NSW State Government shows how little it cares about small business

The roll out of the Opal Card to people using  Sydney Public Transport shows how little the Liberal State Government cares about small businesses like newsagents.

The margin being offered is tiny, not fairly or reasonably respecting the time, space and financial comitment to be made by newsagents in offering Opal.

Further, it is being rolled out by epay, a company with a poor customer service track record with newsagents. Plus you have to have extra equipment from epay for topping up Opal cards.

Newsagency competitors like c-stores including 7-Eleven will embrace Opal as it fits their model of tiny margin traffic generating business. This will encourage and force some newsagents to chase it.

If I owned a newsagency in NSW I’d say no to offering Opal. The margin offered by the state government is disrespectful. Plus, my experience is that transport ticket customers are inefficient, they rarely purchase other items no matter how good a deal might be.

The O’Farrell Liberal Government is showing that it is the same as any Government we have seen in Australia for decades when it comes to small business. They treat small business with complete disrespect. We ought to expect no more from hypocrites.

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Newsagency challenges

Are you at the Loom Bands party?

loombandsIf you have never heard of Loom Bands or are just considering stocking this product now you’re coming late to a craze than has been hot for months. Kids, especially young girls, love these things. We have been selling them since last year and have struggled to maintain stock – especially when the craze hits a new school. You can tell based on th wave of new shoppers.

If you are coming new to Loom Bands, be careful as interest will wane. You want that to occur when you’re almost out of stock. But, hey, what do I know. I thought YoYos would never come back.

We are stocking expecting to get a few months more out of the craze so by mid year we will reassess our stock plans.

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art supplies
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