It’s great to be around newsagents who love what they do and seek out change
I spent yesterday at the second newsXpress national conference for 2014. It was a terrific day with stories of success by newsagents who are changing their businesses, introducing new traffic drivers yet who are not forgetting the importance of core categories.
While some in our channel are only now realising that change is important, I met with business owners who started making major changes years ago and who are not into the next generation of change.
In addition to a full conference day, there was a busy trade display with many suppliers who had never exhibited to newsagents previously. It was a thrill watching this first time interaction – it’s all about change for newsagents and for suppliers.
This was a practical conference with some excellent business management and merchandising workshop – attended by more than 100 newsagents from around the country.
Interactive Coke machine could help newsagents drive beverage sales
I got to see the new in-store interactive Coke machine in action on the Gold Coast yesterday. It’s a heap of fun. You stand in front of the machine and it puts a wig over your image. It selects the wig based on its own assessment of how you look. In the morning it thought I needed to wear a baseball cap and look like a rapper and in the afternoon it was a mullet. Hmm…
I can imagine customers having a lot of fun with this machine. It;s a short step from that fun to them purchasing product from the fridge and that;s the goal. This unit is an excellent example of interactive retail that could drive beverage sales in newsagencies.
Many opportunities to leverage mega TV brands
Sons of Anarchy is another hit TV show with an excellent merchandise opportunity for newsagents, especially if you are looking for male-skewed items. With different suppliers holding different licences it can be a challenge to get a broad range with which to tell a story. Sons of Anarchy products could sell all year based on interest in the TV brand. One way to assess interest is download traffic.
Touching story from the shop floor: I can’t sing, I need a card to sing to my wife
On Saturday a guy asked for my help in choosing a card. He said – I can’t sing, I seed a card to sing to my wife. They’re in the middle of a tough situation and wanted a singing card because his wife loved music. He was thrilled that we had a card that played Stand By Me.
It’s perfect he exclaimed. He shook my hand.
It is heartwarming moments like these from the shop floor that stay with me. I’m very lucky to have experienced this.
Customers will reach for magazines!
The success we are having with craft magazines – up 31% year on year – is proof that customers will reach dow magazines that interest them. We’ve made it hard for our customers, placing the craft titles down below our weeklies. A best I expected we would hold steady. I did not expect growth. It goes to show that people with a strong interest in a topic will put themselves out to purchase.
The smile says it all
A young boy – 5 or 6 – presented at the counter on Saturday and asked if we had Happy Hoppers. I took him to our display on the shop floor. On seeing this, he yelled out at the top of his voice: mum, they have them they have them! Others in the shop smiled.
The joy expressed by the kid was infectious. It gave me a real boost.
I love that he asked for the product by name and love even more his excitement at finding it in our shop. This is a $2.95 destination purchase to remember.
Everyday in our shops we have engagements that provide us with a reward that can be more valuable than profit. I love it.
New Idea early publication delivers excellent sales bump
The image shows the sales decay for New Idea between Monday last week and mid Saturday afternoon compared to the average for three weeks at this time last year. In addition to excellent overall year on year growth being achieved for New Idea (against trend I’d note), you can see the impact of the early publication on sales for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Yes, a terrific sales bump, vindicating the decision to go early.
What is interesting in the decay curve is that the Thursday on-sale of the special issue did not create a Monday-like spike. Sales were strong for sure, but not as high as we see on a Monday. I think this is representative of habit. It will be interesting to see our sales for this coming Monday.
Being in a shopping centre, we are better placed than a high street located newsagency to leverage sales on a Thursday and the weekend.
N branding on How Your Body Works TVC irrelevant
The N branding on the How Your Body Works TV commercial currently running is irrelevant. The N is used by few newsagents. I’d guess than under 10% of retail newsagents use it in their branding. The N stands for nothing. Indeed it can’t stand for anything as there are no disciplines around its use.
It’s a waste of money the publishers using the N in their advertising. It will do nothing for sales of this part series.
Coles launches home brand crosswords
Coles has launched a series of home branded crossword titles priced at $2 each. They are published for Coles by Hinkler. I’m not sure who creates the actual crosswords. I wonder if this move will challenge pocket allocations for Lovatts or Puzzler titles in Coles supermarkets. If the Coles treatment of other suppliers in response to home brand moves is anything to go by I suspect it will.
Leveraging International Traveller
Newsagents would have received a boost in supply for the latest issue of International Traveller last week. This is a special edition, it should achieve a 15% or more sales boost based on past experience – hence the bump in supply. We have International Traveller placed with Australian Traveller next to women’s magazines – since women make most of the travel decisions.
Sunday newsagency marketing tip: be clear in your message
What are you calling out to those who walk by your newsagency and those who see your marketing in the local paper, on your car or elsewhere in your community?
What are prospective customers seeing to entice them into your business?
Are you speaking with a single voice, delivering a clear message? Or, are you saying so much, pitching so many things, that your message does not have the cut through it needs?
The old school approach by newsagency businesses for the shopfront was magazine posters, newspaper posters, seasonal posters, a drink fridge, lottery posters (if you have lotteries) and maybe something else. This is out of date.
The best practice approach today is to attract shoppers with a pitch that is relevant to today, something that is fresh this week and will be changed by next week. Something attracting a shopper beyond the shopper who will visit regardless of what you promote at the front of the business.
Newsagents often tell me that it doesn’t matter what they put at the front or in the window of the shop – customers don;t notice. If they don’t notice it’s probably because you have encouraged them not to because of a sameness week in week out.
How you pitch your business is critical in attracting more shoppers and getting them spending on more valuable items. It’s up to you. Your newsagency shingle will not do this for you.
Sunday newsagency management tip: setting tasks for your team
Ensuring business runs the way you want when you are not there can be challenging. I have found a diary works as a single place for communication between everyone involved. However, that can be limiting when you have a lot on or very specific things to be done.
This management tip is what I have seen in one of my businesses. It’s how the manager communicated with the weekend team this weekend when there was more than usual to do.
Creating a document with photos showing display unit placement is a terrific way to ensure that what you ask to be done is done how you want it done.
Sometimes employees get it wrong because how we have communicated our requests is wrong.
A Sunday inspiration
I love the song On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons. Besides loving it as a song, I love that it is inspirational, that it it’s about acknowledging defeat, but not letting that deter your will to try again. For me, it’s a song to play when you need to shut out the world to concentrate on plans for the future or many analysing why something didn’t go as planned. It’s a reminder of the importance of confidence.
And I know it’s hard when you’re falling down
And it’s a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.
Here’s the video if you’re interested:
Australia Post Licenced Post Office Agreements run for 20 years?
I was surprised to read reports this week that Australia Post Licenced Post Office agreements run for 20 years with little opportunity to exit the agreement. The ABC had this story yesterday.
Given the considerable challenges being faced by Australia Post and that small business LPOs shoulder costs of many of those challenges, the length of the agreement is an issue to consider.
I’d be interested to hear what LPO operators have to say about this.
There are some days I look at the traffic of Post Offices and think it would be good to have it. But then I consider why people are there and think I am better off attracting shoppers who are looking for higher margin items and others prepared to spend up on impulse lines. I suspect the conversion rates of postal and bill payment services shoppers to other items is low. It’s what newsagents found with Bill Express.
For me, it comes back to being a retailer or an agent. While I choose to be a retailer, if you own and LPO or have one within your newsagency business and decide to focus on being a retailer, the length of the agreement could be a challenge.
Ready for big Father’s Day sales
We’re all set for a huge day today serving last minute Father’s Day shoppers. Our card have been refreshed as have our Father’s Day gifts. While we’re out of plenty of items we have depth within the gift department to have enough products on show to make a broad-based pitch for the season. We’re not forgetting magazines – they are a popular gift this season.
In addition to the usual Father’s Day gifts we have some excellent high end items as well as several ranges that play into collector interests – all with excellent margin.
Based on previous years, today should be terrific – we’re looking forward to it.
Who wants to be lumped in with this shop in the minds of shoppers?
A customer recently asked if we had something they could not find in the other newsagency. This surprised me as the centre in which we were in at the time only has one newsagency, mine. It turns out they see a Tatts shop which sells papers, greeting cards and a ton of junk poorly displayed as a newsagency.
I don’t want to be considered as having a business like this one. In fact, my shop is very different to theirs. It’s neat, appealing in layout, professional and carrying premium gifts and no cheap imports like this shop in the photo focusses on. That said, the comparison makes me want to make it even more different.
We can’t control the businesses shoppers compare us with but we can control how our own businesses look.
Canadian publishers closes 11 newspapers
Canadian publisher Transcontinental Inc announced earlier this week that they would close 20 newspapers.
In the wake of this announcement, Transcontinental Inc. is also announcing that it is reorganizing its weekly newspaper portfolio and effective today will stop publishing 20 of its titles, which for the most part will be integrated with other publications it holds in the same regions.
This is what happens when newspapers don’t make a profit from their product.
Network Services fails newsagents again
Magazine distributor Network Services is shutting its help desk at 1pm today because its Netonline website is closed for maintenance from 1pm.
I don’t see any connection between Netonline availability and the ability of Network Services people to provide service.
Through my newsagency software company I have oversight of a help desk and it runs rain hail or shine – regardless of whether technology is online or not.
Customer services businesses are about serving your customer. Shutting your doors for half a day does not make sense. Newsagents are being let down here.
I can’t recall this happening prior to Bauer taking over the business.