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

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: create your own season

marshmallowseasonI had never heard of Marshmallow & Coconut Season and I can’t find anything about it online – except for the season declared (and owned) by Haigh’s Chocolates in a brilliant marketing move.

They promote it in-store with A3 posters.

You can declare your own season around which you can create your own events relevant to what you sell – through which you can engage with your community.

Just as Haigh’s have done brilliantly for their deliciously tasty (yes I tried it) Rocky Road, you can give a product or a range of products a push with marketing you create specifically for the purpose.

While there are plenty of seasons around which we already drive terrific results and other smaller seasons around which we could achieve more, there are one-off seasons we can make up for our own businesses, seasons we can own and through which we can build our business profile and sales.

I love what Haigh’s have dome with Marshmallow & Coconut Season not only because it promotes a terrific product but because it gives the product time in the spotlight and in front of people who might otherwise have missed it.

Now before you say you don;t have the month to do this. If you can print A3 posters you can do this. Have a crack and HAVE SOME FUN!

7 likes
marketing

Sunday newsagency management tip: keep your display stands full

emptystandA stand with empty pockets or hooks where products were located can be off-putting to shoppers.

Messages they could take away from seeing this is: oh the best items have been sold or the business can’t afford to top up their stock or that’s a messy & incomplete stand.

My experience is a full stand works better than a half empty stand. This is why it is good practical to keep a stand of good-selling items at ear full capacity.

A full stand also presents a more positive vie wot the business.

While I understand the challenges of managing cash and that it can be necessary to not always order when we want, it is important to prioritise the buying that will give you the best return. This is where knowing your business performance data comes in.

I took this photo in a newsagency where they had delayed ordering replenishment stock for items that had sold out in a few weeks because they had spent money on new speculative items. Replenishing the items on this stand would have provided a more certain return on their investment.

6 likes
Management tip

And so it begins

giftfairAcross multiple venues and under various names what we all call Melbourne Gift Fair starts today. I’m spending today at the convention centre at the Reed Fair. Tomorrow I’ll be at Home & Giving. Monday will be back at Reed getting back for more time at places of particular interest and Tuesday I’ll be back at Home & Giving spending more time on the stand my software company has.

Every year at least five years now the number of newsagents attending has increased. I expect the trend will continue this year. The best advice I can give a first time attendee is: You are not your customer.

5 likes
Gifts

A book exchange in the hotel foyer

hotel1Another different feature in a hotel I saw last week was a free book exchange, a service whereby you can borrow a book or leave a book behind and take another.

For regular travellers this is a very cool service and not something I;d expect to see in a hotel where you are usually charged for every extra they can get you for.

Seeing the free book exchange changed by view of this hotel – The Diplomat in Canberra. It left me thinking about free services we could provide to get customers thinking of us differently – beyond the obvious idea of a free book exchange.

How we see our businesses and therefore his our customers see our businesses has to change otherwise we are not seen as moving with the times.

We are being confronted with more and more niche businesses chipping away at our core and unless we chip away at ourselves our relevance will fade to nothing.

8 likes
Newsagency management

Another different hotel foyer

hotel2Further to my previous post, here is another very different hotel foyer I have seen in the last couple of weeks. This foyer, too, looks like you’re in someone’s home. It looks like a warm and lived-in space – very different to the usual hotel foyer.

Hotels have been the same for decades. The two examples I have written about today offer a fresh approach, one we can learn from as we think about how our businesses look.

5 likes
Newsagency management

A different looking hotel foyer

hotel3For inspiration on how to approach business differently, here is the foyer of a hotel in Brisbane. It looks like someone’s lounge room – welcoming, warm and lived in.

It looks different to the usual sterile and cavernous hotel foyer.

I have stayed at this hotel plenty of times and this is a very different look for them. They say its a response to changes in guest habits. It makes me wonder about how much we are changing the look and feel our businesses to keep up with trends – beyond product changes.

6 likes
Newsagency management

Promoting magazines and newspapers

nexusmagspromoHere’s how we are promoting the Pacific Magazines Win a $5,000 Shopping Spree with newspapers in another newsagency this week. The two stands are on our dance floor in front of the counter – further forward than newspapers are usually.

From replenishment we know for sure that the magazine floor display unit is working. I am sure some purchases of magazines are on impulse by people coming in for a newspaper.

3 likes
magazines

Another good crisis related magazine cover

magstimeI love the cover of the current issue of Time magazine and the topic: COLD WAR II. It’s another good crisis related magazine cover. Unfortunately, the sales won’t be what they would have been twenty years ago when Time content was, well, more timely. Most interested in this topic will have read this or similar content online.

0 likes
magazines

Network Services update

All should be okay for newsagents accessing netonline today as per this update from the company this morning:

All systems are now pretty much back on track. The delivery files due this morning for Monday’s onsale will be going out through the normal gateway channel in the next hour or so. Yesterday there were also a few customers who had still not downloaded their early file for yesterday’s onsale, but these have now also gone out.

Any returns files submitted via XIT should now also have come through to us – there may be some processing backlog on these, there will be a confirmation email sent once these are processed.

Our Netonline website is also back online.

5 likes
magazine distribution

Does your poo stink?

pooSometimes a direct approach works best. That’s what we are trying our front of store display of Poo Pourri.

The headline, Does Your Poo Stink? shocked when I first saw it. Now I realise our team member who created it did so for attention-grabbing value.

The goal of the headline is to get people to see the video – the video I posted yesterday which pitches the product in a humorous way.

I also like the display and the headline as it has us playing outside what shoppers would consider is traditional for a newsagency.

6 likes
Newsagency management

Don’t use Facebook as a megaphone

When using Facebook for your business, use it with care and in a way that respects the kind of conversations you have with customers in your shop and across the counter. Be relaxed, have fun and engage with your customers without trying too hard to sell to them.

If you want to bring products to the attention of customers to get them to purchase, don’t say now in stock or come here and buy this, engage with them creatively and in a way that seeks their opinion.

If you have an item offered in multiple colours – ask which they like. If you offer a product that has to be assembled, make a video and show you doing it. If you see a story in the paper that collects with a local issue, write about it.

On Facebook and Twitter talk with your customers as if they are in front of you. This will build your followers and enhance trust in you.

5 likes
marketing tip

Using receipts to promote shopper competition

nxNewsagents promoting the Pacific Magazines Win a $5,000 Shopping Spree competition should include this coupon on their receipts. It’s an excellent use of receipt real-estate and will help drive competition entries and thereby build the marketing database for your newsagency. This coupon was created for retailers using the Tower newsagency software. A similar thing should work on any software.

3 likes
magazines

Here’s why you should promote the True Blue calendar

caltrueblueThe True Blue calendar from Browntrout is timely given the launch last month of Hey True Blue, the autobiography of John Williamson, the composer of the famous Australian song of the same name. While the calendar is not connected with Williamson, the publicity for the book is reason enough to get out and promote this calendar.

We are chasing double-digit calendar growth this season by being opportunistic around opportunities like this.

3 likes
Calendars

Squeezing in TV Week Soap Extra

agstvsoapextraI had a customer yesterday specifically looking for TV Week Soap Extra yesterday. Talking with her I discovered she is not a regular buyer of soap program magazines and wanted to try this new title because she loves her soaps. We made space for the new title in the shelves by overlapping others – such is the challenge of being sent new product when you have a fixed amount of space.

0 likes
magazines

Stunning cover for The Economist

agseconomistI love the cover on the latest issue of The Economist as it captures the terror many think is at the heart of the tragedy of Malaysian Airlines flight 17. I find the representation of Vladimir Putin to be hauntingly stunning. We have the full cover of the magazine on who to make the most of the cover artwork.

1 likes
magazines

Network Services back online from tomorrow

Here is an update just now from Network Services from their IT outage:

Please be advised that NETonline will be available again tomorrow.

If you wish to process returns for the month of July or claim shortages from today’s delivery, please log in to your account and process as soon as you can. We will be tracking the returns for the next week and ensuring that no one will miss out on credits for their July statement.

For those customers using XchangeIT for returns, we will begin pulling your return files through overnight. Please be aware that there may be a large number of files and so processing them may take all day Friday.

You will receive a confirmation email or you can check your NETonline account to ensure your returns have come through.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for your patience and support during this time. Our Customer Service Centre have reported that everyone has been very understanding and we certainly appreciate it.

Thanks again and happy trading!

2 likes
magazine distribution

Update on the Network Services outage

Just received this update from Network Services for circulation to newsagents:

Dear Agent,

Due to system issues, we are still unable to provide the NETonline website for you this morning.

We are aware that this is of a large inconvenience and are working very hard to get all our systems up and running in order for you to make the necessary transactions to manage your magazines. Getting NETonline back up and running is our top priority.

In the meantime, please note down any shortages that you are aware of for processing later. Please contact Network Services if you suspect you have experienced a major shortage. Customer Service will have access to see what you should have received and can escalated delivery issues to courier services and credit missing stock where required.

For those agents who are still worried about their returns credits, please contact our Customer Service Centre via phone on 1300 131 169 or email help@netonline.com.au with details of the return you have processed/are trying to process.

Our Customer Service team will work with you and our accounts department to ensure that you do not miss out on credits for the upcoming statement due to our own system issues.

We appreciate your patience during this difficult time and apologise for the inconvenience caused.

2 likes
magazine distribution

27 million YouTube views make this a must-have product for newsagents

I first heard about Poo Pourri from a supplier at the start of this year. Not long after we started pre promotion to customers, long before the product arrived and long before it featured on the Sunrise TV show.

Going out early with pre release marketing connected shoppers with the product and the newsagency. While others only started promoting when it arrived, we had been out there for ages having fun with this unique product.

Watch this video to find out what I am talking about.

Poo Pourri is from Gibson. They started selectively offering it early this year. The first shipment sold out. So did the second shipment. While product has only recently arrived, forward orders suggest this will be a hit product for a long time.

While some newsagents focus only on the price the purchase a product for, sometimes the insights and information you can access through a supplier relationship are more valuable.

You can only bank sales revenue. Good information helps you drive sales.

Now watch the video and have a laugh. Tomorrow I’ll show you the poster in one of my stores – it’s hilarious.

5 likes
Fun

Promoting the Win a $5000 Shopping Spree

pacmagspromoWe are promoting the Win a $5000 Shopping Spree competition from Pacific Magazines with front of store placement of the collateral and their branded floor display unit.

I’m happy to use prime real estate for this promotion.

The message is very simple, something shoppers quickly connect with.

I expect this campaign to be successful at driving sales and harvesting shopper details for email and text message campaigns later on.

4 likes
magazines

Too many fitness magazines

gsfitnesstoomanyBoth magazine distributors have been sending us more fitness titles – too many for us to display how we would like. This is another example of us being abused and of the distributors increasing our financial obligation without giving us control over this. It is frustrating.

If Gotch and Bauer want us to be responsible for our indebtedness to then they need to give us control over this. Right now we don’t have control and this is why their pressure is unreasonable.

 

1 likes
Magazine oversupply

Not the kind of book you want to see an employee reading

killyourbossWhile it’s a work of fiction, the cover of this book is one that would give any boss pause for thought if they saw it on an employee’s desk or them reading it in the lunch room. I bet there are some employees who would like their boss to be gone from the business. This has nothing to do with newsagency management except that we owners and managers are bosses and we will have some we manage who don’t like us. As long as we are fair, respectful and focused on the business our lives should not be at risk.

2 likes
Newsagency management

Major IT outage at magazine distributor Network Services impacts newsagents

Magazine distributor Network Services has suffered a major IT outage impacting primary and secondary systems. This has stopped newsagents being able to lodge returns. It has also stopped network sending out electronic invoices for magazines for tomorrow – the busiest day of the week.

Network advises that they hope to have files ready at some stage tomorrow however this will be too late for your morning processing.

My newsagency software company Tower Systems advised all its customers earlier today. That advice included:

It is our recommendation that you manually arrive titles so you can get magazines labelled and on the shelf so they can be sold.

The following knowledge base article has advice for those needing a refresher on arriving manually: arriving magazines manually.

Network are in the process of sending their own email explaining the situation.

If you have any questions please contact the help desk.

Other software companies are welcome to publish their advice here.

The implications for newsagents of the outage are considerable with the processing of returns cutoff passed and no visibility to Network of the quantum of many returns processed – leaving the company challenges as to how to finalise newsagent indebtedness.

Here is information I received from network about this earlier today:

As you have no doubt noticed or heard, we are experiencing some system issues here at Network which has affected Netonline.

Our IT department are working on the issues, but we do not yet have a solid timeframe as to when NETonline will be up and running.

We are aware that the biggest concern for customers will be their crediting of their returns, as the final cut for the monthly statement is today.

If they are using XIT, at the moment their returns are queuing up and they will not be receiving our confirmation emails. XchangeIT have advised that they will be able to pull those forms trough from POS systems when our system is up and running.

If customers use Netonline to do their returns, their position is a little trickier.

In light of this, we will be working with our accounts department to ensure that any stores who attempted to complete their returns today and were unable to are able to have their credits moved forward.

We encourage those customers who are concerned to contact us so that we can register their account for credit checking when the end of month statement is generated. Customers are then encouraged to process their return as soon as possible when our system is back up.

I will be advising customers when our system is back online.

Any questions of concerns, please let me know.

3 likes
magazine distribution

Melbourne Gift Fairs less than a week away

melhgThe Melbourne gift fairs are a few days away – hundreds of newsagents will attend.

I know some who are flying in for the full five days. Most will dedicate at least two days.

These fairs in Melbourne and the same in Sydney are the go to events for anyone serious about gift retailing. Even stands of products that are not appropriate for your business can be inspiring from a visual merchandising perspective.I’ve been going for years and have been urging newsagents through this blog to go.

If you’re in Melbourne for the fairs and want to catch up let me know.

3 likes
Gifts
Trending Articles

Fairfax changes approach to TV Guide, disrespects newsagents

Published on April 20, 2011

What do you think of the Powerball changes?

Published on February 16, 2018

IPS releases new magazine contracts

Published on June 21, 2011