Marketing Concepts to Build Revenue and Loyalty! Part I

Nancy Anderson
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By Randy Snyder

There are many tried and true marketing techniques that can add revenue to your business for a chosen, limited time frame. The ideal marketing effort is one that not only adds sales for the duration of the promotion, but builds business via customer loyalty on a long range business. Many of the promotions used by retailers in all genre' are copied, redundant and no longer effective in the degree once realized due to the fact that consumers' attention has grown indifferent to those campaigns. Many of the concepts mentioned in the text of this piece are “half baked,” but could be refined to add a competitive advantage to your business e.g. they are unique. If you feel they have merit, check out websites available under innovative marketing along with related articles on Salesheads.com.

Family days could build business and loyalty impelled by large transactions and appreciation for price reductions for the family! The amount of discount would be determined by the amount of the purchase. The advertising would be geared to families. The family making the purchase would then become a member of the family purchase plan. Each time the family shops as a unit thereafter, the discount would apply. Cards would be issued to the family at the time of their first purchase and would be good for a predetermined amount of time! The end result would be loyalty to the store as a result of the appreciation for their family business and could have big trickle down effect!


The ability to collect and store information depends on the capacity of the POS system and the training of the personnel responsible for using the system at the point of sale! Most retail businesses now collect information from their clients and enter them into a data base. The key to a well maintained data base, however, is how the data and customer contact information is put to use. A database that measures number of purchases, amounts etc. is invaluable in segmenting the store's best customers. The best customers deserve the best treatment. We provided you with an "external" data base service that can perform data entry for your business e.g. your system does not accomodate that feature! These customers are “building blocks” for your store not only in terms of continued revenue, but the most effective advertising you can employ by virtue of their “word of mouth,” thus “spreading the word” about your fantastic service! A few ways to continue to get their attention and motivate them to visit your store are:



Birthday cards offering a discount for shopping during the month of their birthday or some other special event




Prior announcements of promotions or clearance sales



New arrivals of merchandise that follows the interest level as revealed in their prior purchases, i.e. Running, walking, tennis, cross training etc.



Free gifts or large discounts after purchase history hits a certain plateau



These are just a few ideas. The success does depend on the ability of your POS system to capture the information along with the time and expense needed to analyze the information as well as the administration to manage the system and react to it. The return on investment could be huge in the short and long term! Part II next week will highlight some additional ideas and programs that will further customer loyalty to your business!

The author has written for Salesheads over the past year. You can check out articles by Randy in the Saleheadsblog.com or related information in Nexxt. He has over 25 years experience in specialty retailing and franchising and is currently an international retail consultant. If additional info is needed, contact him at rsnyder921@att.net or (p) 828 625 4932.

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