Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JUNE 2018 40 I 've always been an avid proponent of frequent advertising—particularly price advertising. Advertising keeps your name in front of your prospects and reminds them that you are competitive, carry name brands, and have a wide selection. In the past, I felt that regular hard-hitting sale events were key—particularly around holidays when national chains were promoting. I'm not so certain that is the case anymore. With the web, pricing is transparent and anyone with a good web site can appear to have an almost unlimited selection. Although some customers will still wait for traditional sale periods—especially Black Friday—many others have figured out that if they're internet savvy they can get a pretty good deal almost anytime. Marketing is becoming more critical in ensuring that your business is the one customers seek out when they have a need for the products you sell. According to Business Dictionary, "Marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. Marketing differs from selling because, (in the words of Harvard Business School's retired professor of marketing Theodore C. Levitt) "Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs. "In other words, marketing has less to do with getting customers to pay for your product as it does developing a demand for that product and fulfilling the customer's needs." (www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing) Here are some examples of great marketing that I've recently seen. • Use Technology Rooting around Facebook last weekend I saw Lawrence, NJ-based Mrs. G's TV and Appliance live streaming an in-store event. A chef from Napoleon Grills was making sausage and peppers, a toma- hawk steak and even pizza. Mrs. G's fans were commenting adding their own ideas and recipes. Being a big griller myself – and owning a Napoleon Grill—I was mesmerized and spent nearly an hour watching the show. It was part infomercial, part Iron Chef. It took little preparation and no fancy recording equipment – just a hand-held camera and a Facebook account. Not only did the event leave mouths watering, it explained the value of professional-grade products. Owner Debbie Schaefer used her Facebook account to announce the event a week before it was scheduled and to offer a chance to win a Napoleon Bluetooth thermometer to those who came to watch the demonstration. She didn't sell me a grill but if I needed one, I know that her store is the place to go. • Serve your Community I've tripped over two boxes of old tax returns for the last few years never quite getting them to the shredder. Then I read in a local community newspaper about a local realtor hosting a shredding event just blocks from my home. No excuses—the boxes were outa' here. Jessica Zalkin is a Broker Associate with Keller Williams. I'd never met Jessica, but I recognized her immediately from her pictures that are on the grocery carts in the store I often shop—another way she gets her name out in the community. In talking with her, Jessica was pleased with her shredding event. So much so, she's planning to add electronics recycling next year. She intentionally held it right after April 15th, thinking that's when people would want to shred old tax documents. Jessica didn't sell any homes that day, but she did meet a lot of people living in the neighborhood she targets. She did a community service, satisfied a customer need, helped keep some paper out of our landfills and got her name out. That's what marketing is supposed to do. • Educate and Entertain There are an unlimited number of ways to help your customers learn something new and valuable while having a good time. — Host local cooking groups in your live kitchen bringing in a known chef to create a special meal. — Bring in a sleep specialist from a local University or hospital to talk about the importance of a good night's sleep and perhaps even how to select the right bed. — Invite a realtor—like Jessica—to your store to talk to invited customers about the ROI they can get by updating a kitchen or bathroom. Before you can make a sale, you need to create a positive relationship with your prospect. Marketing can help your company seem more authentic and express your core values to them. A continuing well-planned marketing effort is the cornerstone to making new customers and retaining old ones. Elly Valas is an author, speaker and retail consultant. She can be reached at elly@ellyvalas.com or 303-316-7568. Elly Valas Retail Views RO MAKING SENSE OF MARKETING

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