ADVICE WE ARE SURPRISED SOME NEWSXPRESS MEMBERS IGNORE

We appreciate this sounds like a negative topic. Hopefully, by the end, you see the positive intent.

We push out a lot of advice to newsXpress members at conferences, member meetings, the weekly email and in contact with your RDM and others. Advice can be forgotten, lost or ignored. We understand the time challenges of small business retail. We try and preference advice that is easy and low-cost to follow.

Some of our advice is too good to ignore, lose or forget. Some advice works everywhere we see it followed in the suggested way. Yes, execution can be the key to success.

Here is advice we often see ignored … not by everyone, not even by half. We mention it here as a reminder of base level advice we think works for everyone if executed well, every time.

1. Discount vouchers. Offering this with joy and delight to shoppers, chasing a benchmark redemption of 20%.
2. Promoting cards at the counter. On the stand recommended by newsXpress with the cards on display changing weekly.
3. Regular Facebook posts. Simple. Boosting a couple of times a week, $3 for one day. At least once a week calling out a card you love and why.
4. Stocking core brands and tagging you stock them: Beanie Boos, Ravensberger, Pop! Vinyls, Britto, Soap Bar, Pusheen and more. You tag that you stock these brands on our website. This way we promote you when we promote the brands.
5. Keeping your Beanie Boo stand always full.
6. Running our collector loyalty options: Beanie Boo card and Pop card. Wonderful points of difference.
7. Offering unique impulse lines at the counter. Products from IS, MDI, Ikon and more sell well and give you a better point of difference than candy. Some are pathway products to pop sales, like mystery minis from Ikon.
8. Changing the front third of the shop at least fortnightly. Tough work. Must be done. Your regulars and you become store blond.
9. Getting into homewares. Albi and Swing product is selling very well for plenty of members.
10. Gifts from preferred suppliers. The more you deal through them the more leverage we have for you.
11. Not allowing a supplier to order for you. It is your money, spend it based on what you know will work.
12. Not using our merchandise team. Our head office team is the best resource you can have to expand the appeal of your business.

As noted, many members don’t ignore this advice. This list is a checklist for review. We’d love to answer questions or help on any of these and other topics.