How people perceive your business is to a reasonable extent under your control. Through your buying, merchandising and out of store marketing you pitch your business. The more you stray from what is expected from your type of business the broader your reach.
Take your story on the road, seeking speaking opportunities at local service clubs, community groups, associations and other venues where locals gather.
Tell people about the challenges you have faced and what you have done to lean into and move beyond them. Tell your story with local context, to encourage others facing business challenges to embrace change. Along the way you get to pitch your business in a new light, you get to make it clear that yours is not a newsagency in the old-world sense.
One of our members did this. Here is their report on their own words on the experience. They have asked that we keep their details confidential. We share it here as inspiration...
I was the keynote speaker at a service club in our regional city. I was asked to speak on my business as a “Newsagent”
I took them through a journey of the history of the newspapers in our state, their rise and the demise of some.
I took them through the journey of the family “newsagency” as it was, newspaper boys, home delivery, mail runs and retail store. I spoke deeply of the work involved behind the scenes of a distribution/retail “Newsagency”
I took them through the journey of the demise of delivery rounds, the amalgamation of rounds and the reasons for closures of some smaller “Newsagencies” in small towns.
I spoke of the distribution Newsagents who cover great territories and how these are the backbone now of paper deliveries in capital cities and large regional areas.
I spoke of the advent of supermarkets and service stations entering the retailing of magazines and newspapers.
I emphasised how “Newsagencies” large or small are still a core business in most cities and towns and this will never change but the structure of “Newsagencies” are changing to meet a changing social world and shopping trends so you will see “Newsagencies” with a different look.
They were amazed when I talked about the massive number of magazine put aways we have. Over half of these titles never hit the shelves as they are of specialised interest to the customer and the topic range is immense. The modern “Newsagency” are magazine specialists in this way.
The point I want to make now is this:
From the questions I was asked and in general conversation afterwards people were amazed at what a “Newsageny” was all about and they were now putting our business in a different light and I just felt a rising respect for our core industry. I could feel this overwhelming respect for “Newsagencies” as a business coming through.
It was an eye opener to me how the business of a “Newsagency” was perceived in general even though we are a progressive store.
We somehow have to break the old Newsagency image shingle.
I am inspired more than ever to move forward in a changing world.
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