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Archive for the ‘economics of resale’ Category

We may be small, but we’re mighty full of promotional ideas!

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , on October 26, 2011| 1 Comment »

Consignment, resale and thrifts can participate in Small Business SaturdayHow is your consignment, resale, thrift business going to use Small Business Saturday to advance your success?

Here’s the lowdown.

What they don’t mention, of course, is what you as a merchant who does not accept American Express (many small merchants don’t, which is probably the motivating force behind their promotion) can do to take advantage of the media attention Small Business Saturday will receive.

Let’s hear some ideas.

I’ll start. You know all that info about contests as a promotion? (See the section starting on page 7 of 229 Promotional Events for Resale & Consignment Shops.) How about a contest for the best drawing of your business area, a poetry contest with the theme “small”, a scavenger hunt where participants have to “find” something specific (and preferably local!) in your small-business neighbors. Depends on your clientele, your shopping area, even how much you want to invest, time- and energy-wise. But

it would be very short-sighted not to take advantage of this (small) opportunity.

So tell us… what will you be doing to become one of those “small businesses” that welcome shoppers as touted in the media and the AmEx ads? To stand out from the crowd? To tempt folks who simply don’t think about where their dollars go to explore your business? Comment below.

 

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Why relying on Facebook alone will kill your business.

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , on October 11, 2011| 4 Comments »

On average, 7.9% of Facebook fans see fan page updates on a daily basis. Read this.

So if you’ve neglected other ways to promote your business and think FB will do it all for you, your advertising and marketing reach is nowhere near where you think it is.

That’s not to say you can’t use Facebook in some interesting ways to make your Facebook page more interesting and compelling to your readers. Here’s one:

One completely free way to reward and recognize fans is to showcase an individual fan on your Page. Social media consultant Sarah Evans of PR and new media consultancy Sevans Strategy suggests that you “select a fan of the week. Interview the individual, post it on the Page and encourage dialogue around the person, not your brand. You can reward people with this honor who frequently contribute to the page or are loyal customers.” Read the whole article.

Just don’t forget that your Facebook audience is not what you think it is and that Facebook should not be the mainstay of your marketing program.

 

 

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Lessons from the Internet: Amazon tempts sellers

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , on October 3, 2011|

As far as Amazon goes, I’m a consignor.

What's New Again, a consignment shop in New York

And they’d like to see (more…)

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The joys of consulting

Posted in economics of resale, Not-for-Profit Resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged on October 3, 2011|

Just got word that Life’s Treasures Carrollwood, in the north Tampa area, beat their much-more established sister store in a wealthier area… first time ever, just a month afterI enjoyed a visit and a bit of consulting there. They were doing lots right, and I hope the insights I was able to share tipped them over the edge! I’ll be back there soon, to see how the Life’s Treasures new “man cave” or “Super Values” department works out for them. I think it will go a long way towards luring both the traditional super-thrifty thrift shopper and the newly awakened smart shopper into the same store, thus keeping “old friends” and developing new customers.

Another of my past consultation clients, the NAM stores in Houston, were able to fund a simple paint-job facelift recently and showed off their work on Facebook. Here’s the “before”, which I told them looked cold and forbidding… and furthermore didn’t tempt SHOPPERS because it downplayed that this was a STORE…

A consultee of Too Good to be Threw, the Northwest Assistance Ministries in Houston

And here’s the “after.” Don’t you love it? And they are doing a super job of rebranding their three thrift stores, too!

Treasures of the Heart Houston TX

It’s so rewarding, being able to help consignment, resale, and thrift stores break through that final retail barrier.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about one more iny change I suggested for the NAM stores. One change that didn’t require much more than, oh, $30 in funding but makes such a difference!

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Missing the once-a-year opportunity to grow your resale biz?

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged on September 30, 2011|

After a shopping trip to consignment, resale, and thrift shops last week, I posted this on FB.

I had all I could do to resist (more…)

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