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From tires to teddy bears and from flowers to furniture, all retailers
face the same challenge: How to move their merchandise off the shelves
and into the shopping carts of customers? Although most retailers
have a marketing tool kit filled with old stand-bys, such as end-of-season
sales, signage, mailing lists, and in-store displays, it is the
smart retailers who put their own spin on them to meet the needs
of their specific segment of the market.
Take Marianne Przetak, owner of Ladue Florist, for instance. During
the 23 years she has been the owner, she has grown her business
by expanding her customer base, broadening her product lines, and
increasing capacity. In a market notorious for furious peaks (Mother’s
Day, Valentine’s Day, etc.) and deep valleys (all the rest of the
year), Przetak sought ways to even out her business.
THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR
Although Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are intense, these holidays
are short-lived for flowers and floral arrangements. So Przetak
focused on seasonal merchandise, including home decorating accessories
and gifts.
“We try to purchase merchandise with themes, such as the different
holidays, color schemes or design trends. We do major changes in
display eight to 10 times a year. There is always something new
in the store because we can’t let it get stale,” she says.
And, out of all the themes, Przetak has found floral gold in Christmas.
“Our biggest season is Christmas. From early November through December,
the whole store gets a major changeover and turns into a Christmas
wonderland. People also buy a lot of flowers and plants during this
season and there is a lot of corporate gift-giving,” she says.
However, Przetak does not take a “build- it-and-they-will-come”
approach. Like most retailers, she has to continually build foot
traffic to her store. Przetak occasionally places advertisements
in the newspaper, but she has found more success in building a mailing
list comprised of approximately 20,000 previous customers—both individual
customers and businesses.
SAYING "THANKS FOR THE BUSINESS"
“We try to market to those people who have called us and placed
an order some time in the past,” she says. “We know that once they
are in the door, they are likely to find something they can’t stand
to live without.”
For the past several months, Przetak has tweaked the mailing list
approach to include a monthly calendar. The calendar is also available
in the store and included in the monthly billing statements. Each
day of the calendar lists something special, such as Friendship
Day or Smile Day, as well as an appropriate gift suggestion. When
there is nothing special going on, Przetak creates her own whimsical
event, such as “20 percent off everything in the store that is yellow.”
So far, the calendar looks like a hot date. “Customers are beginning
to get attuned to it, especially those who come in the store a little
less frequently. They get a kick out of it because it’s something
different,” she says.
GET THEM TO COME, THEN LET THEM BUILD IT
Build-A-Bear Workshop offers a one-of-a-kind experience to its customers.
Customers get to create and accessorize their own stuffed bear.
And because there is not a “bear season,” the challenge is to attract
customers throughout the year, according to principal, Maxine Clark.
MAXINE
CLARK, principal, Build-A-Bear Workshop
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“Our business is pretty balanced across all quarters,” she says.
“Our focus is on everyday business. We also celebrate birthdays,
which happen every day.”
However, Clark keeps Build-A-Bear fresh and interesting for new
and returning customers by changing the merchandise. “We offer fashion
and seasonal choices for our furry friends. Our bears want to dress
just like their human counterparts. We also introduce limited edition
animals for holidays,” she says.
Clark says Build-A-Bear relies on ongoing public relations, word
of mouth, and mall traffic to attract new customers. To get their
best “guests” to return, they receive special promotions through
direct marketing, such as e-mail and traditional mail.
Maintaining control of the flow of merchandise through each Build-A-Bear
Workshop is a matter of quantity control and creating the right
experience for the customers, according to Clark.
“We focus on having the right quantity in the right place. We use
state-of-the-art systems to forecast our needs. We also have fewer
SKU’s than the average retail store,” she says. “Our energy is devoted
to our associates creating a great experience.”
C.B. Adams is a St. Louis-based writer, communications consultant
and adjunct faculty member at University of Missouri – St. Louis.
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