Lisa Jeffries Nobling

Luxury Daily Features Positive Outlook for “Main Street” Retailers

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on January 20, 2016

Typically it’s the big names in luxury featured in Luxury Daily’s articles, but in a piece by Pam Danizeger, the online trade news site shares positive vibes for small retail and service providers in light of the decline of the traditional mall shopper:

“Today, the sameness and ubiquity of the big-box store experience is beginning to show fatigue. Walk through any of the nation’s 1,000 or so enclosed malls and you might notice they all look much the same.

Filled with the same stores offering the same merchandise at the same sale price, it is too much of the same thing. Consumers are beginning to look for something new and different and finding it on Main Street, not in the malls.

..

Specifically, demographic shifts, with both aging Baby Boomers and young millennials looking for a more personal shopping experience, as well as heightened expectations from affluent consumers, will favor the special services and products that only local small businesses can provide.”

Read the full article, Nation’s highest-potential shoppers are turning away from the mall, at LuxuryDaily.com for more insight into this retailing trend.

Is your small retail or service-based business poised to offer an exceptional experience to consumers as they leave the mall and return to your neighborhood business? Call (919-229-9725) or email me (Lisa@RaleighwoodMedia.com) to take advantage of this offer for independent businesses: a free, one-hour audit of your brand’s online presence and the accompanying in-store experience! Simply mention this blog post to take advantage.

5 Things Every Small Business Email Should Include

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on November 23, 2015

For the eighth year in a row, iheartretail.com is publishing our annual listing of all of the local retailers and brands participating in Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday that we can find. Our goal is to help shoppers keep their holiday spending local, and to help retailers bring more business in their doors. It’s a labor of love that takes hours upon hours to collect, publish, and promote.

Last year, I read over 100 emails within one 24 hour period from retailers promoting their weekend offerings to compile the annual shopping guide. Some were great, some had lots of room to improve. Here’s my advice to you for email marketing success.

5 Things Every Email You Send Should Have Inside!

1. A Reply Email Address

Ditch your email system if it uses no-reply and for Heaven’s sake, put an email address you actually check. Don’t make your customers chase you to contact you, because they will just shop elsewhere.

2. Your Business Hours

Just because you’re open normal hours, don’t assume your potential customers know what they are – and if you’re operating extended or shortened holiday hours, this becomes even more important. Your customers are in a rush due to the craziness of the holiday season, so help them out here.

3. A Phone Number That Will Be Answered

Again, holiday shoppers are experiencing nutty schedules, the demands of family, a condensed work schedule, and more. Sometimes, they just need to know if you have something in stock or if you can make their special request happen. Be ready for their calls and make it easy for them to reach you!

4. Your Website

I know this seems crazy, but you won’t believe how many businesses, especially retailers, forget this important link. This is the ideal place to send your audience when they have questions outside of your business hours! (It also offloads your email and phone traffic if you answer their key questions right on your website) PS: Don’t forget to put all of these important points of information (phone, hours, etc.) on your website, too. This is where your audience will likely look before they call you!

5. Physical Address

Keeping with the theme of convenience for your holiday shoppers, don’t forget to remind them where they can physically find you if you maintain a brick-and-mortar business. (If you’re online only, at least include your city and state so that those paying particular attention to shopping local will know that you’re their neighbor, too!)

6. Freebie Advice! Don’t Procrastinate

The old college rule still rings true: don’t procrastinate! Don’t wait to let your audience know what’s going – especially when it benefits them. If you wait until Thanksgiving or Black Friday to send your Black Friday promotions out, you’ve missed out on a huge majority of shoppers who’ve already made their plans. If you wait until the day of your promotion to email them, you’re likely going to become just an impulse purchase or a late add-in to their schedule. Make sure you send out your info in time to be a priority of theirs, not an after thought!

Luxury Stat: The Umstead Hotel and Spa

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on October 13, 2015

According to Business North Carolina magazine:

“almost 80% of The Umstead‘s spa guests live within an hour’s drive, making the Cary hotel a popular spot for ‘staycations.'”

By the way, the magazine also shares that 13% of the property’s total revenue is generated by its spa treatments.

Who else is ready for a massage after reading these local luxury marketing statistics? I know I am!

[Image credit: The Umstead Hotel and Spa on Pinterest]

Join Lisa Jeffries at Digital Marketing for Business and Save 50% on Registration!

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on April 30, 2015

Digital Marketing for Business conference in Raleigh

I’m excited to be speaking at the Raleigh Digital Marketing for Business conference coming up in May. This two day event has dozens, possibly hundreds, of presentations on all sorts of topics that will help local business owners get a better handle on, and understanding of, digital marketing.

Co-founder Lawrence Harte has offered me the opportunity to share with y’all a stunning 50% discount on registration when you use my speaker discount code, LisaJeffries, at https://DMFB.net/register.

Digital marketing training at just $50 a day? That’s a steal, folks! Don’t miss out.

Event details:
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 – Thursday, May 14, 2015
Raleigh Convention Center
500 S Salisbury St.
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601

To see session and speaker list, visit the event website: https://digitalmarketingforbusiness.com/

PS: My session, 10 Things to Know About Email Marketing Now, will be taking place on Thursday, May 14, at 2:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

What Can NC Offer Than Tax Incentives?

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on January 2, 2015

I loved reading this article in TBJ today about how EUE/Screen Gems’s lengthiest NC veteran, Bill Vassar, believes the film industry is here to stay, regardless of the expiration of tax incentives at the close of 2014.

TBJ: EUE/Screen Gems exec: Here’s why North Carolina’s film community will live – incentive or no incentive

According to 18-year Screen Gems veteran Vassar, the operation is thriving, adding additional stages and facilities, including on-set Wi-Fi access that Marvel called “the best Internet set up they’d ever worked with” while filming “Iron Man,” Vassar says.

It’s just my opinion, but I would think that quality Wi-Fi would be a standard on movie sets in California, so I was impressed to read that Marvel noted the Wilmington studio offered the “the best [they’d ever] worked with”.

North Carolina is undoubtedly a tech-leader, and with the promise of high-bandwidth fiber internet connections becoming a norm in the next 5-10 years, I believe that efficient access to internet is just one of the many amenities our businesses can offer.

Thinking about the last time I was left without internet when traveling, especially in the form of wi-fi, it’s certainly a high-demand, and greatly appreciated, value-add for me. It certainly doesn’t replace millions of dollars in tax benefits, but the quality of work-place experience is a great experience driver.

Save the Date: Merry Mingle

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on November 18, 2014

Triangle Merry Mingle – Save the date and buy your tickets for Tue., Dec. 2!

It’s the 5th Annual Merry Mingle, proudly (and jointly) hosted by AAF-RDU, AIGA Raleigh, Triangle AMA, TIMA, and Triangle UXPA and it’s your chance to network with members of the Triangle’s top advertising, marketing and communications organizations all at one time – while also contributing to a very worthy cause!

What? Festive hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, and a chance to mingle with your favorite industry professionals – plus some you’ve never met but will be glad you did! All held in Downtown Raleigh at The Stockroom.

Who benefits? The Merry Mingle 2014 benefits the Triangle Spokes Group, which has been pedaling joy to the Triangle since 2006 by giving away bikes to kids in need. We’re doing our best to help them reach this year’s goal of 500 bicycles—all brand new, and all guaranteed to bring ear-to-ear grins to faces throughout the area. To find out more about this fantastic non-profit, go to www.trianglespokesgroup.org.

Cost? RSVP early online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-5th-annual-merry-mingle-tickets-13536585291 and it’s just $20 for members of hosting organizations and $25 for non-members. At the door, it’s $35 for everyone.