Luxury Daily Features Positive Outlook for “Main Street” Retailers

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

Small business Saturday email marketing tipsFor 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!

For Wake County Businesses: A Chance to Honor Local First Responders

Thank you to Tina for sending this information to my attention!

Greater Raleigh Chamber Announces Friends of First Responders Program

Local Businesses Asked to Participate on Sept. 16

RALEIGH—On Sept. 16, the Greater Raleigh Chamber will honor first responders throughout Wake County by hosting the fourth annual First Responders Appreciation Breakfast.

With more than 2,000 first responders serving our community, it is impossible to recognize them all, so the Chamber is reaching out to you. We are asking local businesses to join us in thanking these men and women for the dedication, bravery, and commitment to our community that they show every day by participating as one of our “Friends of First Responders.”

Participation is easy—simply offer a discount or free item to any first responder in uniform or with identification on Sept. 16. For example: $1 off a meal, free sandwich, free soda, etc.—the discount is completely up to you. In return, we’ll recognize your business on the Chamber website—www.raleighchamber.org/firstresponders—and in radio and TV ads (pending).

Please join us in recognizing Wake County Emergency Medical Services, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, the Raleigh-Wake County Emergency Communications Center, the City of Raleigh Fire Department, the City of Raleigh Police Department, the North Carolina Highway Patrol – Troop C, District III, and all first responders on Sept. 16. To sign up or find out more, call 919.664.7090 or email mkernan@raleighchamber.org.

About the Greater Raleigh Chamber
The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce is the Triangle’s largest nonprofit business membership organization made up of more than 2,400 member firms representing two-thirds of the private sector employment in Wake County. The Chamber has represented the interests of the local business community since 1888.

For more information about this special event, contact Mary Kernan at the Raleigh Chamber (phone: 919.664.7090, email: mkernan@raleighchamber.org).

I’ve had the pleasure of working with many businesses who regularly provide discounts to identified or in-uniform service members and first responders. My advice to them when I received this information was to contact Mary and make sure that they provide her with the details of those existing offers so that they can be included in the information that the Chamber is going to publish online.

Cheers!
-Lisa

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas… in June!

Those who have worked in retail or holiday event planning know that the holiday season comes very early to those whose businesses peak in the winter months – and two very festive opportunities are already coming your way in the next few weeks. Details of the first, the 67th annual Raleigh Christmas Parade, are below. Details of opportunity number two should be available in just a few weeks, so look for a follow-up post soon!

Greater Raleigh Merchant’s Association Announces 2011 Raleigh Christmas Parade

The Greater Raleigh Merchants Association (GRMA) announces their 67th Annual Raleigh Christmas Parade to be held on November 19, 2011 at 9:30am in downtown Raleigh.

Applications are now being accepted for all parade entries. Registration will close on September 16, 2011. Visit http://grma.org/christmas-parade/parade_schedule.html for the full parade schedule. If your group is interested in having a float, classic car, helium balloon, walking group or other entry, please visit the Greater Raleigh Merchant’s Association website: http://grma.org/christmas-parade/application.html and submit an online application. No applications will be accepted after the September 16 deadline. Applications are chosen based on realtionship to theme, creativity, entertainment, and community appeal.

Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are also available. If your company is interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact the executive director of GRMA, Jennifer Bradshaw at 919-755-9235 or jennifer@grma.org. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please email info@grma.org to receive more information.

The Raleigh Christmas parade is the largest parade between Atlanta and Washington DC. Over 250,000 will watch the parade live from home and over 60,000 will attend the parade in person. The parade will last approximately 2.5 hours and will feature something for the whole family.

Looking forward to seeing you and yours participating in the planning and production of the 2011 Raleigh Christmas Parade… or at least participating as an entertained audience member!

Come Join Us Today at a Few Shop Local Raleigh Events!


This month marks the two year anniversary of the launch of Shop Local Raleigh by the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association – happy birthday, SLR! Join us in celebrating today with two great local events:

Networking Event at Joint Venture Jewelry in Cary
From 4:00pm until 6:00pm, come and enjoy networking, great discussion, and a beverage with other SLR members, volunteers, and local business owners. (Don’t forget those business cards!)

Anniversary Party at Natty Greene’s in Raleigh
Shop Local Raleigh turned “2” on April 15th and to celebrate, we have partnered with NCSU marketing students to plan an Anniversary Party at Natty Greene’s Brewing Co. On April 28th, starting at 7 pm, there will be giveaways, $3 pints of local beer and fun guaranteed for all.

To add to the festivities, we have shared some fun statistics regarding small businesses, public relations, and the return on investment of email marketing, for SLR to use at these events. Along with those “trivia facts”, we’ve also included a special offer for event attendees – so be sure to check out what’s “in store” and “on tap” at these great events tonight. We’ll be back with those special offers here later on the blog, but we didn’t want to spoil the fun by giving them away in advance!

Cheers!

How are YOU Capitalizing on the Latest Sports Marketing Trends?

Fantasy football is one of my current favorites because the people who are into it… are REALLY into it! Some play in several leagues, some just play in one hardcore league with a lot of cash in the pot for the season winner.

Here lies a great opportunity for restaurants, bars, and even retailers to cash in on this consumer trend for several reasons.

1 – If you’re a restaurant or a bar that caters to sports fans, you’re a great option for a host venue!
No messy cleanup, no need to worry about bringing a cooler of having enough space in the host’s fridge… a restaurant or bar makes it a no-brainer for draft party attendees to show up, have fun, and then head home. This option requires the least effort on the part of the attendee or fantasy league commissioner. When you’re marketing primarily to men… this is a major selling point, in my humble opinion.

2 – If you’re a restaurant or a bar that offers carryout or catering orders for draft party favorites like wings, bar-b-q, etc., you’re a great option for party attendees who don’t cook!
Not all leagues are going to opt for the option to host their party at your bar or restaurant… and that’s ok, just make sure they still have the opportunity to spend money with you! My other half’s league had their party in our home last night and of the 10+ attendees, only three of us (that I was aware of) cooked their offerings at home prior to the party. (Truth be told, even though I did cook most of what we offered at home, I did send Nick out to our neighborhood Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q(R) for bar-b-q, sweet tea, and hush-puppies… “because it’s just not a tailgate without the bar-b-q”!)

3 – If you’re a retailer – what draft party supplies can you carry or special order for your customers leading up to the big event?
Nick ordered his team’s draft board and supplies (stickers, rosters, etc.) online, but I’m sure I could have convinced him to Shop Local had someone been touting their merchandise offerings for draft party must-haves to local leagues. But alas, I’m not aware of any local retailers targeting this niche market.

4 – Work the concept for a different market!
When my gal pal Denise and I were hanging out yesterday, she mentioned that a local radio show host (Kentucky Kristin on G105) had been talking on-air about the Emmy’s Draft Party that she and her girlfriends had recently had a lot of fun participating in. The girls created their event around pairing Hollywood’s hottest with designers they were likely to be wearing. During the red carpet premiere, attendees scored points for correctly pairing Emmy attendee with the correct designer they were wearing! How fun? If you’re a bar or trendy restaurant, this sounds like a great opportunity to upsell girly cocktails, show the celebrity-studded event on your televisions, and attract vendors and sponsors wanting to target this in-demand niche with great giveaways, swag bags, and more.

So, how are you planning to capitalize on this sports marketing trend next year?

Can’t wait ’til next year? Target teams who have already drafted (pre-season games end this week) to come in and see how their teams shape up on a weekly basis in your bar or restaurant! The good news is that you haven’t completely missed your opportunity as this is an on-going promotion that gets more exciting by the week for fantasy league faithfuls.

You can read more about how national chains like Buffalo Wild Wings (and local restaurants like Garner’s Cleveland Draft House) are putting this trend to work for their businesses from the News & Observer online at http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/04/663556/chains-score-with-fantasy-football.html.