Sales Tips

The Three Secret Ingredients to Successful Retail Advertising

Store traffic is the life-blood of any retail establishment. Once you have the customer in the store the battle is half won. With the right product mix, selection, service and merchandising you're going to make the sale. But it's the first half of the battle that has to be won if there is even to be a second half. Your ad will get noticed if you keep in mind the objectives of good retail advertising: arrest attention, generate interest, create urgency and compel action to drive measurable store traffic.

Rule 1: Make an offer. That means conducting a special sale or product promotion. To generate traffic you have to offer your customer either "something for nothing" or "more for less." Most sale or promotional ads lead with one of the three magic words of retailing -- "win," "free" or "save."

Rule 2: Create an event. An event usually combines all the attention getting power of the "win," "free" and "save" from rule one plus the added element of entertainment.

Rule 3: Finally, give them news. The newspaper is full of the bad news - you've got the good news - new brands, new products with new features, or an entire new line of products or services.

As you prepare your next retail ad ask yourself: "Am I making an offer, creating an event or providing some news?" If the answer is, "Yes," you'll be sending a message your customers can respond to with their feet.