Summer 2007
Working the Web By Ryp Walters

Target Your Email Promotion

Journeys of Life, a Pittsburgh-based gift store, has a strong brochure site, journeysoflifeonline.com. The website showcases many products, but none can be purchased online. Store owner Jean Haller is actively involved in the upkeep of her website and efficiently uses the data she culls from it. One of Haller's many email-marketing strategies is a Birthday of the Month program; each month she sends a special promotional email to all subscribers who have birthdays that month. Such targeted programs can be implemented by requesting a little specific information when you sign customers up for your store's email newsletters.

Remember when consumers used to look up information about stores in the Yellow Pages? These days, they turn to the Internet for essential information about your store. A recent study by the Center for Media Research, a provider of market research in New York City, showed that online searches lead to a significant percentage of purchases offline. Wouldn’t you want that offline purchase to be made at your store? Your challenge, then, is to create an inviting online presence without overextending yourself.

A website is an integral part of your store’s marketing plan. It is a basic business need, just like a Yellow Pages listing. A website establishes your Internet presence, confirms your credibility and creates a strong first impression of your store. A well-designed website is a wonderful way for you to market your niche. It allows first-time visitors to have an understanding of your store; for regular customers, the site reinforces your store’s brand image.

If the process of setting up and maintaining a website seems intimidating, the good news is that the path to online success has already been tried and tested. The approach outlined below will not only strengthen your presence in an increasingly competitive retail landscape, but also help drive traffic to your brick-and-mortar store.

Website as marketing tool

While marketing is one of the most important aspects of retail operations, it takes a different twist on the Web. The Web was built to be an information tool—and your customers primarily use it that way. Much like the casual browser in a store, visitors to your website are looking for information about your store and your products. A basic, “brochure” approach might not generate much traffic to your store initially, but it will launch your Internet presence and allow you to use your website as an efficient marketing tool. In that sense, your website should also have the same look and feel, and convey the same brand image, as your store.

Basic site “hosting” fees—your cost to have your site on the Internet—tend to be between $10 and $25 per month. These fees increase as your site expands into a more intricate one. While site setup costs (comprising site design and training) vary dramatically, it’s important that you have the tools to manage your site once it is “live.” A brochure site (also known as a template site) can be purchased from companies large (such as Yahoo!) and small.

A barebones website, that nevertheless does its job efficiently, must include:

  • An attractive home page with store hours and season/holiday-specific information, like a note from the owner or gift suggestions for Valentine’s Day or Christmas.
  • An About Us page that tells your story and the store’s history.
  • A product page that displays a sample of what the customer will find in your store. Your goal is to select products that are seasonally appropriate for at least two to three months. This will limit the frequency with which you have to update your site.
  • A promotions signup page that encourages your customer to provide an email address. Make the email promotions sound exciting. Talk about what the customer gets: coupons, decorating tips, a sneak peek at new products. Your customer should also be able to select what type of information he or she would like to receive.
  • A Contact page that includes your store’s phone number and directions.

Driving traffic

Now that you have a basic website up and running, you want to harness it to sell more products in your store. This is where the email addresses you gathered come in handy. Email marketing is the ability to send email announcements and store information that can quickly convert to in-store sales. Emails can draw your customers’ attention to new product arrivals, in-store events, discounts and coupons. You should develop a location in your store and a place on your website for collecting customer email addresses. Even if your customers might be more willing to share their email addresses with you than with a big box store, it is critical to have a privacy policy on your site. The privacy policy details exactly what you plan on doing with the email addresses and other data you have collected.

Start by sending monthly email blasts to all the addresses you have collected. These emails serve as reminders to your customers about your store’s products and services. Use a “Forward to a Friend” feature to encourage your customers to share your promotion, and information about your store. To successfully execute the email blasts, you will need the assistance of an email-marketing tool. This tool provides you with an easy method of managing email addresses and shows you how to include features such as “Forward to a Friend.” Typically, you will already have this tool as part of your brochure website. Be sure to check there first. There are other vendors that help with email marketing campaigns. Shop around.

Keep a printed copy of your most recent email promotion at the store cash register to demonstrate to your customers the exciting (and harmless) nature of your emails. Remember to send emails monthly. Track your response. Many email broadcasting tools provide you with detailed statistics about which customers read and act on your email. Start adding more products to your site, and begin the habit of updating products at least once a month.

Communication is a key traffic-driving technique. Requiring that an email promotion be redeemed in the store is another great way to drive traffic to your store.

Fine-tuning your strategy

Walking through these steps at first will be an educational process. It might take more time than you would like to invest, but you will reap ripe benefits in terms of increased traffic and sales.

Once you have learned the basics, you can fine-tune your online operations with a little creativity and variety. Focus on product merchandising. Introduce more product segmentation, like “Gifts for Mom’s Day,” and “Gifts for under $20.” Develop weekly product specials/discounts. Send emails targeted to specific customer segments. Send promotions plugging candles to customers who have recently purchased scented products. Gathering a little more demographic information about your customers when they sign up for e-newsletters also helps you better target your email blasts. By segmenting your customers, you can send emails as often as once a week—which is about as often as customers will accept. While there are no rules that keep you from sending more often, you do not want to abuse the privilege your customers have granted to you.

Remember that in a changing retail landscape, a website is a necessary part of business and can be grown, in small steps or large, to drive traffic and sales to your store. Avoid trying to accomplish too much at once; try new techniques slowly. Before you know it, you might just be ready for the next big jump: e-commerce.

Ryp Walters

Ryp Walters is a teacher, entrepreneur and recovering engineer. Residing in Cedar Rapids, IA, he is the founder of OverCoffee Productions, an Internet strategy company that caters mostly to the gift industry. His articles have appeared in various industry magazines and he frequently speaks on topics related to the Internet at gift trade shows. For more information about OverCoffee Productions, visit www.overcoffee.com.




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