"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

-- Arthur Ashe

by Jami Petersen

Every retailer wants more customers to spend more money. But how do we attract new people to our stores and how do we get existing customers to spend? Guest author, Lisa Fedele, has some easy and inexpensive solutions to keep scrapbooking the brains of your consumers. You can also attract new ones with little effort on your part. Read more in today's SMART article.

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Sakura of America

Gelly Roll® Metallic® a gel ink pen that was invented to make writing and self expression effortless.

The reflective sheen is distinctive and the vivid colors add zest to any card, scrap page or handwritten note.

Take advantage of Sakura’s promotion of the 15 dozen Metallic display (#57402)
- an extra 10% off during February and March.

Contact a Sakura Sales Rep for details! 

http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Pen-metallic

Press Releases

News you can use about the latest media coverage of hot trends, noteworthy events and dynamic industry leaders. Learn more about the current headlines in arts and crafts by clicking on the title of each article segment.

The Antioch Company Successfully Emerges From Chapter 11 Proceedings. The Antioch Company, parent company of Creative Memories, a leader in the memory celebration industry for more than 20 years, announced today that it has successfully emerged from Chapter 11 proceedings.

Dell Wasabi PZ310 Puts Photo Printing Fun in Your Pocket. Dell announced the Wasabi PZ310 ultra-mobile printer for instant photo printing and sharing anytime, anywhere. Wasabi is designed to work with Bluetooth-enabled camera phones, digital cameras and mobile PCs as the perfect travel companion for capturing and sharing memories with instant wallet-size photos.

Camera & Imaging Products Association Announces Outlook on the Shipment Forecast Concerning Cameras, Related Goods. "The Camera & Imaging Products Association has announced the outlook on the shipment forecasts by product-type concerning cameras and related goods for the term from 2009 to 2011."

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

Make SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™
your preferred brand

Ensure yourself an adhesive that satisfies all your customers scrapbooking and papercrafting needs. We not only put our hearts into designing easy-to-use adhesives so your stories will last throughout the ages, we also put our spirit into your community through corporate sponsorships. 

http://www.scrapbook-adhesives.com/

by Lisa Fedele, A-Z Media Group, Inc.

Your store is beautiful with great samples throughout, instructors and team members are trained, the class schedule is online, handouts in store—you are ready to serve your existing customers. Your toughest jobs are getting new customers to keep your business thriving and achieving a higher activity rate from your existing customers. Here are some marketing tactics that will benefit you daily.

Like many retailers you may have stopped expensive mailings to your customer base in favor of email newsletters. Your email list is likely only reaching 30% of your existing customers. How can you achieve a higher activity rate with current customers and attract new customers daily? There are many expensive tactics, but I have some easy and inexpensive solutions that you can embrace in these economic times.

If you want customers to shop more often you need them to be thinking scrapbooking more often get a “share of mind” and to think of you when they think of scrapbooking be “front of mind”. Before we review tactics please consider that all communication with your customers requires a call to action — more on this in another newsletter. Here are some tactics:

Current Customers

Always hand-out something at the Point of Sale (POS) that will make your customer return earlier than she may have otherwise. Remember to include a call to action with on every piece. Examples: a coupon that expires after 14 days; newsletter of events or classes; preview of new product arriving soon from one of your partner manufacturers; two for one event; bring a new customer contest; contest requiring a ballot (allow one per day) attendance at draw required to win; a free crop night.

Start mailing again but don’t mail to your whole mailing list. Here is an effective method: download information from your POS system and identify which customers have not visited in 6 months or more; decide what your monthly budget can be for mailing; start mailing to a batch of “inactive” customers monthly until you have reached them all; mail in a manner where you will get undeliverable mail back so you can update your list; consider a postcard, my favorite was a picture of the earth from space with my logo and the caption “Where on Earth have you Been”—the call to action a starburst on the front with details on the back. Always check with the postmaster before having postcards printed to be sure you conform to the least expensive method of mailing. You need not get postcards printed though to mail to 100 customers a month, a stuffed envelope will do.

Encourage your customers to add, or verify, their email address in your system. It is a challenge sometimes to get customers to give this information in the first place. Check the privacy code in your state or province. Here is my suggestion when acquiring email id’s from first time customers: the first time a customer visits just ask for the email address “May I please have your email”, you will be surprised how many will just give it to you; avoid giving a big explanation that requires them to think about it; if they say no then you can explain how you use the information.

Customers who do not give you their email may be more inclined to do so once they know you better. Always ask again after a few months and ask often so you are updating old and obsolete emails. Don’t let your list go stale. Here are a couple suggestions, I’m sure you will think of many yourself; conduct a contest that requires that they verify their email with you to be entered to win; select a contest or other motivator to keep this a permanent part of your check-out process.

With all you do to offer classes, events, promotions and sales keeping working at keeping Scrapbooking a large “share of mind” with your customers is a big job. I recommend partnering with manufacturers and other service providers in the industry to boost scrapbooking’s share of mind among your customers. Privacy laws will not permit you to share your list with another business but if you encourage your customers to sign-up for industry newsletters they will have scrapbooking on the brain more often and when they do they will think of you. Here are some you can partner with: manufacturers with newsletters; online magazines such as Scrapbooking.com; designers and more.

Of course I am partial to www.Scrapbooking.com as a partner. Scrapbooking.com sends weekly emails full of product reviews, samples, ideas, contests, articles and more to its consumer base. So I’ll include my pitch here, include in your check-out hand out a suggestion to your customers to sign-up for scrapbooking.com’s newsletter or better yet, have customers sign-up right at the cash on a your terminal — you take care of selling scrapbooking.com will take care of content. Together we will help you to achieve “share of mind” with your customers.

Next week I will share some cost effective opportunities to attract new customers because that is what being business SMART is all about. If you would like more information on how Scrapbooking.com can help you achieve your goals please email me at: lfedele@a-z.com or call me at 760-929-7090. 

PSRO 

Dedicated to those helping consumers preserve treasured memories.

The Professional Scrapbook Retailers Organization™ (PSRO™) bridges together retailers and suppliers for insight into the memories market.

Through educational programs, business services, industry research, networking, and events, PSRO leads its members to discover, understand, and act on new business opportunities.

For more information, or to join PSRO, visit www.psro.org or contact our member service department at 517-788-8100.

The 2009 CHA Exhibiting With Excellence Award Presented to Glitz Design

Glitz Design is proud to announce that the company is the recipient of the 2009 Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) Exhibiting With Excellence Award presented at the CHA Winter Convention & Trade Show held in Anaheim, California, January 2009. The CHA Exhibiting With Excellence Award recognizes the very best exhibitors at the CHA Winter Show and honors companies for exemplary presentation, display and customer service. Glitz Design received the Exhibiting With Excellence Award for the Scrapbooking and Paper Craft section of the show floor beating out more than 270 other exhibitors in the section with their presentation, charisma, charm and stellar customer service.

"We're hard working Mommas who design products, run all the operational aspects of our business and still put our families first," explained Erin DeSpain. "We know how hard it is to find time to scrapbook so we design all our products with time starved Mommies in mind! We hope to make scrapbooking quick and easy for everyone! Our products include gorgeous, versatile, double sided paper with coordinating journaling stickers, borders and rub ons to help make creating projects quick, easy and fun! We are glad to see that our passion and commitment to excellence comes through in what we do."

The Glitz Girls: Laura, Ginger & Erin
Laura Funk, Ginger John and Erin DeSpain are a lot of things: scrapbookers, friends, daughters, but most of the time…it seems like everyone calls them Mom! These three are all mothers and among the three of them they have 12 little munchkins. So you could say that Glitz Design has a pretty substantial "staff in training!"

ABOUT GLITZ
Find out more about the Glitz Girls and Glitz Design products now available for sale to wholesalers by visiting www.glitzitnow.com or contacting Ginger John, Erin DeSpain or Laura Funk directly at ginger (at) glitzitnow (dot) com, erin (at) glitzitnow (dot) com, or laura (at) glitzitnow (dot) com, respectively! You can also access photos, video clips, giveaways and demos of Glitz Design products at glitzitnow.blogspot.com.