"Whenever you do a thing, act as if the entire world were watching."

-- Thomas Jefferson 

by Jami Petersen

Utilizing your store's signage to its maximum ability is a great way to attract new customers. Guest author, Lisa Fedele offers some easy and inexpensive ways to make the most of what you've got. Be proactive about appealing to consumers instead of feeling defeated by the economy. 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.

Stampin' Up! says layoffs imminent. "Stampin' Up!, a Riverton-based direct sales company, announced Friday to its employees that layoffs are imminent and are expected to happen by the middle of next month. The company manufactures and sells decorative rubber stamps and crafting accessories and employs about 500 people."

New Rebagz™ Styles: Bright, Colorful, Customer Inspired. New styles and bold prints have been added to the popular Rebagz™ line of eco-chic handbags, which are made from vibrant recycled juice packs and nylon rice sacks. Many new styles were inspired by customer requests: in the handwoven line, Rebagz added the Wrap Around Bag shoulder bag that zips closed; in the rice sack line, the company added the Small Cinchy Tote, the T-zoid Clutch, and The Keeper, which is perfect for cameras or cell phones.

Scrap Artistry American Made Albums. The quality of a scrapbook begins on the inside. A thick padded board gives our albums a plush soft feel but also absorbs punishment and is much less apt to dent or ding. Unlike import albums, Scrap Artistry albums are assembled with latex glues and not animal glue. Animal glues are organic and will crystallize over time causing separation of the lining paper and interior board.

Sawgrass Ink

Make Money with Make-and-Take Scrapbooking Giftware and Wearables!

Use your favorite scrapbooking software and our patented inkjet heat-transfer system to transform scrapbook designs into Full-Color Gifts and Wearables.

Terrific New Revenue Stream for Your Business
Compact and Easy to Use
Affordable System + Great Margins = Blazingly Fast R.O.I.
Vast Selection of High-Quality "Blanks"


Sell Make-and-Take Coffee Mugs, Puzzles, Coasters, Magnets, Ornaments, Jewelry, T-Shirts, Tote Bags, Aprons, Memory Boxes and More!

 http://www.sawgrassink.com/v.php?pg=332 

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.

Attracting new customers can be an expensive proposition! No wonder so many retailers neglect this important marketing task. Banks call marketing budgets “burn money;” they expect you to market but recognize it is an elusive opportunity. So how do we improve the odds of success?

Improving the odds of success requires that you know your target customer very well. You must determine where your potential customer can be found and identify how to communicate with her. You need to measure each marketing tactic’s target, cost, and results to know what is working. Success can be defined as reaching and attracting the planned number of new prospects from your target market for the budgeted, or, least cost, and converting them at your required “conversion rate” into repeat customers.

Make the most of your Current Assets
You have already sunk money into your: location, POS System, employees, website, inventory and more. Be sure you are leveraging the use of these assets to attract and convert new customers. Over the next several weeks I will share some low-cost marketing tactics to make the most of your current assets. Today I will focus on the real estate investment you have made in your store.

Store Investment
Your store name above your door is never enough. Be sure that you are optimizing opportunities from the road, parking lot, sidewalk, and neighboring stores. Read your lease to learn what signage is allowed and what city permits may be required. Put yourself in the seat of a non customer from your target group. Take notes, pictures and look for signage opportunities while you drive to and around your store, park, and walk to the store, walk along the sidewalk and to and from neighboring stores. Here are some of the opportunities to look for.

1. Evaluate the words on your signage. Some words that attract new customers are Free, Sale, and New; people think in images and like colors that are rich and vibrant. As you consider your signage, ask non-scrapbooking friends what they think of when they read your signs. Make new signage to appeal to a new customer.
2. Are you benefiting from the use of the landlord’s pylon sign? Some landlords who offer pylon usage do so for a monthly fee, others include the fee in the rent. If there is a pylon make sure you are on it. If there is no pylon, ask neighboring stores if they want to make a request of the landlord. Some landlords will add a pylon if they know they can fill it and as long as they are permitted by the city by-law. This is usually no more than $100 a month.
3. Is a sandwich board sign permitted in your neighborhood? Can it be put out near the road Friday at 5:00pm and brought in Sunday? Some city by-laws prohibit such signs but investigate your city by-laws to determine if this is feasible for you.
4. Will the landlord (and city) permit a sandwich board ad directed at foot traffic on the sidewalk in front of your store? A sandwich board will have more impact by its height rather than its width. The sign can be pre-done, or it can be a blackboard that allows for frequent changes. Changing the sign daily permits you to advertise different clearance items each day, and the decision can be made each morning after a quick walk of the floor!
5. Do you offer free mini make-and-takes to new customers? You should! Prepare simple kits to make a card or a page embellishment. Have a space near the cash register where you can both help the customer create the make-and-take and still serve shoppers. Now use this relatively low-cost (use scraps or older, clearance product) freebee everywhere you can—window, signage, website, etc.—to attract new customers to the store.
6. Do you know how often you should have a sale? Trick question, all the time! Make sure you have different “SALE” signage to rotate weekly or as required to make the look fresh. Ensure you always have something on sale!
7. Can a rented mobile sign be used along the road? If so, check the permitted frequency and days between permits and maximize your utilization of this relatively low-cost opportunity. Knowing the limits on the sign usage you can select the best times to hire the sign while still using all of the potential. One method that works is to give the schedule to the sign company once a year; some sign companies will take care of getting all authorizations for permits on your behalf.
8. What do customers see of your store from the road? Can they read your main sign? You may not be ready to invest in a new sign right now, but if you can’t read it from the road, it should be changed. If your company name does not reveal to viewers immediately what you are all about, consider changing the sign to a generic “Scrapbooks” or other word that captures the essence of your business for consumers. Your business name is not relevant unless you plan to launch a chain.
9. Are you allowed a banner? This is usually governed by the landlord and the city. Check out the rules. The landlord would be concerned about drilling holes on the face of the building, so try to find an innovative way to hang the banner. A banner can announce a sale, a free mini class, or a new department added. It is only worthwhile if people can read it, so keep the words minimal.
10. Ensure that the letters used in your window are large enough to be read from the parking lot or ideally from the road. Your windows need to attract attention. I remember a large poster in the window at Archiver’s—I could see a heritage image and the caption on top about archiving memories from quite far away—I instantly got the message of what the store was promising.
11. It is also important to keep your windows, window and door frames, and entrance clean. Think of all you have invested to date: a little soap and Windex weekly will show your pride.
12. A welcoming view into your store is important too; I recommend that a significant amount of your window reveal your store and be visible from the sidewalk and possibly the parking lot.
13. Of course the inside of your store needs signage as well; later we’ll review which tactics to employ inside your store once you have attracted the new customer through the door.

It is easy to feel defeated in this economic environment. You may not have the budget to do the marketing you want and need to do. You are doing plenty of things right, which is why you are still in business. What I reviewed today are some of the inexpensive ideas you can implement that will optimize the investment you have already made in your store. Next week we will review other low cost tactics that capitalize on other investments you have already made, and that’s what business SMART is all about.

Wins Awards for RocketLife Touch & RocketLife Mobile

RocketLife, the inventors of award-winning new media technologies, announced that it has won two DIMA 2009 Innovative Digital Product Awards for RocketLife Touch™ and RocketLife Mobile™. The awards were announced on March 2nd at the Photo Marketing Association Show (PMA), held in Las Vegas.

RocketLife Touch & RocketLife Mobile

RocketLife Touch is an exciting new photo creation and merchandising product for the next-generation touch screen experience for kiosks at retail sites, photo lounge kiosks, and touch screen computers. RocketLife Mobile revolutionizes the way people share photo experiences, bringing new patent-pending technologies, such as GPS, iPhone Express instant photo updates, 3D merchandising, and more to mobile devices so customers can instantly share, re-arrange, view and buy products real-time anywhere they go.

RocketLife Touch and RocketLife Mobile were chosen from hundreds of digital products on display at Sneak Peek 2009 during PMA. The award is sponsored by the Digital Imaging Marketing Association® (DIMA®), a PMA® member association in Jackson, Michigan. DIMA Innovative Digital Product Awards recognize products or services utilizing new technologies and/or applications that make the product either distinct or the first of its kind. The product or service must be available within 90 days of PMA 09 to qualify for the DIMA Innovative Digital Product Award. Winning products were selected by a panel of digital imaging editors to receive the prestigious DIMA Innovative Digital Product Award. The awards are given to products or services utilizing new technologies and/or applications that make the product either distinct or the first of its kind.

Companies were asked to submit entries for their product/service to allow a panel of industry press to evaluate the products and services for the DIMA Innovative Digital Product Awards. All entries were evaluated based on the following questions:

1: Why is this product/service considered innovative?

2: What sets this product/service apart from its competitors?

3: How does this product/service benefit its user?

“We are honored to win 2 prestigious DIMA Innovative Digital Product Awards for our ground-breaking RocketLife Touch and Mobile products,” said Michael Moore, CEO of RocketLife. “With these products, RocketLife provides a more personal ‘touch’ experience and interactive mobility options with instant results through RocketLife’s 3D Digital Merchandising technology.”

RocketLife Touch and RocketLife Mobile utilize patent-pending technologies, such as the ultra-fast import of hundreds of photos, multi-layered photo themes with new enhancements, Smart Arrangement Technology, and 3D Digital Merchandising, expanding RocketLife to a variety of new venues and environments for rich photo product creation, from stunning collage prints and posters to professional designed lay-flat photo books.

RocketLife Touch is available immediately for photo kiosks and computer touch screens. RocketLife Mobile will be available in Q2 initially for the iPhone. For more information, see www.RocketLife.com.

ABOUT ROCKETLIFE LLC

Personalized Technology Designed for the Customer

RocketLife LLC is an outstanding showcase of teamwork; endowed with the spirit of imagination and decades of creative and programming expertise. With divisions in California and Florida renowned for marketing and technical innovation, RocketLife is the beneficiary of three decades of pioneering market-making technologies, giving people the ability to create and share stories with unparalleled quality and impact.
Between their divisions, teams, and outstanding and creative individuals, RocketLife has been at the cutting edge of media, messaging, and technology. Efforts in pioneering video and software technology have earned prestigious awards, including three primetime Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development. The team has invented and shipped over one hundred different products to well over a million customers. Their experience and creativity in personalized messaging has resulted in rewarding partnerships with top name companies.