"I rate enthusiasm even above professional skill."

-- Edward Appleton

by Sherry Chapman

The newest member of the SMART Group and this week's guest author is service provider, Katz Strategic Solutions. As a scrapbooker, Susan is committed to our industry and she enjoys preserving her family’s memories in scrapbooks.

The SMART Group has been focused on membership growth as we've restructured into a buying group. We are very happy to report our membership is growing steadily. We are averaging five new manufacturer members each week. We now have over thirty manufacturer members. If you have any questions about SMART Group membership, you can contact me at schapman@a-z.com or 888.551.7467 x239.

Sherry Chapman

Senior Manufacturer Consultant, The SMART Group

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.

Hobby Lobby stores boost full-timers' lowest pay rate to $10 an hour immediately. "Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. announced wage increases effective immediately for all full-time, hourly workers earning up to $13 an hour. For some employees, the pay hike can mean more than a $2 an hour raise. The company also said it was raising its minimum pay to $10 per hour for full-time, hourly workers, up from whatever the minimum wage is in a state."

F+W Publications is sponsoring the Great American Retail Conference in Arlington, TX on June 3, the day before the Great American Scrapbook Convention. The one-day seminar will be presented by Beth Mauro, former editor of Scrapbook Retailer and CNA, and author/retail consultant Tamara Lipori. Sessions will address trends and strategies for generating store traffic during a tough economy. For info, email Beth at beth.mauro@fwmedia.com. For info on the Convention, visit www.greatamericanscrapbook.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

by Susan Katz

Let’s face it. Everyone’s top priority is to survive in today’s economy. Staying in business should be our number one goal right now. How do we do that? Let’s get back to the basics. In simplest terms, sales volume is a function of distribution (the number or percent of stores selling your product) and rate of sale (how fast your products are selling in those stores). Using this model of SALES = DISTRIBUTION X RATE OF SALE, here are a few ways to maximize your sales opportunity.

If you have low distribution, but high rate of sale, focus first on increasing distribution. But what is distribution and how do we measure it? We can calculate approximate distribution by taking the number of stores selling divided by the total number of stores in the United States. Once you have an estimate of your distribution, then you can try to grow it by proactively attracting new customers. Depending on the mix of customers you already have, you may want to target new customers based on store size, demographics, location or class of trade. For example, if you aren’t in the larger chain retailers like Michaels, you may want to start there. If you want to increase your distribution in independents, you need to determine the best way to reach them, such as telephone sales, direct mail, store sales calls, etc. You need to determine the most cost effective way to reach your target customers. It is typically more costly to try to increase distribution than to affect rate of sale.

If you have high distribution or cannot afford to actively increase distribution, you will want to focus on increasing rate of sale. Rate of sale can be calculated in different ways. The simplest formula is SALES DIVIDED BY NUMBER OF STORES SELLING which will provide you with an Average Sales per Store Selling figure. There are many marketing tactics you can do to impact Average Sales per Store Selling, such as advertising, promotion, price discounts, etc. However, we can get even more tactical than that. In the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry, we have something we call the 80/20 Rule which is when 20% of the customers account for 80% of the sales. Determine who your top customers are according to the 80/20 Rule and focus your sales and marketing efforts on them.

Take those top 20% of customers and dig deep into their business. Do they carry all of your products/product lines? How can you get them to carry all of your products? Are they carrying the right products for their consumer base? Create a Top Customer List, visit the top stores, and meet with the store managers. Understand what their needs are and try to help them grow their business with your products. Building these relationships outside of trade shows helps build loyalty and trust among your core customers. At the same time, it will help your customers gain a competitive advantage in their local area. Once you have maximized the potential in your top customers, start working on bottom customers. Compare these bottom customers to the top customers. What are the top customers doing in terms of product mix, promotion, advertising, pricing that you can then apply to the bottom customers?

Employing some of these tactics will help you accomplish your sales goals by maximizing the potential of your existing products/product lines and help to solidify you as a player in the minds of your customers.

Susan Katz is a Marketing Consultant and Market Research Expert with 20 years of experience helping companies develop strategies and tactics to grow their business. She can be reached for questions or consultation at skatz@katzsolutions.com or 248-444-5283.

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/

Connecting with others and riding out the recession can be as simple as finding a new hobby

Imagine a gathering of new and old friends surrounded by stacks of colorful paper, a scattering of ribbons and buttons, and a few sets of rubber stamps with creative designs and inspiring sentiments. This scenario of friends crafting together and enjoying a fun hobby may just be the ticket to relieving stress and helping people “get connected” during these tough economic times. During the month of April, Stampin’ Up! is encouraging people to relieve their stress and connect with others by learning a new hobby, such as card making or scrapbooking.

For 20 years, Stampin’ Up!, a direct-sales company offering an exclusive line of award-winning decorative stamp sets and accessories for greeting cards, scrapbooking, craft projects and home décor has helped awaken passions, develop talents and connect thousands of people simply by sharing its philosophy and mission statement “To love what we do and share what we love, as we help other enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments…”

This same philosophy of getting connected with others is shared by more than 40,000 Stampin’ Up! independent demonstrators who have taken their passion for the hobby of card making and scrapbooking and turned it into a career, not only providing extra income, but a vast social network that they can turn to for emotional support during hard times and laughter during the best of times.

Julie Tonsager has been a Stampin’ Up! independent consultant or “demonstrator” for almost 11 years, and joined because she loved creating handmade projects, but has stayed because of the connection with others. “Everyone wants to feel a part of something, and when you join Stampin’ Up! you join a family that will pick you up during a tough time,” says Tonsager. “It is priceless, you can’t pay for it and without this business I wouldn’t have this connection.”

About Stampin’ Up!
Stampin' Up!, a 20-year-old, multimillion dollar, direct-sales company, offers an exclusive line of decorative stamp sets and accessories for home decor, greeting cards, craft projects and scrapbooking. Currently, tens of thousands of demonstrators from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom teach the art of stamping. Stampin' Up! operates two state-of-the-art facilities, including an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Kanab and a 300,000-square-foot corporate office, distribution center and demonstrator support call center in Riverton, UT.