|
Feature
Article: |
Ahhhh...
A New Year! |
|
|
By:
Dennis A. Conforto
President & CEO of A-Z Media Group, Inc. |
|
|
Whew, 2004 is over and the New Year has begun. Now the question is: are you ready for it? Here is a checklist of things you need to have in place for a successful 2005:
1. A monthly forecast of sales for the year.
2. A monthly forecast of expenses for the year.
3. Monthly promotional themes and events for the year.
4. Plans for going to the winter and a summer trade show
5. Training objectives for your retail staff
6. Inventory clearance and price reduction plan for poorly performing products
Most of the things on the checklist should have been in place by November of 2004; however, when you’re wearing many hats as the owner, it’s often impossible to find the time. It’s not too late, though to get these things in place. Let me help you by starting with number three, because it is central to how effective the other items will be on your checklist.
My suggestion for helping you to create a monthly theme calendar will not only take care of the third item on the checklist, but it will also improve your performance in the first and second areas of the checklist. You sales forecasting will improve and it will have zero impact on your advertising budgets, and therefore, expenses.
By using the Easy Email Easel Program from Scrapbooking.com Magazine, you can earn free advertising. That’s right, FREE! Even better than that you can select from proven promotions with artwork already in place and directed to scrapbooking consumers that are within 5 to 25 miles from your store. The whole year is planned out with several options to handle events like your anniversary sale.
Click here to see an example. This tool can be the single most powerful advertising tool in your marketing program and best of all its free.
By teaming with us, we can grow the scrapbooking community around your store. Our free weekly newsletter will provide consumers with great ideas and comprehensive shopping lists to take with them when they shop in your store. We have the writers to provide great content on scrapbooking subjects and you have the products. It’s the perfect partnership to increase sales and profits for your store.
By using our promotional plan for the year, you now have the monthly themes for your retail staff’s training, taking care of number 5 on the list above. In addition, the pre-planned sales events will help you to know when clearance sales should occur which clears off number 6 on your list.
Promotions are a key in helping you move inventory and create profits. This, of course, helps you set up plans for what to buy and when to buy it at Trade shows, which clears up the final item on your check list for 2005.
You can add powerful tools to your store listing with the
Scrapbooking.com Magazine Retail Store
Program. Tools like a link to your website, our automatic store coupon program, maps to your store, store hours, cropping schedules and much, much more. Of course that is what we hope for in 2005, much, much more…
For more information regarding
the Scrapbooking.com Magazine Retail Store Program, please send
an email to: StoreListings@Scrapbooking.com
|
|