BRINGING THE SHOW HOME For Tony Dehnke, owner of 604 AutoSound Abbortsford southwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, the trip to CES is a long one, and just the effort of travel dictates that he doesn’t come home empty-handed … or empty headed. Dehnke and his staff pay close attention to new technology and products seen at the show, and bring back ideas on how to convey these advances to their customers. After CES, the store puts on a mini-show of its own based on products seen at the show. “New Technology Night” brings current and prospective customers through the doors to view the latest in autosound, safety, security, information and entertainment products. The store displays the products on tables placed around the showroom, and treats guests to drinks and hors d’oeuvres while they listen to and view product demonstrations. The event has been successful for 604 Auto- sound in building rapport and ringing the register. “Your average customer is going to come by for a half hour, have some wine and cheese, say howdy, check out the store and leave,” said Dehnke. “But you’re going to get some revenue out of it, and you’re going to get people talking about it.” But Dehnke also recommends that you mix a lot of your existing product in with
the new stuff. “The important thing to remember here is, when we think about new technolo-
gies, we think of stuff that is coming that we don’t have yet,” he added. “But to the average consumer, half the stuff in our stores is new technology, even if it’s been there for two years.” Like Tanner, Dehnke is also big on the Internet. 604 AutoSound uses a Face-
book page to push contests and drawings with its nearly 800 fans, four times the amount of people who followed the store one year ago. The company also uses Craigslist to capitalize on the impending spring months by selling marine products like wake tower speakers to boaters.
When we think about new technologies, we think of stuff that is coming that we don’t have yet. But to the average consumer, half the stuff in our stores is new technology, even if it’s been there for two years.”
Dehnke also encourages employee participation and feedback. He has tasked each employee with submitting a wish list of creative ideas that the store could implement, including how much time, money and other resources it will take to get the idea off the ground. As a result, the store is starting a YouTube channel to post product demonstrations. Another idea — one that Dehnke also recom- mends to other retailers — is to reach out to local schools to recognize students with scholastic or athletic achievement, while creating brand recognition with your core demographic.
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON Many shops have different ways of making the most of February and March, but
the most important point, as relayed by Ocala and 604, is simple — keep pushing. “A lot of shops focus on cleaning the store and doing busy work until sales begin to pick up. But it’s important to carry the momentum built up from the holidays,” concluded Tanner. “Social media gives you a really inexpensive way to stay top of mind with customers. Combine this with good database use and effective in-store upsell and add-on techniques, and you’ll have Christmas in spring.” ■
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Socially Savvy: 3 Tips to Sustain Sales
1]
Encourage customers to give you great online reviews. More and more customers use sites like Yelp! to make purchase decisions before they even call a store. Want to be even more effective? Follow the lead of restaurants who offer customers an instant in-store discount for using their smartphones to post reviews on the spot. After all, everybody’s got one.
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Ask your friends to ask their friends. Don’t be shy — ask your Facebook fans to ask their friends to “Like” your page. It’s a great way to build your prospec- tive customer base, and justifies the marketing time you spend by reaching out to more people.
YouTube It. It’s easier than ever to be a star online; all you need is a smartphone and a guy with a steady hand. Start a “New Product of the Week” series and demo a new or on-sale product on camera. And don’t forget to post notifications of new videos on your Facebook page.
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