MONEY SHOP


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fter being very technical last month time for a lighter look at a tough area of any business, namely keeping the company in the public eye.


When I was a student (this was not yesterday!) our marketing lecturer told us that at least 50% of your marketing budget is wasted the skill is to try to identify which 50%!


The 21st century has thrown up many challenges for the footwear retailer. I will


come onto social media later. First, let us look at the traditional forms of marketing. Obviously, your windows and display and the appearance of your shop are the


most important. If the window and the shop are not clean and tidy why would a customer come to shop with you? Checking the windows and displays each morning and each evening should be routine. On this I think it is important that the window dresser must remember that their displays must be practical, so that shoes can be removed and replaced easily.


Regarding local advertising, press and radio, it is difficult to judge the merit.


Your local paper may be read by 10,000 people, but how many of these are your customers and will the advert bring sales? Newspapers are on social media now, which can target an area and a demographic, may be more in keeping with your customers.


The print media is good if you have a story for them, particularly an


anniversary, a competition or an award, which often provides free coverage for your shop (such as Footwear Today for example, which also has offers online/digital coverage). Radio is a good form of advertising can work well, if you can target your audience smartly. There is no point in traditional shop advertising on a youth station. It is all about identifying your target audience.


Television is beyond the budgets of most retail businesses. But, if you can get


an anniversary or something of special interest on local or National TV, it keeps you in the public eye. We were very lucky a few years ago to get onto the Antiques Road show and this is regularly repeated. Grab opportunities when you can.


Blogs and social media are the easiest and cheapest way to keep your


customers informed of what you are selling. Blogging does not need to take too long. Just a few words of what offers you have or to announce your new season’s stock is enough. Your website if well managed is also a free advert. I think it is important to have clear pictures and prices. The terms and conditions on orders should be simple, clear and straight-forward.


Facebook twitter and Instagram, this is the quickest way to get noticed.


Keep posts relevant to your business, customers are not really interested in your Saturday night out or the wedding you went to unless you supplied the shoes to Princess Kate!! All marketing must be targeted to be effective, even then you can’t be sure you have spent the company money well.


36 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017


If you would like David to look at your business costs, he promises that if he cannot save you any money you pay him nothing. But for every pound he saves, you pay him 15 pence.


If you want to learn more, email David on david@fdickinsonfootwear


.co.uk,


call 01229 580654, or visit www.fdickinsonfootwear


.co.uk


Partly with my other hat on, turning to PR and giving a positive image to your


business in the community. I am sure you get many requests to sponsor events or give raffle prizes for


town events. This is a really tricky area. No one wants to be seen to mean-spirited of ungenerous. This is where business is so different from personal giving. When you give as an individual to your chosen charities it is usually done because you have an emotional attachment to the charity for a good reason.


When it comes to business remember as my father always said you are using


company money. Of course altruism has its place but I firmly believe you do need to have a strategy, yes this may sound cold and unfeeling. Companies give raffle prizes and sponsorship for two reasons. They like what is being done doing which is the altruistic part, but they like a quid pro quo, whether it is an advert on an Audio visual screen or by an MC.


When you give, you are entitled to ask if there is space for your company logo or a mention in the programme. It is very important to be seen to be participating in things but remember it is a business that is being run. At the start of the year it is worth calculating a budget for your PR in the same way you do for other parts of your business.


I have tried to differentiate between marketing which is getting your products


and services into the public domain and PR which is about getting the public to see your business as a paragon of virtue.


If you get the PR right it is a recipe for success. A final thing on PR when you


make a mistake do not try to cover it up with the press admit and apologise. When a company gets its PR wrong it can be very difficult to get the reputation back. It is not the mistake that is the problem, it is how it is dealt with. No business gets everything right.


Marketing and PR, although not as important as having the right products at the right price, are a vital cog in the business.


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