Spring 2013 Hardlines Strategies

PROMOTIONS

The spring event focused on lawn and gardening, and the November night focused on Christmas projects. The first event brought in more than 650 visitors, she says. “We brought in a dozen vendors— everything from cabinets to flooring— and they offered demonstrations and short how-to segments,” Schmidt says. Staff at Builders handed out goodie bags to the first 200 customers in the line, and there were drawings for prizes all night long. At the Christmas event, they gave each attendee a checklist of all the vendors that were there so each customer could be sure to visit all the booths. To advertise the event, Schmidt used circular advertising and created an in-store contest for the employees. They personally handed customers an invitation, which the guest presented when they arrived at the event. The employee with the most invited customers who showed up at the event received a prize. • Advertise the event by using the On-Demand advertising program from Blish-Mize. Through this program’s AdBuilder tool, you can customize the content of your circulars to include information about the event several weeks in advance so your customers can make plans to attend. As the time of the event gets closer, use the circular to advertise any sale items you plan to offer. If you want to know more about the On-Demand program, see Jody Maude, advertising and communications manager for Distribution America, at the upcoming Blish- Mize Spring Buying Market. Advertising Your Event One critical stage of planning an event is advertising it. Here are some ways to get the word out.

The first Ladies Night event at Builders last year drew more than 650 guests to the store.

• Post a banner on your store’s website advertising the event. So visitors can quickly access information about sale items at the event, use the AdViewer program from Blish-Mize to post the circular on your website too. • Use social media sites to get out the information. Post regular updates on Facebook. In advance of Ladies Night, staff at Builders posted regular customers could expect at the event. When it was all over, they posted photos of the event for customers to share. • Send email invitations to customers. You’ll have a head start on compiling an email list if reminders on the store’s Facebook page, including some sneak peeks of what

you’re using the Repeat Rewards loyalty program from Blish-Mize, which collects emails from your best customers. • Get other community organizations or businesses involved so they can share the cost of advertising and get your message to a larger audience. Unterreiner is part of a local business association, where he finds partnerships for special events. “The more involved you are, the more people you get to know,” he says. • Get your employees involved and excited about the event so they can talk it up among your customers. Give them all the details of the event so they feel like they are fully involved and feel some ownership in its success.

6 Spring 2013 • Hardlines Strategies