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PROMOTING
YOUR BUSINESS |
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PROMOTING
YOUR BUSINESS |
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Easter's coming, hippity hop. |
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Here's some ways to get people to shop
Dear Mr. Simmons:
As a regular reader of your column I've noticed that from time to time
you'll come up with different ways to promote a particular holiday such as
Halloween or Valentine's Day. Will you be doing the same thing for Easter, and
if so, when will you do it? - Anxious Retailer
Dear Anxious:Yes
I will, and how about right now? The first thing you might want to do is hop
(pardon the pun) over to a costume shop and rent a bunny suit. Then hire a
high-spirited teenager to play the role.
Pick up a wrought iron garden bench, or a white wicker chair, prop some
plants behind and your Easter setting is complete. Invite shoppers to bring
their cameras and their kids for a free photo-shoot. This will appeal to
shoppers who don't want to stand in line or pay for Easter Bunny photos at the
big mall. Here are some more ideas you might consider.
Feature "surprise-eggs discount days. Buy lots of
those plastic eggs that let you hide things inside. Make up slips of paper
with various discounts ranging from 10% to whatever. Put a slip in each egg
and put the eggs in an Easter basket. Let each customer choose an egg and
receive the discount inside.
Hold an "all ages" Easter coloring contest. Your
local newspaper's advertising department can create the picture to be colored.
Award prizes for different age categories. Feature a special prize for the
oldest person to enter and don't be surprised when that person turns out to be
85 or older. (The closer the person is to 100 years old, the better your
chances of getting free publicity.)
Give away special products baskets instead of Easter candy.
Decorate your own baskets, filled to the brim with products from your store.
If you're in
a shopping center you might get some of the other merchants to contribute
products or gift certificates. Even service providers can give certificates
for services of their own. Select prizewinners through random drawings.
Feature your own Easter "Whatzit." Be gutsy. Let everyone else
stay with the traditional Easter Bunny concept. Why not create a different kind of Easter character. Check out costume shops for
ideas. In the past, I've replaced the bunny with a giant teddy bear, an Easter
elephant, a funky chicken, the Mad Hatter himself, and even a Playboy bunny. Once
I borrowed a remote-controlled "mechanical man" from the Science
Museum, sewed on a bunny tail, put giant floppy ears on its head and invited
people to come and see--you guessed it--the Easter Robot. Hey, don't
knock it. It packed the place.
Attention Weekday Readers: For those of you who have been following the saga of
Mister X, here’s an update of what he (really me) is doing to foster
communication with loved ones on the other side. On Friday night, March 8, at
the Palm Beach Center for Living I will be hosting a workshop on messages from
the beyond, and will be giving random audience readings. Participants will
engage in selective mind exercises that can open the gates to psychic powers
and increase one’s ability to receive messages from the other side.
Pre-registration is a MUST. Call the center (at 630-8441) or me (at my numbers
below) for more information.
# Contact Ross
Simmons |
