Page 36 - Fall 2012 Hardlines Strategies

36 Fall 2012 • Hardlines Strategies
ADVERTISING
customers hanging on to the ads longer
than they might other ads because they
see those familiar people on the pages.”
Serrano’s July circular focused on
a local festival with reminders about
Randall Lumber’s long-standing
relationship with the community.
Those personalized messages help
him distinguish his circulars from his
competitors’ advertising, which utilizes
messages that are more generic.
Drive Sales Online
When you use the Blish-Mize online
circular program to design and publish your
own circulars, the options don’t stop with the
printed page. Try using the AdViewer feature
that allows you to publish circulars on a
website, a Facebook page or email.
“You can create a link to your ad
in AdViewer and put that on your
store’s website,” Sarah Lee, advertising
coordinator for Blish-Mize, says. “Set
the dates for when the ad appears and
when it should come down. Customers
can create a shopping list of items from
the ad to print out or email to the store.
It comes at no additional cost.”
At Randall Lumber, Serrano posts each
month’s circular on the store’s website.
His next project is to get it up on the
store’s Facebook page. To help drive
extra traffic to the website, he also offers
a $5 coupon, available only online, that’s
good on any in-store purchase over $20.
At Lincoln Building Supply in
Lincoln, Kan., Vicki Meier finds having
the flexibility to create her own ads
allows her to target specific groups
of customers. “I’ve tried Facebook to
catch some of the younger customers,”
she says. There, she posts photos of
new or featured products and uses the
AdViewer program to post each of her
sales fliers. It’s easy to use, she says,
and it’s one more bit of exposure for her
store. “As long as they look, then maybe
they will come into the store and buy
something,” she says.
For another segment of her customers,
she finds traditional paper circulars
are the most effective. She can also
create fliers for specific store events,
like a contractor’s night. Whether it’s
online or in print, what’s important
is that you try something, she says. “I
advertise because it’s what I need to do
to keep my name out there. There are
still people that come into the store that
don’t understand what I sell. You have
to try different things, too, to get that
message across.”
How to Sign Up
Sign up for the 2013 On-Demand or
Customer advertising programs at the
Fall Buying Market or anytime during
the month of September and you’ll get
the added benefit of AdViewer, a $300
value, for free.
At the Market, Lee will be available
to demo the process of displaying an ad
on your website, Facebook page or email
campaign. You can visit her in the Retail
Services Booth.
“In just a few easy steps, your customer
advertising piece can be available to a
larger crowd without the expense of
printing,” says Lee. “Be sure to take
advantage of this offer to bring your brand
and your customers together.”
“I wanted to make our
ads more community-
oriented and use the
familiar faces customers
will see around the
store. As a result, I see
customers hanging on to
the ads longer than they
might other ads because
they see those familiar
people on the pages.”
—Hilario Serrano
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