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Tapping into the creativity of your staff can prove to be very profitable.

We’ve all heard the saying that some of the best ideas come from where you’d least expect it. How many of us allow our staff to run a little wild with some of their ideas, regardless of how crazy they may seem?

Recently one of my sales people, Linda, asked if she could book a wedding in our store among the flowers. She had a young couple that were interested in holding a small wedding right in the store. This was a very unusual request and my first thought was that it would interrupt normal sales too much. In short, I wasn’t crazy about the idea.

We came around (myself and our managing partner) when she agreed that it would be held in the back end of the store, it wouldn’t cost much in time or materials and the couple was willing to pay for the space.

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A marketing technique that really works and helps drive sales is to remember to sell the benefits of the benefits.

You’re planning your advertising and need to come up with content. Maybe you’re putting together some in-store signage. Before you do, consider the following.

A colleague of mine recently sent me a blog posting written by Paul Williams entitled The Benefits of the Benefits I found very interesting. In his posting Paul talks about the messages we send in our marketing and selling efforts, and how we can become more effective and encourage more sales through a stronger call to action.

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Generate Cash Flow With Gift Cards

Do you generate enough cash to keep your business strong? How about using gift cards to help boost your cash position?

You hear the talk these days about the slow down in the economy and how many businesses are suffering. With sales down in some categories and some customers slow to pay, small businesses can find it tough to keep cash flow positive.

Here is a little trick I have used at times to generate cash in slower season. I run a promotion where we pre-sell gift cards for the upcoming summer season, and in turn, give a discount off today’s purchases.

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Unique Shopping and Retail Experiences That Help Differentiate

This past weekend I took my family to Kings Landing Historical Settlement, a local New Brunswick historical park where they served a pancake breakfast with all the maple syrup you could ask for. After the breakfast, patrons lined up for an experience to taste a small sample of maple syrup candy rolled in snow. Never tried one before? It is an old traditional treat that the early settlers would make each spring when the maple sap started to run and maple syrup was in full production.

Last Saturday morning patrons were lined up by the dozens to pay $2 for a small sample of this sweet maple treat. For a small candy treat, that you would probably expect to pay maybe 50¢ for in a store, they were selling literally hundreds for $2 each.

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Photo Credit: Coops Paints, Columbus, Ohio

Think Creatively

Does your advertising stand out? Does your business stand out? Do you stand out?

I took this picture not long ago in Columbus, Ohio. I got so excited about how this paint company really thought outside the box, and created something that stood out among the hundreds of billboards throughout the downtown.

Talk about a company that refuses to colour inside the lines!

Companies don’t always require an original medium to stand out. Quite often a new twist on an old advertising vehicle will do the trick.

How does your company stand out? How much do you try and colour outside the lines?

Andy

P.S. For other creative adveritsing check out the Milky Way Caramel Seat Belts and the Batman Returns Batbus.