Personal question for easterangel-ga.

Interesting approach... good thinking... and I appreciate the 4 links.

Soon I will upload ( below the original question ) the pharmacy's
Yellow Page ad that was booked in February - scheduled to come out
mid- May. You will see that we are definitely developing ideas along
the same lines.

The post is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi brudenell-ga!

Thanks for appreciating my findings. I will post my answer here again.

I will try a different approach from marketing this drugstore and will
take examples of approaches from different retail establishments.

Since this is an independently owned drugstore who is going after the
big boys, then a good guerrila marketing strategy will be needed to
offset the resources of the giant competition. Some suggestions will
be:

A. Street or Community Based Marketing (Face to Face or even Door to
Door Selling) Here are some tips on how to do them:

1. ­"Present an Irresistible Offer - "To develop your offer, sit down
and write out a list of all your products and services. Now separate
the basic products and services from the add-ons. Then start bundling
your basic products and services with several add-ons using different
combinations."

2. ­"Maximize Upsells - Structure the offer for maximum upsells. For
example, offering a free rug shampoo and engine cleaning with a paid
car wash forces the customer to pay for a car wash to get their free
rug shampoo and engine cleaning."

3. "Make It a Fundraiser - Consider using your offer as a fundraiser
for a local high school. Local fast food restaurants use this tactic
often. They allow the student to keep a portion of the proceeds, which
shows support for the high school and at the same time giving the fast
food restaurant a great reputation in the community."

4. "Team Selling - Form your sales team into small groups of young
people that attack a small neighborhood."

"Street Marketing for Small Businesses"
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol78/street.htm


5. "Ask for referrals to their neighbors and reward people if
referrals become sales. Gift certificates from a local restaurant are
an excellent reward."

6. "Ask for referrals to their neighbors and reward people if
referrals become sales. Gift certificates from a local restaurant are
an excellent reward."

7. "Send out press releases to announce the promotion, and announce
the winners. When multiple locally owned businesses are involved in a
joint promotion, it becomes more newsworthy."

"Street Marketing: It's a Matter of Smarts"
http://www.contractingbusiness.com/news/article.cfm/newsarticleid/531

8. "Special promotions and events can be made to work in concert with
any one or a combination of the above methods. This can be in the form
of door prizes, Welcome Wagon gifts, free passes, free coffee, or even
honouring a competitor's coupons."

"Ways to Promote Your Product or Service"
http://www.cbsc.org/alberta/search/display.cfm?Code=4044&coll=FE_FEDSBIS_E


----------------------------
B. Personal Touch Service

1. "Offer a personal shopper service, or ?Selection Consultants? ? a personal 
shopper assists customers with a level of individualized attention and
service beyond what retail associates could offer. Differentiate
yourself from the big-box retailers by allowing your customers to call
ahead with specific details ? height, weight, favorite colors, hobbies
and interests, even the amount you are willing to spend ? and when
they arrive at the store, your customers have a custom-specified
selection of merchandise to choose from."

2. "Give your customers the convenience of calling your sales
associates ahead of time, and have it waiting for them at the front of
your store for quick purchase."

3. "E-mail ?holiday idea lists? to your former customers which feature
the hot items of the holiday season, or mine your customer database
for buying trends, and provide specialized lists of items that might
interest them."

4. "Driving and parking in the wintertime can be challenging for
everyone. Provide a shuttle service for seniors or disabled
customers."

5. "Promote special hours to shop for preferred customers ? this
invitation-only event gives these customers the ease of shopping
without the hassle of crowds, and provides personalization that the
big-box retailers can?t
offer."

"How Can Small Retailers Beat the Big Box Stores This Christmas?"
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/12/prweb93644.php

 
Search terms used:  
retail guerrila marketing
street community marketing

                             
Thanks for visiting us.                              
                              
Regards,                              
Easterangel-ga                              
Google Answers Researcher

Thank you.