7A
STRICTLY BUSINESS/ The Charlotte Post
January 25, 1996
PICK & SHOVEL MARKETING
Marketing on a shoe string
Use frequent buyer
programs to build a
customer relationship
By Lynette R. Hawkins
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
"Repeat customers are often
considered the best customers
by retailers because you do
not have to sell them hard."
This myth is not exactly
true.
Today, customers have sig
nificantly more options in
retailing than several years
ago. Competition between
major chains, off-price retail
ers, discount stores, etc. make
skillful use of "Pick & Shovel
Marketing,” a great opportu
nity for independent stores.
Low cost marketing tech
niques can generate continu
ous consumer traffic and long
term relationships with your
customers. One of the major
opportunities small business
es have over larger retailers is
their ability to personalize the
selling experience and build a
relationship with the cus
tomer.
Many marketers use fre
quent buyer programs to build
a continuity effort between
the customer and the retailer.
Because of the frequent
changes in store personnel the
size of the store and overall
atmosphere of many major
chains, frequent buyer pro
grams in big retailers often
lose their customer appeal.
Smaller stores have the oppor
tunity to take relationship
marketing to new heights.
Personalizing frequent buyer
programs and building true
customer bonds are the key to
successful continuity pro
grams.
Why limit a continuity pro
gram to just a vehicle during a
sale event? Why not develop a
program that gets your cus
tomers to return again, and
again.
Whether you are a florist,
quick print shop or boutique,
establishing a relationship
with your customer can go a
long way in seeing repeat cus
tomers stay with your location
for the long haul.
Personalizing the program
depends on your business' cus
tomer philosophy. Assuming
you plan to deliver "excellent
service at a value,” the basis
for your program is right
there. How you design your
frequent buyer program will
depend on how much you
want to give away free and
how long the customer is will
ing to wait before she is
rewarded.
The cash outlay for a fre
quent buyer program is limit
ed to the communication vehi
cles used, the free incentive
and any database/direct mar
keting you plan as a part of
bonding with your customer.
If you feel your product or ser
vice could benefit from estab
lishing a long-term relation
ship with potential heavy
users of your product, consider
the following:
Target your program to
increase the number of repeat
customers.
Include a direct marketing
component that establishes a
dialogue with your customers.
Advertise or communicate the
program as an added benefit
of doing business with you.
LYNETTE R. HAWKINS is
a marketing professional.. Any
inquiries can be sent to her at
Hawkins ,P.O. Box 11344
Winston-Salem, NC 27116-
1344
Todd, Parham & Harris
ATTORNEYS - AT - LAW
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’ Free Consultation • Evening & Saturday Appointments •
301 S. McDowell Street, Suite 130
Whether you are a florist, quick print
shop or boutique, establishing a relation
ship with your customer can go a long way
in seeing repeat customers stay with your
location for the long haul.
Clubs earn money for members
erilage house
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Continued from page 6A
report your share of the club's
capital gains and losses on
your Form 1040, Schedule D
on the line provided for part
nership gains and losses; you
report your share of dividends
and interest on Form 1040,
Schedule B. The investment
club itself does not pay taxes.
The expenses incurred by the
club to produce or to collect
income, manage investment
property or to determine any
tax due also are reported sep
arately. If you itemize your
deductions, you may deduct
your share of these items on
Schedule A as a miscellaneous
deduction—this means you
may deduct only those quali
fied costs which, together with
other miscellaneous expenses,
exceed 2 percent of your
adjusted gross income.
How can I join an invest
ment club?
Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) rules pro
hibit the NAIC and individual
clubs from advertising. New
members generally learn
about clubs by word of mouth.
Most clubs like to keep their
membership relatively small.
The NAIC provides a free
information kit on how to
form a club, draft a partner
ship agreement, conduct
monthly meetings and estab
lish an accounting system.
NAIC also provides informa
tion on how to research stocks.
CPAs say that investment
clubs are a good way to sharp
en your investment expertise.
For more information, contact
the National Association of
Investors Corporation at PO
Box 220, Royal Oak, Mich.
48068 or call (810) 583-6242.
MONEY MANAGEMENT is
a weekly column on personal
finance prepared and distrib
uted by the North Carolina
Association of Certified Public
Accountants.
Coupons can be big money winner
Continued from page 6A
the ground with a lot more
money in your pocket.
Travelers should learn about
the cities they wish to travel
to, and how seasonal differ
ences affect prices. For exam
ple, although summer airfares
to Europe go on sale from
January to March 15, greater
discounts are offered begin
ning in late May, as carriers
scramble to fill empty seats.
To get the best prices of the
year, fly during the slack busi
ness periods in November and
December. Also, smaller carri
ers may offer less frills, but a
much cheaper fare, if you
don't mind non-reserved seat
ing. These carriers include
Kiwi International, Tower Air,
CALite and Valu Jet. These
airlines only fly to specific
cities call your travel agent for
more details.
Be flexible
Asking the ticket agent for
the cheapest airfare is only a
start in finding the best deal
for your trip. Here are some
other tips:
Find out if you can get a bet
ter fare if you leave at a differ
ent time of day. Most crowded
flights leave in the morning
and offer few discounted
seats. Try flying during off-
peak times, like around noon.
Staying over a Saturday
night will almost always get
you a good discount, since car
riers want to build their slow
weekends. Be sure to tell the
agent that you are flexible
about what day and time you
can fly.
Flying on Tuesday or
Wednesday, two of the slowest
traffic days of the week, will
save you money as well as fly
ing between smaller airports.
For example, flights in and
out of Newark, N.J. are gener
ally cheaper than LaGuardia
or JFK airports in New York
City.
CHARLES ROSS is host of
the nationally syndicated
radio program "Your Personal
Finance," and author of ‘Your
CommonSense Guide to
Personal Financial
Planning..”
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Review Your Current Benefit Package, Tax Changes
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EXECUTIVE BENEFIT PROFILES
• Estate Planning
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• HELPS
• IRA's, SEP's, & PENSIONS
• Government Bond Funds
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AI Grier, C.L.U.
Chartered Financial Consultant
Registered Representative
Equitable Life Assurance Co.
New York, New York
Al Grier and Associates
6100 Fairview Road, Suite 200 • Charlotte, N.C. 28210
(704)556-9988
Equico Securities
New York, New York
%tt'B 00
justness
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