Minor Adjustments Sometimes one tiny tweak is all it takes to revitalize your marketing program

Sometimes one tiny tweak is all it takes to revitalize your marketing program. If your sales seem to be stagnating, try some (or all) of these ideas on for size:

Investigate shopping cart marketing. Shopping carts with placards heralding products or promotions are all over the place--and they're a great way to boost sales.

Remember that giving is getting. Guerrillas recognize the power of freebies. You own a restaurant? Give away free appetizers. A dry cleaner? Give $5 worth of cleaning free. You get the idea.

Consider holding a retail auction. Growing numbers of retailers have weekly auctions of returned and slightly damaged merchandise. It's fun and generates a lot of in-store traffic.

Light the back of your store. If you increase the amount of light at the back of your store, more customers will be attracted there, and they will stay in the store longer.

Learn the power of small details such as decimal points and zeros. To minimize prices, write "Only $80." To maximize savings, write "Save $80."

One of the best guerrilla advertising venues: the still ads that flash on movie screens before the previews start. It's pure guerrilla advertising because it's local, targeted, inexpensive and projects your business as part of the community.

Trying to reach older customers? Don't talk down to them; don't patronize them; don't treat them as "cute" or assume they've lost their mental agility. Speak clearly and loudly enough for them. Make sure visuals in your written materials are clear and that type is large enough for aging eyes to read.