PR Ideas for the Small Retail Shop Appeal to consumers--and boost your business--with these simple PR strategies.
By Al Lautenslager Edited by Bill Schulz
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Q: Iown a florist shop. What are some PR ideas I can use that are moresuited for a small retailer vs. a big business?
A:That's a great question. So many times we think of the big PRfirms working with big businesses, while the rest of us try to comeup with our own PR angles. PR for the retail world is a littledifferent than PR for the service or manufacturing world, althoughthere are many common characteristics. The goal is still to get theword out about your business and your products or services.
With a retail business, you want your "news" or PRinformation to appeal to consumers, not necessarily otherbusinesses or investors. Consumers are usually attracted to retailbusinesses because of something they've heard or seen. Theycould have been referred, they might have responded to a coupon, orperhaps they drove by and saw your sign. Using PR to enhance allthese things is the key to spreading the word and getting morebusiness.
Florist shops, and really any retail business, have theadvantage of being able to tie into holidays. The spirit ofgift-giving does wonders for retail gift buying and marketing, andthere's always an event to tie into. Doing somethingunique--above and beyond just a standard gift-giving theme--willfurther accelerate PR. Special-interest articles on relevanttopics--such as "The History of Valentine's Day" or"How the Christmas Poinsettia Came to Be So Popular"--canprovide newsworthy angles. Feeding the news community with thisinformation positions your business not only as the resource forinformation related to holidays, but also as the place to shop forthe respective gifts.
Other PR strategies perfect for retailers are those related toevents or contests. The event could be an open house, or a"meet the expert," "meet the mayor" or"meet the press" event. Contests could be simple things,such as guessing the number of roses in a car or predicting the daythe last petal will fall off the rose. Another idea might be forcustomers to come in and guess the flower by its smell and get 25percent off their order. These suggestions may sound corny, buthopefully they'll get your imaginative juices flowing.
Since we're discussing the florist business here, a how-tosession is another newsworthy PR event. Classes on flowerarranging, flower pressing, rose garden growing and so on come tomind. These can be listed in the newspaper's list of communityevents, getting your name in front of prospective customers.
Community and philanthropic events are newsworthy, too. Forexample, get the word out that for every rose purchased forValentine's Day, your business will donate one dollar to theAmerican Heart Association. Or let customers know if your businessis donating flowers to the local church for the 100th Sunday in arow.
Establishing relationships with local reporters and editors willenhance your opportunity to turn these newsworthy ideas intopublished news. Just like any other PR, making your story,information or event as newsworthy as possible will geteditors' attention and separate you from a "me too"competitor. This type of PR, however, is just one marketing weaponand should supplement all the other marketing you do at the sametime. For instance, supplement your PR efforts with signage, radioads, newspaper ads, Yellow Pages advertising, displays, coupons,sales, packaging and overwhelming customer service.
At the end of the day, good PR will come from the very basics ofall PR--whether that business is retail-, manufacturing-, service-or nonprofit-oriented. Those basics are the press release, anewsworthy angle to a story and a relationship with an editor.Marketing is made up of many, many things--and one of those thingsis simple PR.
Alfred J. Lautenslager is an award-winning marketing and PRconsultant, direct-mail promotion specialist, principle ofmarketing consulting firm Marketing Now, and president and owner ofThe Ink Well, a commercial printing and mailing company in Wheaton,Illinois. Visit his Web sites at http://www.market-for-profits.comand http://www.1-800-inkwell.com, ore-mail him at al@market-for-profits.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are thoseof the author, not of Entrepreneur.com. All answers are intended tobe general in nature, without regard to specific geographical areasor circumstances, and should only be relied upon after consultingan appropriate expert, such as an attorney oraccountant.
