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how do you know what is working?

using direct mail to increase email marketing results

the greater value in continued advertising

refining product choices to meet consumer wants

here's how a restaurant works the neighborhood

it is easier to keep your customers than trying to get new ones. so, stop losing customers! this 7-page guide will help you learn ...and most importantly how to win them back.

shouldn't you invest the time to ensure your staff understands their role in converting your advertising into revenue? this 4-page action guide is packed with nuggets of simple ways to educate your staff ...

frustrated by coupon-cutters who always purchase with coupons? this 5 page action guide will teach you how to increase your profit margin by getting your customers to "kick the coupon habit." learn the secrets of a reliable three-stage program to help "rehabilitate" your customers to curb their coupon addiction.

6 page action guide with step-by-step step suggestions to beat your newest competitor

it's wonderful to have so many customers in your location that they may have to wait. do you and your staff do "the right things" to keep them happy while they wait? this 4-page action guide contains over 25 tried-and-true "right things" to keep your customers waiting contentedly.

mri study identifies five buying style segments: * buyers of the best * swayable shopaholics * habitualized havers * conscientious consumers * penny-pinchers

so, how do you, the small retailer, make sure your customers continue shopping at your store during tough economic times? here are 12 ideas to consider:

we pick stores we patronize like we pick peole we date

quick pointers for making a great newspaper ad.

step by step info on creating a great retail ad.

we've started to give away bookmarks with the name, address, web and phone number for the store, and we drop several in a bag so people can share with their friends. we're trying to think of other low-cost freebies too, including book club reading lists, for customers.tom t., bookseller, spokane wa.

i’m really focusing on referrals…i make a point to mail a postcard to former clients and ask for referrals, and send a gift certificate to a nice restaurant to every client who gives me a referral.patrick o. rapid city, sd- real estate

“some in our center used post it notes as flyers that they put on cars. we asked them about it and they said that they got better response than before with normal flyers. plus they had no complaints from the landlord about flyers all over the parking lot. they used the local printer and had 500 of the post it notes printed. one thing that they said was important is that they put the note on the driver’s side door not on the windshield.”alexis v, newport beach, ca, dress boutique

“i never really cared for the painted signs on the front of stores i felt like it cheapened your image. however, business has been so bad that i decided to try it. we put a sign on the window that said special weekend sale. free restretto with any best seller. it worked we did 35% more sales of ny times best seller list than we had done on any weekend in the past 6 months.mandy c, san francisco, book store & coffee boutique

“door hangers. for the last several years, i didn’t have to “farm” an area. with the housing market the way it is, i decided to go back to some areas that i had sold homes in before and re-introduce myself with some information about what’s happened to this particular area in terms of home prices. i got 3 leads for listings because the people wanted me to evaluate their home for sale before the market moved again.”linda g, las vegas, nv, real estate