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By Sara Delano
 Bruce Wisman knows when to use a soft sell.  Wisman, vice-president of Wisman Appliance Service Inc., a retail store in Ft. Wayne Ind., with annual sales around $1 million, wanted to discourage customers from shopping at other appliance stores.  At the suggestion of Jeff Slutsky, Wisman filled a freezer with gallons of ice cream and, just before customers left the store, handed each a free carton. Not only did the customers' hearts melt at Wisman's generosity, so did the ice cream, and people hurried home to get it in the freezer. That put an end to comparison shopping for the day and left Wisman's appliances uppermost in his customers' minds. "Don't outspend the competition, outthink them," says Jeff Slutsky, who left traditional advertising agency backgrounds to start a business consulting firm that would help retailers find "alternative" ways to increase sales and traffic. They call their approach "Streetfighting," and the word has caught on among hart-hit retailers, who admit that times are tough.  Streetfighting, says Slutsky, doesn't mean abandoning traditional advertising media, such as radio and TV, or firing your advertising agency. Quite the opposite. He advises retailers in seminars to milk these resources for all they're worth.  One of Jeff Slutsky's favorite lines is from Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Part II: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." The "enemy," says Slutsky, tongue in check, is the local Sara Delano is an associate editor at INC. |
advertising salespeople working for newspapers, radio and TV stations, or billboard advertising companies--anybody trying to get the retailer's advertising dollars.
"You have to know the salesperson's point of view and motivations in order to negotiate effectively for the best buys," notes Slutsky. "Most retailers buy advertising like they were buying a used car--they dicker. That's backwards when you're dealing with someone working on a commission based on gross sales."  He advises clients to set the dollar amount up front, instead of whittling away at the salesperson's cut. Once the retailer has established the budget, then he or she should bargain for better air times and more commercial spots. "If the radio salesperson wants to get you 20 spots, ask for 35," says Slutsky, who spent six months selling radio time when he got out of college. Negotiate for peak listening times, such as drive times, or for matching overnights--late night spots that are often sold at bargain prices.  Slutsky encourages retailers to supplement their regular advertising with low-cost promotional techniques, everything from publicity stunts and public-service promotions, to the distribution of discount coupons, gift certificates, and flyers.  Thinking like a streetfighter means being on your toes and taking advantage of every promotional opportunity. For example, when the movie Urban Cowboy created a stampede of mechanical riding bulls in nightclubs across the country, Brickley's Fire House, a Ft. Wayne club, decided to use the fad as a springboard for some low-cost publicity. |
Instead of paying $8,000 for a new mechanical bull, they invested $50 in a coin-operated pony, which they unveiled on "Bourbon Cowboy Night." A few days later, when
another nightclub in Ft. Wayne installed a real mechanical bull, the local newspaper gave Brickley's double billing. Glanking the bull was an equal-sized photograph of Brickley's pony.
 Another way to generate free publicity, used frequently by Pizza Hut franchises local restaurants that RMI counts as clients, is through public-service advertising. By getting involved in a community fund raising effort, a local Pizza Hut not only helped build a "good guy" image, it also managed to get free advertising--from it's competitor."  The purpose of the promotion was to raise $800 for a new piece of equipment for the local fire department. The fast-food restaurant ran a promotion in which they gave 50 cents out of every dollar spent on pizza during the day to the fire department. Because it was a public-service campaign, Pizza Hut received free publicity in the local media while the fire department picked up the printing costs for flyers and posters that went up all over town--including in the window of the fast-food restaurant down the block.  Another successful strategy increasingly used by retailers around Ft. Wayne is cross promotion, a simple but effective way to get one business promoted by another retailer or organization. For example, All Sports Fitness Center in Ft. Wayne arranged a cross promotion with Mike's Express Car Wash in order to attract new members. Mike handed out 10,000 All Sports half price membership coupons, "Compliments of Mike's." |