Category: newsagency marketing

Storytime: Happiness…

Storytime:  A few weeks ago, young Jess bought from us a bunch of sheets of different colours of A4 paper. “That’s a lot of coloured paper Jess,” I said. “I want to make people happy,” Jess said with a wonderful smile. “I am going to make paper cranes and give them to people.” “Cranes, huh?” I said. “It’s a symbol of happiness,” Jess said. “The crane makes people happy.”

After Jess left, I looked it up online. Sure enough, she was right. Handmade paper cranes are a symbol of happiness.

I’m sharing the story now because Jess was back in a couple of days ago. She left me a beautiful yellow paper crane, made from a sheet of the paper I sold her. I put it on a shelf in my office, at eye level, so I see it every day.

We have the most wonderful customers.

Helping small business newsagents have a terrific 2020

newsXpress is a newsagency marketing group that helps small business newsagents in Australia to run more enjoyable, successful and valued local retail businesses.

Most of our newsXpress newsagent member businesses are in regional Australia, on main streets, serving local shoppers and local community groups.

newsXpress newsagents are local families with kids in local schools, hiring local people, serving the local community.

Our local newsXpress newsagent businesses can be found in all states and territories of Australia. We are national but all of our newsXpress newsagent businesses are locally owned and locally run.

This is why no two newsXpress businesses will look the same. They sell products in service of their local community. They are responsive and engaged.

newsXpress helps its members to find products appropriate to their businesses preferencing Australian made because of what this means for local jobs because here in 2020, local jobs do matter.

Helping small business newsagents in this way, to run moire locally focussed and successful and safe businesses is a core part of the newsXpress newsagency marketing group mission – in service of all in the local newsagent business who rely on the business for income.

Here is a small part of what we have done with and for newsXpress newsagent business members already in 2020:

  • Early access to state and territory grants. Even where they did not quality for JobKeeper we helped plenty make the case for grant funding.
  • Rent relief. We have helped many newsXpress members with rent relief, which has ranged from 25% off rent for 6 months to 75% off rent for 6 months.
  • Bonus GP%. On top of newsXpress preferential pricing, 51 suppliers provided an additional 5% of GP April through June on all purchases in an exclusive
  • First with jigsaws. In February we pitched jigsaws as a growth category in a Covid world. Our members grabbed inventory, and achieved excellent sales.
  • Online with jigsaws. In March we turned on a national jigsaw website connected to newsXpress stores to win delivery and click and collect sales. It’s been a hit.
  • First with nesting. In March we identified nesting as a popular growth category. Members following our advice have added thousands of dollars in revenue.
  • New suppliers. We have brought on 15 new suppliers in recent months, almost all of whom have not previously dealt with newsagents.

There are many more items on this list, many more benefits delivered to local newsagency businesses as 2020 has rolled out and there is plenty more to come, in service of local communities around Australia.

How newsXpress helps small business newsagents run more valuable retail businesses

newsXpress is a newsagency marketing group focussed on helping small business newsagents top run more successful and enjoyable retail business.

By understanding what is important to us you can discover what we focus on for newsXpress members. Based on our work with newsagents, here are the top things we hear in 2020 are important to small business newsagents.

  • Helping you save money. Because, cash is king.
  • Exclusive products. Through which to differentiate your business.
  • Helping you find customers you would not usually reach.
  • Helping you enjoy your business because enjoying your business is key for you and all who working the newsagency business.
  • Change is inevitable. COVID-19 brought about urgent change and newsXpress was engaged from the outset, supporting, guiding, helping … providing confidence.
  • Good business data can help reveal trends. newsXpress has been first with advice to leverage fads and when to exit.
  • Brands support newsXpress and member businesses. We put brands first.
  • We love to see and hear newsXpress members talking with each other, sharing experiences and insights. Great ideas have been discovered on a shop floor.
  • The journey. We prefer to focus on the steps we take today rather than where we might be tomorrow because we know in small business, in retail and in newsagencies, tomorrow is an unknown. We focus on what we know and the next step we will take.
  • New traffic. We chase products and opportunities to drive new traffic, people you do not usually see in your business – ideally, new traffic that will return.

Newsagents are demonstrating their value to local communities, value in helping keep people informed, helping people connect and helping people get through challenging situations.

Newsagents are core to local communities and newsXpress is core is its focus of support for newsagents. Every day we work with newsagents to help them, in practical and valuable terms, to help small business retailers in the newsXpress newsagency community to run better businesses.

Better can be a subjective term. To us it is a business that is more enjoyable, more profitable and more valuable.

The help newsXpress offers is personal and nuanced to local needs, based on what the newsXpress newsagent says they need or what the objectives are for their personal situation

newsXpress helps Australian newsagents turn their situation around

newsXpress has plenty of experience in turnaround situations, helping newsagents. While we will not reveal details of our strategy here, we note that it takes time, commitment, honest communication and a wish for change. We start by understanding the truth of a situation. We dig deep into the newsagent business data to get to the facts. This provides a basis for advice we provide.

Our turnaround work can consist of as little as suggestions on changes or as much as developing a comprehensive long-term plan.  Each newsagent turnaround situation is different – hence our position that a turnaround starts with understanding the situation of the business and the business owners.

We actively work with newsXpress members to understand the needs of their newsagent businesses, working individually, practically and locally.

This is another service from our engaged newsagency marketing group, helping newsagents create more valuable and sustainable retail businesses.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US?

By understanding what is important to us you can discover what we focus on for newsXpress members. Here are the top things we think are important:

  • Helping you save money. Because, cash is king.
  • Exclusive products. Through which to differentiate your business.
  • Helping you find customers you would not usually reach.
  • Change is inevitable. COVID-19 brought about urgent change and newsXpress was engaged from the outset, supporting, guiding, helping … providing confidence.
  • Good business data can help reveal trends. newsXpress has been first with advice to leverage fads and when to exit.
  • Brands support newsXpress and member businesses. We put brands first.
  • We love to see and hear newsXpress members talking with each other, sharing experiences and insights. Great ideas have been discovered on a shop floor.
  • The journey. We prefer to focus on the steps we take today rather than where we might be tomorrow because we know in small business, in retail and in newsagencies, tomorrow is an unknown. We focus on what we know and the next step we will take.
  • New traffic. We chase products and opportunities to drive new traffic, people you do not usually see in your business – ideally, new traffic that will return.

Newsagency of the future workshops encourage growth

Opportunities for new shopper traffic, higher GP% and greater per visit value.

We invite you to a new free business management workshop for newsagents where I will share an insight into trends in current trading data, trends for core categories overseas and opportunities for growth as we all recast our businesses.

We will ask some tough questions and through these navigate to challenges that sit at the root of some newsagency channel core categories and work through, with you, several opportunities growth in these.

What we explore together will be relevant to any newsagent in any situation, large or small, city or country. The sole focus will be on creating a brighter future, even if that means for you your own business exit strategy.

You will receive valuable takeaways you will be able to use right away as well as thought-provoking questions each of us in retail will have to answer.

While some examples will be newsXpress related, this is not a newsXpress sales event. It is a continuation of our Newsagency of the Future Workshops, which we first ran in 2004 and have evolved ever since.

I will also share newsXpress case studies where business owners have recast their businesses through change. These will include city and country businesses. Large and small.

Please, join us as we invest in a stronger, but different, newsagency channel.

  1. May 6. 9am Melbourne. Book now.
  2. May 7. 10am Sydney. Book now.
  3. May 8. 10am Brisbane. Book now.
  4. May 10. 10am Adelaide. Book now.

These are the only dates, because of commitments for the next few months.