Category: newsagency marketing

Teamwork at newsXpress Weatherill Park

downloaded-270109-041.jpgAntonella & Ginella, owners of newsXpress Wetherill Park in New South Wales, understand the importance of the team. They brought them along to the NANA Awards dinner ten days ago as the business had been nominated for the Retail Award. newsXpress likes to see members engaging with their team in this way. We understand that newsagency businesses would be nothing but for the efforts of the team behind the counter, in the back room and at home.

newsXpress is demonstrating practical support for team member and owner engagement by introducing special low pricing for team members to attend our National Conference in Melbourne later this year.  Newsagents will be able to bring members of their front line along to participate in an excellent learning and motivating event.  We will provide workshops specifically for team members.

We will announce pre-registration details for the conference in the next few days.

newsXpress strategies drive growth

newsXpress is reviewing the performance of several newsagencies which joined our group in the last three months of 2008 and which have embraced newsXpress exclusive offers. The results are staggering.

In one store we are seeing an improvement in gross profit of 20% in the first three months of 2009. Most of this is from new categories we have introduced to the business.

Another new newsXpress member is reporting increasing gross profit from around $1,000 to close to $10,000 in a category they previously ran in the traditional way. Last year, newsXpress introduced new suppliers and significantly better margin – driving the reported improvement in profit contribution.

The key to achieving such excellent results is engagement. We have several key product category offers backed by management strategies which will be successful. The key message we repeat around these offers is trust the process. Those who do trust the process have more money in the bank as a result.

This is another example of the newsXpress difference. We are happy to share specific location details, with permission, with prospective newsXpress members.

Choosing a marketing group for your newsagency

newsXpress has published updated advice for newsagents searching for a marketing group.  Choosing the right marketing group for your newsagency provides guidelines on factors to consider. Not all marketing groups are the same and it is important to be certain of what is important to your newsagency.

Book Sale goes off at newsXpress Scott’s Lismore

nx_scotts_books.jpgLuke Scott and the team are making a good impact with their book sale at newsXpress Scotts Lismore.  In addition to great deals on books, they are promoting the popular book seat as part of their Book Sale. Cross category promotion like this is an excellent way to deepen the shopping basket – something newsXpress encourages.

If you are in Lismore and like a good deal then get to newsXpress 49-51 Woodlark Street, Lismore. Luke and his cheerful team will take excellent care of you.

newsXpress has negotiated favourable rates for the book sale.  We are supporting this with an excellent brochure which is being delivered to homes around participating newsXpress outlets.  Easter is historically an excellent time for book sales in Australia.

Welcome new members of newsXpress

nx_terr.jpgWelcome to new newsXpress members joining us this month in Eli Waters, Strathpine, Bathurst, Terrigal and Nambour. We are thrilled to welcome these new members of the newsXpress family.  Each newsagent joining newsXpress goes through an evaluation process.

Our interest is in attracting entreprenurial disciplined newsagents who are committed to the principles of newsXpress.  The size of the newsagency is not a key factor.

The photo shows Andrew Strachan, partner in newsXpress Terrigal (with Cathy) photographed with Graham Randall, Director of newsXpress, at the NANA Newsagent of the Year Awards last week.

More online workshops for newsXpress members

Michelle Caia, our in-house calendar expert, is hosting an a repeat of her successful online Making the Most from 2010 Calendars workshop for newsXpress members.  Michelle’s knowledge and newsXpress calendar deals make this a valuable category for our members.

Trent Shields, our National Marketing Manager,  is hosting a repeat of his successful workshop for newsXpress members on Local Area Marketing.  This workshop provides an excellent networking opportunity as Trent faacilitates practical business discussion and a sharing of local marketing ideas.

These online workshops are in addition to newsXpress’ face to face member meetings – the next series of which is being held in April.  Workshop details will be announced to newsXpress members in the next couple of days.

Great ink deals from newsXpress newsagencies

newsXpress newsagencies have excellent deals on ink and toner.  In addition to excellent prices, our current brochure offers a supplier backed cash back deal, a supplier backed discount off additional ink purchased (beyond the first cartridge), a supplier backed 10% discount off USB sticks and a supplied backed free picnic hamper. Our pricing and the associated offers are the best available through newsagencies at the moment.

Our deals are promoted in a colour flyer distributed to hundreds of thousands of homes.  The flyer professionally represents our brand and the brands of our supplier partners.

Here is the front page of the flyer:

nxhink.jpg

We are proud to lead the newsagency channel on ink deals and drive excellent traffic for our newsXpress members.   We are also proud to not use lazy marketing like – we will not be beaten on price.  Harsh as this may sound, we see that approach – we will not be beaten… – as follower marketing.  Leadership, while harder work, delivers more loyal customers.  We like loyal customers at newsXpress.  This is why our merchandise team invests so much time in creating ink flyers with genuine market-leading offers.

For a list of participating newsXpress newsagencies, please click here.

newsXpress Easter offers drive good sales

feast3.JPGnewsXpress members are reporting excellent Easter sales with the products sourced from newsXpress recommended suppliers.  From excellent Russ and Gund plush to Chocolatier Easter Eggs, we have members reportting having passed last year’s Easter sales already and we still have two full weeks to go.

We know from our sales data tracking that stores with good Easter gift and egg sales will also see good greeting card sales. The cross-department benefit of our strategy is valuable.

As we do with each season, we will seek and consider newsXpress member and supplier sales data and feedback.  This will help us guide better seasonal product and marketing decisions.

VANA golf day success

img_6025a.jpgnewsXpress is thrilled to have been a financial supporter of the VANA Golf Day yesterday.  Newspower was the other marketing group putting cash on the table supporting the popular event.  Some of our team played and had a great time mixing with Victorian newsagents an newsagency suppliers.

The photo shows our own Ron Thorpe decked our in newsXpress gear at the VANA golf day – demonstrating the importance of strong branding.

Golf days are an excellent networking opportunity for newsagents, relaxing too.  This is why newsXpress welcomes opportunities to support them.  We are firm believers in providing newsagents with opportunities to talke in a relaxed environment.

Second newsXpress location in Bathurst

21st-march-001.jpgGeoff and Virginia Dale opened their second newsXpress location in Bathurst this week.  This newsXpress newsagency / gift shop looks excellent by all accounts – welldesigned, very professional presentation, well stocked and with a team of friendly staff ready to provide the excellent customer service for which they have become known in Bathurst.

Geoff and Virginia have stocked the shop with traditional newsagency lines: magazines, newspapers, Lotteries and major brands of stationery.  They have also brought in an excellent range of gifts – sales in the first couple of days have shown the value of excellent buying in the gift department.

The fashionable newsXpress bag

zoe.jpgHere is the latest in how to use the newsXpress red bag!!! Zoe, sister of newsXpress Kin Kora member Sarah, is shown wearing a newsXpress red bag as a top to a Rubik’s cube party. As sarah says: It’s the most fashionable red bag I’ve ever seen. We agree!

The newsXpress red bags are provided to newsXpress members for sale and for use with in-store and local area promotions.  It’s another part of our environmental strategy.

newsXpress supports Queensland newsagents

newsXpress is proud to be able to demonstrate practical support for newsagents by being a major sponsor of the Queensland Newsagents State Conference next week.  Our newsXpress Gold sponsorship and a Bronze sponsorship by Newspower are the only newsagent marketing group support for the conference.  Other marketing groups have passed on the opportunity to show their support not only for the QNF but for newsagents more broadly.

newsXpress urges all marketing groups to proactively support newsagents and events like next week’s conference for it is these events which strengthen the channel which is important to us.

More than the deals

12th-march-002.jpgWhile newsXpress negotiates exclusive deals on products for its members, it is at the back end of the business that we deliver tremendous benefit for our members. Deals will not sell unless you pull new people in with professional marketing. Deals will not sell unless you present them professionally. Deals will not sell unless you provide training and product knowledge for staff which helps them leverage them.

Troy and the team at newsXpress Wagga Wagga understand this and embrace all that newsXpress offers – right down to our branded sale table cover as shown in the photo from their store this week.

By promoting the brand of the store along with a hot deal around art, newsXpress Wagga Wagga is pitching true value of customers walking past their newsagency. Pitching the brand even in this subtle way is important because now, more than ever before, the difference in newsagencies is obvious.

From table cloths, to uniforms, to name badges to shop signage, newsXpress offers a branding solution to enable members to be proud of their newsXpress membership and to let customers know where they can experience the newsXpress difference.

Reinventing the newsagency ink offer

hotink7.jpgnewsXpress has evolved its Hot Ink! offer to keep its 160 newsagent members ahead of the pack when it comes to ink, toner and related products.  While previous Hot Ink! offers have worked very well for us and our members, we knew we could not rest on our laurels.  Hence changes which include four supplier-funded offers.  Two of these offers are exclusive to newsXpress newsagencies.

The two-page brochure, distributed to hundreds of thousands of homes around Australia, is the first of its kind in the newsagency channel in that it promotes coupons, cashbacks and bonuses is a way never used by newsagents.

Historically, newsagents have promoted ink around price using catalogues that look like price lists.  Our goal was to create a professional and compelling offer which separated us from this me-too marketing approach and which worked as a call to action.

Beyond the marketing support, newsXpress helps with ranging, merchandising and staff training.

Local area marketing workshop

How to use local area marketing is another free online workshop from newsXpress to help its members enhance business skills and network with other newsXpress members on business building topics.  Hosted by our National Marketing Manager, Trent Shields, this workshop will cover the newsXpress range of resources available for Local area marketing and explore how newsXpress members have successfully marketed their businesses in their local community.

Super draw System 20 syndicate participation sell-out

newsXpress members have taken up all available opportunities to sell shares in a newsXpress exclusive System 20 syndicate for the Saturday lottery super draw at the end of March. newsXpress members working together on opportunities like this helps reinforce the strength of our group to ourselves as well as to suppliers.

The opportunity was open for barely more than a day before it was fully subscribed by members keen to sell tickets in the syndicate.  The syndicate opportunity was developed in association with the folks at Golden Casket – sponsor of one of the awards to be given at the newsXpress conference later this year.