Retail Business Promotional Idea List...................

Advertise on the internet.Advertise in the classified advertising section of your community newspaper.Advertise in the Yellow Pages.Advertise on a grocery buggy.Affiliate your retail business with a charity / good cause.Approach your prospective customers over the phone.Approach your prospective customers in person.Approach your prospective customers through the mail.Be a guest speaker at seminars and present on your area of expertise.Be a guest speaker on radio talk shows.Build and maintain a customer mailing and contact list on database software.Build your image with well-designed letterhead and business cards.Create an in-store event around the birthdays of major celebrities.Create an in-store event around major sports and cultural events.Create an in-store event about your anniversary.Conduct a telemarketing campaign.Design a brochure that best explains the benefits of your store/product/services.Design a mail order campaign.Design additional point of purchase displays for your products and services.Design an image building logo for your retail business.Design and distribute a monthly or quarterly newsletter.Design and distribute company calendars, mugs, pens, note pads, or other advertising specialties displaying your company name, logo and location(s).Design and distribute a free "how to do it" hand-out related to your product/service.Design buttons, decals and bumper stickers or balloons with your company name, logo, slogan and/or location(s).Design T-shirts displaying your company name and logo.Develop an effective web site.Explore cross promotion with a non-competing company selling to your target market.Have a press release sent out.Hold a promotional contest.Hold a seminar on your service, product or industry.Have surprise and irresistible deals.If you have the space, hold live music concerts in or around the store.Include promotional material with your invoices.Invite your mayor or other recognized government officials to your events.Look for opportunities to do joint exhibits with non-competing stores as well as museums and art galleries.Maintain a VIP customer list and hold special events specifically for them. (Special sale, fashion show, new product presentation, etc.)Package your brochure with feature products or services, price lists and letter in a folder for handing out or mailing to your customers.Place a sidewalk sign outside your store.Place flyers on bulletin boards and car windshields (where permitted).Place promotional notes on your envelopes, mailing labels.Place signs or paint logos on your company vehicle(s).Prepare a corporate video and send it to your VIP list.Prepare a list of product features and benefits to help you plan your advertising and promotional campaigns.Prepare specific packages/bundles offering solutions to your customers' specific needs.Provide free samples/trials of your product or service.Sponsor a charity event.Sponsor an amateur sports team.Sponsor a cultural event through a community arts organization.Start a frequent customer loyalty program.