Utilizing marketing techniques
Next, maximize personalized marketing. Mass retailers do a great deal of mass marketing via national print and broadcast advertising, direct mail programs and couponing. This is an effective tactic for them, as their target market is extremely large.
Specialty retailers, however, are trying to reach a specific audience—pool owners in their direct vicinity. Therefore, personalized, targeted marketing is a better scheme. For example, specialty retailers can personalize product promotions to their customers, e.g. marketing new saltwater pool products to saltwater pool customers and promoting new stain and scale products to clients who have struggled with these problems in the past.
As a specialty retailer’s target audience is so well defined, they can employ more personal communication methods, such as e-mail (for those customers who have shared their e-mail address), regular newsletters and educational events at the store, in addition to advertisements, social media and coupons in local outlets.
These methods generally deliver a higher response rate and a better return on investment (ROI) compared to national mass advertising. These communication methods also reinforce the personalized service specialty retailers offer, boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Finally, as a specialty retailer it is important to merchandise the premium products well. Since new and unique products provide more attractive profit margins and help differentiate the store from mass retailers, they should be placed in high traffic areas using shelf and point-of-purchase (POP) displays and vendor-supplied marketing materials to promote them to customers. Promoting the products that are most effective and command the best margins can only benefit the business.
Additional tips
To help avoid ‘apples-to-apples’ price comparisons, a specialty retailer should try not to carry the same brand of commodity products as nearby mass retail chains. The retailer should still carry some commodity-type products, such as basic pool salt and chlorine, but they must be selected carefully and placed in less-visible areas in the store or used as loss leaders to gain new customers.
Specialty retailers should also consider how they price the commodity products they carry. Costs do not need to match prices offered by mass retailers; however, large price gaps should be avoided, as customers may decide to purchase their commodity products elsewhere. A difference of approximately 10 to 15 per cent is safe.
To acquire competitive information on pricing, assumptions based on advertisements from nearby mass retailers should be avoided. Specialty retailers should shop competing stores to get first-hand information about what products are sold at nearby mass retailers, in addition to how they are displayed and priced.
By embracing the value a specialty retailer adds to the marketplace and properly differentiating the store from nearby mass retailers, it is possible to build long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Bob Harper is general manager of pool products at Pristiva, a Compass Minerals company. He has more than 20 years of experience in the pool and spa industry and is an expert in saltwater pool systems. He can be reached via e-mail at harperb@pristiva.net.
