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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-04-27, Page 11We leave the adult at home •from page 1 "The trouble is most of us have a child and a parent inside of us all the time: but we leave the adult at home," he said. When a customer says, an item is cheaper elsewhere, ,"the parent wants to jump out ' and say 'then go'," Mouser said. He said the correct response is: "We buy value. We don't buy price: We shop price, but we rarely buy at the lowest price. Think of it as trying to get a date, he said. "If I used that technique -to try and get a; date, I'd say, 'I'm good and I'm cheap."' He told merchants there are two signs posted behind cash registers in stores all across Canada that have to come down. "The first says 'No cash refunds.' Would you have gotten married if the rules were posted, first? At least in marriage you had hope." It costs $120 to pull a new customer in the store, said Mouser, compared to only $20 to keep an existing cus- tomer. "The only way to get through life is to negotiate, and both sideshave to win." The other sign warns patrons that there will be a $20 charge for NSF (not sufficient funds) cheques. "My cheque represents local money," said Mouser. "My Chargex is for out-of-town spending. So what you've done is posted a sign that says 'We don't trust the locals." If the law requires you to post such a warning, "post it on a back wall," he said. Store windows are a merchant's biggest lure, but few merchants use them properly, he said. "Do you have your (business) name in your window? How about inside your store? How many cus- tomers have to ask 'Who should I make this cheque out to?' "You've got your (business) name above your awning, but who wants to walk to the middle of the street and get run .over"to see your name? Post it inside the store, as many times as you want." And 'merchants should make prices clearly visible on items in their window, he said. "Buyers can't make a decision . without a price, and if they don't see it, 82 per cent will estimate it higher than it is," he said. "People buy with their emotions, then justify their purchase with logic all the way home." Area merchants have to sop thinking their customers are still 'small-town folk' who will automatically patronize local shops, said Mouser. "You don't live in rural Ontario anymore. You live in a very close world," he said, noting before a person puts on a single stitch of clothing in the morning, that person already knows what's going on around the world. "You're playing hardball with the world." How to • survive Wal-Mart Dr. Ken Stone, Wal-Mart guru, recently addressed a gathering in Owen Sound regarding a pos- sible Wal-Mart invasion. Stone, an economics professor at Iowa State University, has spent the past 18. years working in com- munity development, retail trade and business management. In 1988 he conducted a study on the impact of a Wal-Mart store when•it came into an Iowa community. Stone offered tips for busines- ses to consider "if you're going to complete in this . kind of arena." He told businesses to: - try not to handle the same mer- chandise. If you do overlap on some products, be sure the price , mark-up is limited to 10-15 per cent. On less popular items, the mark-up can be greater because peoplg only remember the prices of about 200 of the total 70,000 products; • carry items that complement Wal-Mart merchandise because tire' company will • refer cus- tomers; - get rid of dead merchandise: "That's just like money sitting on the shelf," Stone said. -It also depreciates with inflation and detracts from the store's overall appearance; - look for voids in the mass mer- chandisers' inventory. "How do you find . these voids? - You gotta go shop there, don't you," he said. "Look for the good and the bad. You might want to emulate some of those things;" - consider upscale merchandise; - buy well. He urged people to buy wisely at ,trade shows and take advantage of deals they know they can sell. Stone also stressed the impor- tance of catering t0 customers, providing extended hours, trained staff, special order abilities,improved return policies and increased services. . 6ntlnel - Birthday Club Vicky Murray • April 2.7,'1987 7 Years Old Kevin Farrish April 27, 1990 4 Years Old Derek Sanderson April 28, 1989 5 Years Old Justin Davidson April 28, 1988 6 Years Old Cal McDonagh April 29, 1986 8 Years Old' Cindy Willits April S0, 1985 9 Years Old Kelsey Smolenaars May 1, 1991 3 Years Old Brett Courtney May 1, 1991 3 Years Old Micheal Mali. May 1, 1983 11 Years Old ' Julie Phillips May 2. 1989 5 Years Old Nicole Berry May 2, 1993 1 Year Old TE -EM FARM` PRESENTS ITS li Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, April 27, 1994 - Page 11 Cowan Printing & Advertising DECALS - FLYERS - CAPS - SHIRTS - PENS - MUGS • JOB SIGHT SIGNS - TRUCK DOOR SIGNS Lucknow 528-2730 Fax 528-3348 , THE HALFMOON "('1.( )TJ 11;8 1 OIt 11ER'' WALKERTON Announces our long awaited SPRING SALE - for 2 days only Friday & Saturday — April 29 and 30th all SPRING & SUMMER fashions will be on sale for 1 25/0 off regular price We have our complete selections of LINDA LUNDSTROM. MARILYN BROOKS COMO, OLSEN, JEANNE PIER•RE,`MONDO, REGINA PORTER, VOICE OF :EUROPE and more plus some great accessories Members: don't forget you may shop for this great sale on Thursday. April 28, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm• " 881-2294 Friday April 29th 9 am -.8 pm Saturday & Sunday April 30 & May 1/94 Free Coffee and Cookies! Everything is grown in our own greenhouses from seed or cuttings. 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