How many times has a customer asked: “What do you recommend?” How many times has an employee been asked: “What do you like or use?” I bet the number that comes to mind might surprise you if you really pondered for a while.

I remember when I used to cashier loving to ask the customers (with a loud enough voice to engage other listeners): “What are you going to make with that?” My hopes were that the customer would share a recipe or tip knowing that most people loved hearing and adding their input while waiting to check out. It worked so many times that I believe people would come to my check out line for the “live entertainment” and information sharing.

Personal endorsements sell product, let’s face it. Celebrities have been paid tons to say that they like or use something, radio stations “talk” about their sponsors and services like they were best friends. We know it works!

So why not create personal endorsements in your store? As a retailer you can easily create a simple “endorsement campaign” that brings attention to an item, line of products, category of products, store features (example: your website), etc. Okay, “simple” might not be the word that you first think of to describe a campaign, but in reality a “campaign” can be simple.

As simple as an “Employee Favorite” campaign… let me share with you how:

FIRST
Let a selected employee (or department group) choose 3 or 4 items that they like. (You can even be more targeted by asking them to choose from an upcoming sale offering.)

SECOND
Have them share why they like the item, how long they’ve used the item, what kind of results they’ve experienced, and why they think other would like to try it. (Your staff is your best “internal customer” and their honesty and excitement about products can really increase sales.)

THIRD
Create shelf talkers that state “Employee Favorite” and post them on the selected products throughout the store. (If you have a special display table or area for special features – you can also create some excitement having the chosen items in two areas.)

FOURTH
Create a flyer explaining the campaign and featuring the employee, their choice, and some of the information gathered in the SECOND. Remember it’s the personal endorsement that really works. Employees are proud to share their favorites and the customer appreciates their recommendations.

Years ago I learned that by adding a well designed shelf talker (clean and easy to read) to an item I had the opportunity to increase sales on that item by up to 10% - without even moving the product location. By moving the item to a new, improved location, and making a bigger statement about my endorsement of an item – I could increase sales even more. Try it… and let me know how it works.

If you don’t have time to make your “employee favorite” shelf talker I have a couple that I have added to my FREE Shelf Talker Library on my askDebby.com website. Go to the Archives & Templates page to download the print-ready and customizable versions that are my featured shelf talkers of the month. Also I posted an “employee favorite” flyer template that you can use to promote your campaign.


Hope that you caught the “simple” part of the campaign and it can turn this blog post into a positive marketing addition for your store, your employees, and your customers.

Until next time, here’s wishing you a great day! Debby


PS I was busy over the holidays creating lots of new TeleTrainings for natural product retailers. Click here for presentation and registration details. More programs are in the works... stay tuned!