I will give some clear examples of how we do this. But we have learned over the years that there are ways a smaller retailer can use virtually all the media and achieve an important degree of notice. The only exception to this may be television, which is vastly overrated and can be a money pit for a smaller retailer. Let's consider various media and how these three principles relate to them. The primary medium an independent merchant needs for promotion is targeted mailings.
Direct mail is the potential key to a modern independent retailer's success.
In no other medium is he or she on virtual equal footing with the biggest retail giants in the world. Yet few merchants use direct mail to full effectiveness. A box of sales receipts that have not been converted into a mailing list is a sleeping giant. An unused mailing list of customers is like having a big bank account, and never using the money. Big furniture chains use customer mailings on a regular, ongoing basis.