INDUSTRY: Retail/Convenience Store

PROFILE:

The privately held company, in business for over 50 years, operates over 280 retail locations with more than 8,500 employees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland.

MARKETING OBJECTIVES:

• To provide marketing support and ensure successful store grand openings that would yield immediate brand recognition, store traffic and sales.
• To establish the foundation for long-term growth well beyond the grand opening events.

MARKETING INITIATIVE:

During the construction phase Communifax® provides a detailed list strategy to target and penetrate households within a specified radius of the new store, while taking caution not to cannibalize the customers of the retailer’s existing stores.

Communifax develops and designs a promotional Web site and database to support the grand opening promotions, refines the mail list, and drops targeted direct mail pieces with discounts and offers to the community.

To further ensure a successful opening, and to build the brand, greeters traverse the retailer’s parking lot welcoming customers. The greeters distribute discounts and special offers to visitors. As part of the CRM strategy, the greeters and store employees encourage people to visit a promotional Web site, fill out a registration form, opt in and enter a prize code for a chance to win $1,000 in store products.

Six to eight weeks after the grand opening, a visually appealing survey is e-mailed to customers who have opted in for promotional communications. The survey gathers more specific information about the customer, and is used to further tailor future messaging and promotions. A “Free product” postcard is sent to those recipients who completed the survey, once again driving them to the store.

RESULTS:

• Opt-in rates are consistently in the 60-75% range
• Play rates typically range in the double digits and can be upwards of 20% or more