A few weeks ago I read about a mall in Australia playing Barry Manilow music to discourage teens (it might discourage a few adults, too!) from hanging out in the mall into the wee hours of the night. I've also seen articles on malls playing a high-pitched, irritating tone (indiscernible to adults, but not to babies) to keep teens from loitering. Today, I just read about a more controversial deterrent being used in the UK—pink fluorescent lights. The theory behind it is that teens will not want their acne/bad skin to stand out (the pink lights make skin blemishes more pronounced), so they'll choose new hang outs.

From the mall developer perspective, teens can create a big mess, cluster in large groups (thereby discouraging others from doing more shopping) and get very rowdy (which can quickly turn into fights). There are even some communities where malls are concerned about teen gangs.

On the other side of the debate, teenagers already have enough issues with their self esteem (leading to suicide AND fighting), so is this a good solution? Personally I hope we won't see malls in the US installing pink lights anytime soon. What do you think?

I just found out about a very funny website from a retailer in the gift shop forum. The site, Not Always Right, is a place for retailers to make posts when they have a particularly challenging or funny conversation with a customer (and some of the stories are laugh-out-loud funny). I thought everyone would enjoy reading some of their posts and maybe be inspired to make a few of your own.

Here's a description of what the site is all about:

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of working in retail, service or other public-facing jobs, you’ve inevitably come across that occasional customer that either makes your blood boil, tickles your funny bone or leaves you totally confused. We all need a place to vent, so Not Always Right is a collection of quotes from these particularly memorable customers.

We believe that while customers deserve to be treated right, so do the employees and the other folks that serve them. Not Always Right is about leveling the playing field for those of us who toil and sweat every day trying to juggle demanding customers and often unreasonable corporate expectations. At the end of the day, it’s about remembering that whether we’re a customer or an employee, we’re all human, foibles and all.

I hope you get a few laughs… I certainly did!

Now, more than ever, we all need to step up our marketing, and co-op advertising is a great way to reach thousands of people very economically.

Co-op advertising reduces the overall cost of advertising, but is still an effective way to reach new and existing customers. So how do you get started? Reach out to fellow retailers in your area. If you're in a mall or strip center, you may even consider approaching mall management to find out if they would also contribute towards the cost of your co-ad since it helps to drive traffic and sales.

Next, ask your local paper if they can design the ad for you for a minimal fee. If not, I suggest posting an ad on CraigsList to look for an inexpensive, but qualified graphic designer. Use your ad space to promote a special sale, an event in your store or a free product giveaway if the coupon is brought in. This way you'll be able to measure the effectiveness of your ad.

And don't just think print ads—mall management might be collecting email addresses, so see if they are doing an email marketing blast and ask to be included.

One retailer, Neccica Hayes, emailed me to say how effective her co-op ads have been for her store Autumn Leaf Gifts. Check out the ad below.

A retailer in our online forum posted a great idea to move slow merchandise.

She was chatting with a florist across the street from her gift shop about a new line of angels that wasn't selling in her store, and the florist offered to buy them from her (cost + shipping). This gave her an idea: start a local swap-and-sell with other retailers in your area. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

The feedback on the forum from other owners has been very positive—what do you think? Would you participate?

Below is an email I received today from a retailer, with a great question (particularly in this economy).

I currently carry a product that in the past has been very popular. The company is bringing their product up to the next level of sales and placing the product in major stores, instead of boutiques, which makes the product much more accessible. In addition the major stores are able to carry the full line, whereas I carry a much smaller selection. Plus, the major stores have priority of shipments and backorders above me.

With these changes that the company has made & the condition of the economy, my sales of this product has fallen considerably. I have trouble keeping up with the stocking of product, due to the company's priority system & my economic difficulties. My gut feeling is that within 2009, the company will say that I am not selling enough and will pull their line from my store. Carrying this line is really becoming a pull on my monetary resources, which I then cannot use to bring new product into the store.

Here's my question. Do I try to keep the product, until the company pulls the line, for the foot traffic that it brings (although it is not the draw that it once was) or do I drop the line and focus on new product that I think my customers would like. I'm stuck.

After pondering the question for a while, I feel she should phase out the line, and here's why. It requires a tremendous amount of stock and she isn't able to keep up the required level due to cash flow (and the vendor). Plus, she isn't able to invest in new lines. I'd sell off the remaining inventory, and bring in some new lines. Use this as a marketing opportunity to invite all your customers in to see your new products.

What do you all think? Would you keep the line, or phase it out?

Today's post is from Allisyn Deyo of Pinnacle Publishing Group and Deyo Designs.

I am a huge fan of online marketing, and at PPG (parent company of Specialty Retail Report and GIFT SHOP), we've jumped on board. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, email marketing, banner advertisements, forums… you name it, we've done it. And more often than not, they succeed.

But I've also seen them fail, and the number one reason? People forget that they need constant attention. Online marketing is like bread starter—it requires good stuff to begin (yeast, warm water, the right environment) and most important, your attention every single day.

If you want to make the most of every online marketing opportunity available, you need to be willing to put in the time to make it work.

You want to start a blog? Blog every day (or at least every business day). Find other blogs like yours, make substantive comments and follow up if someone replies to you and then link to them from your site. Check their RSS feeds and read what they have to say—make an effort to be involved. Full disclosure: I hound the Specialty Retail Expert Patricia to blog every day—and I've been driving her crazy. So this month she was planning to blog every workday and we were going to see what it did to her traffic. She was doing pretty well until her husband developed a back problem. (Being at the hospital with your husband? An OK reason to not have time to blog.)

You want to use Twitter? Tweet as often as you can, and make it worthwhile. Be funny or interesting or informative. The only one who can get away with "…." is the Mime guy.

Facebook caught your fancy? Plug it everywhere. Get your kids' friends, your colleagues, your brother's sister's manicurist who loves your product/store to become a fan. You have to drive traffic to the page in order for it to work for you. Upload photos, write on your own wall—make it interesting.

Do you want to email your customers to get their attention? Email regularly (2-4 times per month), make it helpful or interesting or a notification about a sale, and constantly build your list. Have a signup on every site you have (website, blog, Facebook) and/or get their information at the register. They won't offer it—you need to ask (and be sure to have a good reason why they should share it with you).

This is online social marketing 101—frequency and interestingness are what makes the difference between someone who gets customers and sells products and someone who doesn't.

There has been an interesting discussion in our forum about March sales being slower than expected. One retailer said that she is requesting some free product samples from vendors to use as a giveaway to attract customers to the store (she's also using co-op advertising to market special store promotions).

As I've said before, everyone loves a freebie. Could you giveaway 50 small votives, single stem flowers or Easter cards to drive more traffic to your store? The bottom line: it's all about numbers. The more people you have walk through your door, the more chances you have to sell merchandise.

Business cards are an inexpensive marketing tool for your store and there are many cheap business card printers out there (one is even free). And even though it's become a very digital world, a great business card is still essential for marketing and promotion.

Here's the info you should be sure to include on your card:

• Phone, fax, address (the obvious)
• Store website
• Email address
• Blog URL
• Twitter URL
• Facebook URL
• Store hours
• Store tag line (what makes you unique)
• A special offer (or let your business card serve a dual function as a frequent buyer card).

Here are few resources for inexpensive business card printing: 48HourPrinting.com, ZooPrinting.com or VistaPrint.com (who does 250 business cards free, but with a catch: you have to have their URL on your card in very small type).

Yesterday I visited one of my favorite quaint towns in New England—Concord, MA—and I noticed one of the gift shops had posted a sticker in their window that read: "Thank you for choosing our independent local business. By doing business locally, you not only get personal service and real value, you also help strengthen our community and economy."

The sign reminded me of the importance of reinforcing this message with your customers. When customers are reminded about buying local (and how important it is), they feel good about their buying, and may even choose to spend more money in your store.

Here are a few ideas about how you can deliver this message to your customers:

• In your store window
• On your website
• Via online marketing (website, blog, eblasts)
• In your print advertising
• On your business cards
• On signage near the register
• On your cash receipts
• On a small card that you place in every customers' bag

You can market this message on your own, or there are two non-profit organizations geared towards helping retailers promote the 'shop local' message: Amiba.net and GiftandHome.org.

Every year I get a handful of special offers and discounts from select retailers who had asked me for my birthday when I made my purchase. I always get a special birthday invite back to their store with some sort of incentive to spend money. Even if I don't have the time to visit that month (which is rare because I really love a good deal), I still appreciate the sentiment, and I usually end up at the store the next month to make a purchase.

Sending out birthday messages is a great, inexpensive marketing tool to connect with your customers and thank them for their business. Plus it gives them a reason to come back and spend more money!