Before you know it the holiday season will be upon us, and now is the perfect time to begin planning your holiday email marketing. Recently I read a great post by Chad White, the writer of the Retail Email Blog, about email marketing for this year’s holiday season.

Here are my takeaways:

1. Email marketing will be a more important aspect of a retailer's marketing plan than ever before. Seize the opportunity now to make sure you have a plan, make sure your database is in good shape and make sure your email can be read across numerous screens, such as tablets and smartphones.
2. This year the experts expect "Black Friday" to expand and become "Black November." Be prepared to launch holiday promotions and deals earlier in the month to grab those early season shoppers and avoid being out-marketed by your competitors.
3. “Cyber Monday” is expected to be the largest online shopping day of the year, so if you offer online shopping, make sure you have a Cyber Monday email campaign planned. 77 percent of online retailers are expected to use email marketing to promote their Cyber Monday deals.

Read Chad's post and download his “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season 2011” report for free.

QR Codes are those funky looking, square barcode images that you have likely seen popping up in more and more places, from store windows to business cards. As I’ve been visiting numerous trade shows lately, I see them everywhere. So what are they and how can they be of use to your business? A new study has just come out by comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, that in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the U.S. scanned a QR code with their smartphones.

“Quick Response” (QR) codes, when scanned, can link the user to any kind of online content you wish. For example, you could have QR codes located near popular products that link shoppers to product reviews. The great thing about QR codes is that generating them and using them is free. Wondering how to get started? Here are three quick tips:

Generate QR codes In order to create your own QR codes, you need a QR Code Generator, which can be conveniently found online. You can do a Google search for “QR Code Generator” and find a myriad of free generators. One popular and very easy to use generator is Kaywa, which takes just moments to create and there’s no signing in or creating an account. (iPhone and Android phone users can download an app that allows them to scan and read QR codes. Find QR code readers by searching Google as well.)

Use QR codes Once you’ve got your QR code, start putting it to work and see what happens. Some ways other retailers are using QR codes include signage posted when the store is closed that says “Our store may be closed, but we are always open online. Visit our online store now!” with a QR tag that goes directly to your online store. Or include a QR tag on your sales receipt with a link to a page on your website asking for a customer review.

Use your imagination QR codes can be used to link to anything on the web — or they can display a special message — so let your imagination and creativity come up with uses that would benefit your customers and increase their loyalty. For example, you could link to product use instructions and videos, or ancillary content such as recipes, decorating ideas or related products. You could even create a QR code to populate an ecommerce customer’s shopping cart with a batch of items, making shopping easier.

Recently a retailer sent an email to me about wanting to initiate a "shop local" campaign. Even though I've blogged about this in the past, I thought I would bring it up again since it’s a fantastic tool. Launching a shop local campaign, whether on your own or by banding together with fellow retailers, is a great way to boost community awareness of your presence, increase community goodwill and boost your bottom line.

Here are the simple steps you can take to kick off your shop local campaign:

Decide who will participate
Ideally it would be great to have a large group of retailers getting together to launch a shop local campaign. You can go it alone, but the resources and time that others can pitch in will likely make your campaign more successful. Consider talking with the neighboring retailers and don’t forget to approach your local Chamber of Commerce or local business groups for help and support.

Create a theme
Shop local themes are as varied as the imaginations that create them. It’s most important to create a cohesive theme that all of your materials will revolve around. Some great ones I’ve seen are pointing out where local dollars ends up, such as three cents of every dollar goes to supporting the fire department. Another one profiles the people that own local businesses, highlighting that they are our neighbors.

Create promotional materials
If you have a budget to work with, consider creating your own promotional materials such as posters, window decals, bag stuffers and bumper stickers. There are also organizations that produce these types of materials like the American Independent Business Alliance.

Launch
Remember to promote your campaign with press releases, press alerts and invitations to the press for tours and launch receptions.

Measure success
The whole point here is to build your businesses, right? So, how will you know if it works? Create metrics that all participants will measure the success of the campaign by and be sure to have a post-mortem meeting to share with each other the success of the campaign, and how it could be improved in the future.

Here are a couple great resources for Shop Local ideas, inspiration, and materials: Amiba.net or The350Project.net

Yes, it’s hard to believe, but back-to-school season is happening and experts expect sales to be more robust this year. According to an online article at CNBC.com analysts are predicting back-to-school sales will grow 6.2 percent over last year making this the best year since 2006. This can be a perfect opportunity for you to jump-start your store sales and begin creating some positive momentum headed into the all-important holiday season.

Here are a few tips:

Make sure to have the right products
Take a fresh look at your product selection and make sure you are carrying the latest, most unique, most novel items for back-to-school. Make any inventory changes to better meet this year’s customer demands and desires. Make sure your inventory is adequate so you don’t run out of important items. Your unique, thoughtful product selection will bring customers in and the service you provide will keep them coming back.

Provide the value-add your customers want
Speaking of service, what are the value-added services you can provide for your back-to-school shoppers. Whether it’s having the school supply lists for your local schools or free delivery. Providing the service that your customers want will help create loyal customers who will hopefully spend their holiday shopping dollars in your store too.

Set the stage for sales
Create a welcoming, easy to navigate store layout that helps back-to-school shoppers find exactly what they are looking for. Spend some time out on the floor observing how your shoppers move through your store and taking a fresh look at your store layout. Create some in-store excitement by engaging as many of the five senses as you can.

Promote your efforts
Now that you have a stellar product selection, great value added services and a well-presented store, it’s time to promote it all. Launch a campaign that will bring shoppers in such as a free-gift with purchase. ITunes gift cards are popular with young people and parents alike! Try to avoid deep discounting until later on in the back-to-school season. Start promoting your products, services and special deals online through your website, social media, blog, and email newsletter. Also, contact your local papers offering yourself as a back-to-school expert. Write a press release about the top back-to-school items (that your store carries, of course). Hopefully they will feature you in a local back-to-school article.

Have you been searching for a unique mall promotion to increase traffic to your location? My husband ran across the picture below and we just had to share it with you. He read about it in a blog post about the Windsor Mall in Hong Kong — they hold regular baby races as a mall promotion. Apparently the races go on for hours and attract huge crowds. If you look closely, you can see the crowds gathered to watch.

Would this work in your mall?

Macy’s recently reported that sales for its online properties Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com grew by 50.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Much of the stellar sales jump is credited to Macy’s social media push on Facebook over the last year. Yes, we know Macy’s has much more marketing muscle and money than most of us—however, there’s much we can learn (and imitate) from Macy’s successful social media campaigns.

Lesson #1 – Run campaigns to gain new “Likes.”
Macy’s attracted 800,000 Likes this year for a total fan base of 1.8 million. The larger the number of fans you have, the greater the impact of your campaigns. So consider regularly running contests and drawings to continually grow your fan base. For example, Macy’s launched a contest to giveaway free style makeovers by a celebrity fashion expert where the winners were flown to New York for their makeover. The campaign garnered thousands of Likes per day.

Lesson #2 – Create goodwill marketing campaigns.
Macy’s created campaigns that drew traffic to their Facebook Page and website, but were what I’d call a soft sell. For example, one campaign was called “Thank a Mom.” The campaign raised over $400,000 for charity and created website traffic by offering Mother’s Day e-cards. Of course, while sending out their e-card, visitors to the website could also browse a listing of Mother’s Day gift ideas.

Lesson #3 – Link between Facebook Page and website.
Get the most from your marketing campaigns by promoting them across all of your available platforms. For example, Macy’s placed a Mother’s Day Gift Guide button on its Facebook page to drive traffic (and sales) to its website. In another successful campaign, Macy’s combined use of Foursquare, Twitter and outdoor advertising (on buses, etc.) to promote its Annual Flower Show. In kind, you can make sure the look and feel of your marketing is consistent between your website, Facebook page, e-newsletters, blog, etc.

Keep your store’s look fresh with the use of lighting, dramatic colors and frequent updates to draw customers in. Consider the atmosphere you want to create and use these tips to achieve impactful results:

Use lighting effectively – Utilize lighting to support the ambiance you are creating for your space just as the retailer below has using an ornate chandelier for an upscale feel. While track and recessed lighting is effective, consider also using some creative lighting like chandeliers and lamps. Also, experiment with various levels of light from bright to dim and see how it changes the feel of your store.

Use dramatic colors for eye-catching appeal – Both photos in this post are great examples of how to use dramatic colors to create an unforgettable impression on customers and passers-by. Colors can evoke emotions so choose colors that will emote the feeling of your store. Choose contrasting colors for the greatest impact.

Keep things fresh – Frequent updates to your displays, design and windows will keep your space interesting and fresh. Consider changing your color and lighting scheme with each season or in preparation for major shopping seasons such as the holidays. Customers take notice to displays that are regularly changing.

Recently a friend told me about a vintage fashion website called Mod Cloth that has built its business around letting its customers decide on the items it will carry. Website founders call it “a fashion business in a democratic style.” How American! With its “Be the Buyer” program, you can scroll through and vote on fashions to “Pick It” or “Skip It.” And based on the members’ votes, the company decides to carry an item or not.

This idea could translate very well to just about any retailer rather easily. For example, say that you visit an annual trade show each year to pick products for the next year. While at the show you could snap some pictures of products you’re considering carrying, upload them to your Facebook page, create a simple poll (or just request comments) and ask your fans what products they would prefer seeing in your store. It’s a great way to engage your fans and followers and make sure you’re selling the products your customers want to buy.

Of course you could also get as fancy as Mod Cloth has and add polling, reviewing and commenting features to your website.

Just recently Twitter launched its new “Follow Me” button. Similar to Facebook’s “Like” button, it can appear on your website and/or blog and with one click (and without leaving your site) visitors can follow you on Twitter.

Apparently these buttons are worth a try. A recent poll by Mirna Bard for SmartBrief on Social Media reported that almost 40 percent of respondents believe they have seen an increase in traffic to their website or blog thanks to including a social media plug-in such as the Facebook “Like” button. According to Facebook, whose “Like” button has been around for awhile, brands using the “Like” button have also seen an increase in revenue thanks to the plug-in.

If you've not already included these plug-ins on your website, now’s a great time to get on board. You can read more about the “Follow Me” button and get detailed instructions on how to install it on your site at Twitter’s Help Center website

When visiting the local Dunkin Donuts, my husband noticed that they have installed a free ATM machine. We thought what a great idea for retailers and/or merchants associations!

As we all have experienced, most ATMs charge $2 or $3 per transaction, so imagine how much foot traffic you could attract with a free ATM. Although I don’t have any hard data, I imagine most of the patrons that use the ATM end up buying something while in the store.