Mullins' Advertising & retail leadership articles
Series by larry Mullins on retail advertising, sales and management leadership.
In the first three installments of this series, Furniture World readers learned to identify and develop productive and mutually beneficial relationships with the toughest and most elusive personality types. Read on to find out how salespeople in your organization can increase sales performance by questioning some of the conventional assumptions they hold about success and selling furniture.
We learned how to develop productive relationships with tough personality types. Read on to find out how to use this information to improve your sales performance.
In the second part of this series we will examine the lost art of mastering our relationships with difficult customers. We will learn how to develop productive and mutually beneficial relationships with the toughest and most elusive personality types.
This article illuminates the basic principles of a selling technique that is based upon behavioral science. Want to reach the top much sooner? Want to serve customers better? Is your mind open? Good! The code to human behavior has been cracked. Get ready for some revolutionary selling ideas!
By putting the proven principles of evidence-based advertising to work, you will be able to leverage media to revitalize your market share like nothing else can.
Part 2: Consider a Total Makeover. Start with zero assumptions about media and about your store.
Create a killer mix of media that will leverage maximum sales and profits.
Some say that the major “S” mattress brands have lost the high ground in branding and advertising to Tempur-Pedic. Should they be concerned? Larry Mullins thinks so.
The third and final installment in this series explains how you can get way out front of your competition by working to deliver uncompromising Integrity, Excellence, and Caring.
Part 1 of this three part series looks at alternatives retailers have to just cutting back expenses in these tough times. Instead, Larry Mullins suggests ways to become a Market Leader and leave sleeping competitors behind.
Now is the time to convert expensive, weak retail advertising into highly productive, cost effective efforts using the internet.
Retail furniture store managers can maximize advertising performance by creating Powerful, Irresistible Offers. This can be done by directly addressing the emotional connection customers have that relate to your products, and by including fun offers such as incentives and premiums. This winning combination works much better than just focusing on cheap price promotion.
Larry Mullins looks at four wasteful assumptions most home furnishings have, that tend to hobble their advertising and marketing efforts.
People Media™ begin at the top. Your store’s Brand begins with your own personal Brand. All of us have a Brand. You cannot fake it. Here are easy and inexpensive tips for using People Media on your website, on your sales floor, in your direct mail and even at the point of delivery.
How new approaches to advertising can win friends, influence customers and make you money at a time of information overload.
A continuation of Larry Mullins’ excellent article on Blue Ocean innovations. In this issue, he details a Blue Ocean plan for a shop-at-home program.
This article is about a new, innovative approach: Blue Ocean marketing. Blue Ocean is about using your time and imagination to create uncontested market space that will make the big boxes and other competitors irrelevant.
Huge retail chains and big box stores have monster budgets and corporate ad departments to work with. Out-advertise them in 2006 by buying right and working on your message. Larry Mullins explains how to create effective messages that will attract customers who are already in the market to buy.
Larry Mullins describes 12 great ways to help you and your customers remember what makes your store unique. What does your brand have that all the others don’t?
Larry Mullins looks at the organization that does the best job of developing leaders and examines ways to promote integrity, excellence and caring in future retail leaders.
As traffic continues to dwindle, what should a home furnishings retailer do to get back on track? Here are some traffic building insights and TV deals that can make a big difference.
This month's "Media Management' article delves into what makes a woman choose one store over another. A recent survey asked female shoppers what influenced the choice of stores they shopped in most. The data suggests a change in consumer values which has serious implications for many retail advertising programs.
Video Storyboard Tests 1994, conducted a survey in which women were asked what type of TV commercials were most persuasive. The results, which rate a number of categories including the use of children in ads, humor and endorsements, will help you design a message appropriate for your target customer.
Canadian Scene editor Janet Holt-Johnstone gives step-by-step instruction on how you can write ad copy that will cause the right customers to come into your store.
In this “Enron” age, your advertising has to work harder and smarter to win the trust of prospective customers. If you have a store with great merchandise offers, excellent prices, motivated sales consultants and impeccable service, yet you can’t seem to get your story across, this article will help.
If your vision for your company is not vivid and compelling, it will not fly. If you cannot "see" in your mind's eye what it is you want, no one else will see it either. Being a Visionary Leader begins with a vision, but that is only the beginning.
The visionary leader must learn these four principles: The principle of visionary leadership; the principle of a visionary mission; the principle of authentic core values; the principle of CCEWIG, or continually confronting everyone with intimidating goals.
How does one add value? Almost without exception, added value is services. To succeed in the new marketplace, you must out-service your competitors. Is this expensive? No, but it is difficult. Larry Mullins looks at ways you can think about adding priceless value that will convince your customers to buy.
Since the October 1998 issue, Larry Mullins has treated FURNITURE WORLD subscribers to a detailed analysis of the keys to advertising and promotional success. Many industry retailers have asked for a summary of these cardinal principles which are summarized in this issue.
Since the October 1998 issue, Larry Mullins has treated FURNITURE WORLD subscribers to a detailed analysis of the keys to advertising and promotional success. Many industry retailers have asked for a summary of these cardinal principles which are summarized in this issue.
What do your customers really want? What are their greatest fears? How can your salespeople instill confidence in your products and services at the start of the sales process? How can you guarantee that your customers will remain satisfied?
What do your customers really want? What are their greatest fears? How can your salespeople instill confidence in your products and services at the start of the sales process? How can you guarantee that your customers will remain satisfied?
There are two big challenges that can confront the retail furniture organization after a major sales event. The first of these is to deal with the "after sales blues" - an emotional let-down that comes over everyone. Second, the CEO must move quickly to capture the knowledge that has been gained during the event.
Planning, or the lack of it, can make or break you as a retailer. It is true that "without vision, the people perish." Yet without a plan, a vision is just a dream, simply wishful thinking.
People Media are people communicating with other people... saying good things about you, your store and about your merchandise. People Media may be the least expensive, best-kept and most powerful "secret" in retail marketing!
Larry Mullins continues his series on media management with a discussion of how to use newspaper, direct mail and radio to maximize the return on your advertising investment.
Even if the letters screaming SALE! are a foot high, unless people know you and already like your store, they are not likely to respond. Larry Mullins presents some more secrets of writing good ad copy.
According to Larry Mullins, today's advertising is created-for the most part-without regard for the principles that make advertising work. This series of articles looks at the "seven lost secrets" of advertising promotion.
Larry Mullins presents 26 suggestions to help you start thinking about getting the most out of each advertising dollar.