By James Trotter
The desktop banner stand is an important form of point of sale marketing, but it’s one that many retailers either choose to ignore or are unaware of how effective it can be.
With all kinds of lightweight and affordable desktop banners stands available, it makes sense for all retailers to look at what messages they can communicate to customers at the point of sale.
What is point of sale advertising? Also known as point of purchase marketing, advertisements that are placed before your customers at the point they’re buying your products or services are specialized promotions.
They are the promotions that are designed to maximize the spend of a customer. That can be another immediate purchase, or it can be a longer term strategy about enthusing people to purchase again in the future.
The queue for the till is a balancing act. On the one hand, a retailer doesn’t want a snaking line of customers all waiting to pay for their goods. As more customers pour in to the store, if they only want one or two items, they won’t want to line up in order to pay for them.
But a few minutes wait in the checkout line isn’t a bad thing, especially if you place some tantalizing treats in the sight line of your customers. Just think about the chocolate bar or chewing gum you added to your basket when you popped in to the supermarket for just a few items.
Or when you’re buying items in the local health and beauty store, and notice, as you’re waiting in line, that there’s a sale on the perfume you use and you’re running low on perfume. Before you know it, you’ve left the store with toothpaste, hairspray and a lovely new bottle of perfume.
Although studies of its true effectiveness are a little sparse, effective point of sale advertising can increase purchases by 75 percent, marketing experts tell us. And yet so many retailers don’t bother with point of sale banner stands.
But has the digital age made the printed desktop banner stand obsolete? We’ve all noted the messages that flash across the cash register heading or the card machine as we pay for items. This is a form of digital point of sale advertising. Again, studies are sparse, but some have shown that using this form of advertising to attract customers can get one in three customers to make an additional purchase at check out.
Like other forms of promotion, digital and printed media should work hand-in-hand — one is not better or more exclusive than the other — so it pays to have a mix of point of sale promotional material.
The printed desktop banner stands and its benefits. Retailers need to work hard to get people in through their doors by offering them deals for items they need and want, but many retailers assume that once the customers is in the checkout line, their selling is done. That’s not the case.
The marketplace is tough, and you need to ensure that you’re maximizing your customers’ experience with your advertising at every turn.
But designing and using printed point of sale advertisements and promotions will only bring your benefits if you get them right. Try using these tips:
- Graphics. We live in a visual world where high quality graphics are now the norm. Hence, any desktop banner stand you design needs to have an appropriate image that supports your message but is of sufficient high quality that it doesn’t pixelate or blur when it’s made bigger.
- Text. Text needs to be clear and instantly readable with long swathes of text avoided. If you’re offering “Buy 2, get 1 free,” then say so. If you’re offering “Buy 1, get a 2nd half price,” then say so. If the offer is limited in terms of time, then “Ends Saturday at 5 pm” is perfect.
- Reusable. Desktop banner stands, like their taller counterparts, can be reused over and over again. Because they’re small, they’re easy to store, too, so if you’re advertising services around the holiday season, you could make a generic desktop banner and re-use it again the following year. You’ve probably seen them: “Post your letter to Santa here!” and that type of thing.
- Affordable and effective. Desktop banner stands are so affordable that no retailer, large or small, should miss the opportunity that point of sale promotions can add to their sales.
Point of sale advertising and promotions aren’t to be missed. With the possibility that customers are likely to spend more at checkout, can you afford not to invest in desktop banner stands?
With 25 years of experience, understanding the impact of printed promotional material is something that Colour Graphics knows all too well. With one eye on quality, the other on affordability, James Trotter, marketing assistant at Colour Graphics (@colourgraphics), understands the potential of printed media for every business.
Photo Courtesy: Colour Graphics
