Welcome to WRITING MATTERS, celebrating the value of good
writing in the business world.
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 – OCTOBER 2008
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This Month's Case Study – Nature’s Market
Nature’s Market was a successful health food store operating
in a large metropolitan area. Privately
owned and operated, the market had been a neighborhood fixture for more than a
decade and always thrived in the face of chain store competition.
Despite its success, the owner, John Barleycorn, wanted to
stay proactive in a challenging economic climate. Although business was good, he noticed a slight decline in new
customers. John figured if he didn’t
implement some formal promotion of his store, he might be faced with problems
later.
Without having to do much formal marketing over the years,
John didn’t know where to begin. His
goal was simple: remind the neighborhood of what his store had to offer, and
highlight what set it apart from the competition.
Thinking a brochure might be useful, John started writing
one himself. Soon after beginning the
task, however, he realized he wasn’t much of a writer and couldn’t effectively
articulate what he wanted to say. He
needed a professional writer to do the job properly.
John didn’t know where to find a good writer, so he decided
to visit some of his fellow merchants in the neighborhood. After visiting the local coffeehouse (Jay’s
Coffee Emporium), the store owner recommended Fred, a copywriter he had used in
the past. “He’s very fair and does
excellent work,” Jay said, “He helped me tremendously last year after I opened
my store.” John gave Fred a call and
set up a meeting.
At the meeting, John asked Fred for input on what should be
done. Familiar with the marketing needs
of small businesses, Fred asked John a series of questions to narrow the focus
and learn more about what set him apart from the competition. The questions helped John better define his
needs and determine which kind of marketing materials would work best.
Fred discovered the key to the store’s success was its
locally grown organic foods. Combined with personalized service and a loyal
customer base, Nature’s Market was the preferred choice in town for the health
conscious consumer.
Fred felt two marketing pieces in particular would help
enhance the store’s image and attract new customers: a brochure highlighting
the benefits of shopping at Nature’s Market, and a quarterly newsletter
promoting products and offering health tips and advice. Quite pleased with Fred’s ideas, John was
ready to move forward.
Fred explained how he worked and presented a project
proposal, including any design work necessary.
After his discussion with Jay (the coffee guy), John knew what to expect
in the way of cost, and it fit nicely within his budget. John signed the project agreement and Fred
began work.
With some design work required, Fred enlisted the help of his
graphic designer and came up with a simple yet attractive design for the
brochure that could be distributed to customers and potential business partners
as well. Fred then worked with John to
develop a format for the newsletter – a four-page design with health tips,
product profiles and a short column.
This would help reinforce the store’s stature in the community and
present Mr. Barleycorn as an expert in his field.
In the months following completion of the two projects,
sales increased and John established relationships with new suppliers. Using Fred’s writing and marketing
expertise, John had taken a proactive step in promoting his store and ensuring
continued success.
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If you have a "writer-to-the-rescue" story to
share, please let me know at JPT@spectrumcopywriting.com.
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Coming this month . . .
“Writing Matters: How a Freelance Copywriter Can
Make Your Life Easier”
. . . an e-book compilation of the first year of
issues.
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The next issue of WRITING MATTERS will be out November 1st.
Have a great month!
John Paul Tancredi, Copywriter/Consultant
Spectrum Copywriting Services
Subscribe to WRITING MATTERS at: www.spectrumcopywriting.com/ezine.html
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2008 Spectrum Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.