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5. Add-ons. In supermarkets and department stores, these are
impulse items near checkout counters, and in shops with personal service, it's sales person asking, "Would you like a tie to match?" Again, I haven't seen this implemented on Web, but it seems as if it could be programmed into shopping process.
6. Customer mailings. At a lot of stores, you can sign up to get notice by postcard of upcoming sales. The online counterpart is pretty common, as with e-mails about cheap flights for coming weekend.
7. Loyalty programs. Here, a department store promises 10 percent off today if you sign up for our store charge card. A supermarket offers a free Thanksgiving turkey if you spend more than $X,000 all year. Bonuses for buying frequently work well online too, because they can easily be automated.
8. Ads. You'll often see inserts in local paper announcing week's specials at supermarkets. Online, equivalent would be banner ads or ads in ezines announcing promotional prices for a limited time.
David Weltman of Future Now puts it this way: "Merchandising is making sure awareness of your product or service breaks preoccupation of your shopper and becomes part of his or her buying process." I'd amend that slightly, because good merchandising doesn't always interrupt shopper's absorption. Put right item in right place in your store or Web site and it smoothly becomes part of shopper's experience. Ka-CHING!
Marcia Yudkin is the author of Poor Richard's Web Site Marketing Makeover and 10 other books. Her site review service tells you what, if anything, you need to change at your site to turn visitors into customers and clients. Details: http://www.yudkin.com/sitereview.htm
