getsugar

Every storeowner wants to get the word out. And every storeowner has thought about tons of ways they could increase their marketing. The problem is, how do you find the time, energy, resources, technology, ideas and budget to do this on a consistent basis while making sales, merchandising, managing a staff and taking care of that growing stack on your desk labeled 'running a business?'

This is the problem Sugar wants to help you with.

Sugar works with retailers in two ways: (1) by providing Sugar Marketing Services and (2) by providing advertising opportunities in the Sugar Ink email newsletter.

Sugar Marketing Services

The objective of Sugar Marketing Services is simple: We make it easier for store owners to get the word out consistently with the goal of ultimately driving more, higher profit transactions.

The benefits Sugar Marketing Services offers retailers are fourfold:

Ability to communicate with current customers more consistently and cost efficiently.
Ability to get the word out to new customers.
Ability to better sell slow-moving merchandise at higher profits.
Relationship with a company that is focused on your growth.

What this means is that we can help you bring to life the marketing that you have been thinking about.

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To better communicate with current customers, Sugar offers an easy to get started and even easier to use email system. Our service includes email database collection from any possible source, list management, analytic tools, a custom look and feel template unique to each customer that makes it easy to add photos, graphics and text, batch sending, creative and content assistance. In short, our email system has everything you need to start sending high quality, well-designed emails consistently.

We gather email addresses for your store from our website, your website, placement in other emails, manually from sign up sheets in-store and we can even import your current list. All email addresses are double opt-in meaning that each person is asking specifically to hear from you.

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Web

The truth about websites is that it's not getting them up that is hard; it's providing the content. The web can be an excellent way for a store to get the word out about new merchandise, sales and special events as well as providing location, contact and hours information.

With Sugar, a web presence in a place that gets 100% targeted traffic is as simple as sending Sugar photos and updates. We take care of the rest.

The web presence is designed with the shopper in mind. It is a catalog of stores on-line that shoppers can browse through and sort by store, location, latest news and type of merchandise. Then on each stores' page, shoppers can see what's new and sign up for that stores' email list and Loyalty Rewards Program.

Thus, not only does this web presence help you build communication with current customers, it helps get you in front of new shoppers as well.

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Loyalty Rewards

No matter how good your eye for trends, you always have some things that just don't seem to sell. Not only does this inventory tie up your cash longer, it also means you'll likely be selling it at a large discount - so less cash, farther away. From a shoppers' perspective, having the same stuff on the shelves means they don't need to come back as often. And if you use sales, you risk training your shoppers to wait until it goes on sale instead of buying now. Worse, low turnover of inventory plus lots of sales sends the message to the market that you are out of touch with tastes and styles.

Sugar enables a better way. You get more money back sooner. Inventory turns faster meaning newer goods at higher margins. Your shoppers have more reasons to stop in more often. And best of all, your shoppers feel special, which they will turn into loyalty to you.

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Relationship

Running a small business is tough. We should know. We're a small business ourself. One thing we have learned is that relationships are gold: relationships with customers, relationships with vendors, relationships with family and friends who help us succeed.

Our objective is your objective. We want your business to grow. By helping you get the word out on a more consistent and effective basis, you will drive more, higher profit transactions providing the profit lifeblood to fuel that growth.

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Sugar Ink

Ideally, you want to put yourself in front of new shoppers and establish a dialog with your current shoppers. Focusing just on finding new customers at the expense of current customers and your store generates the warmth of a fast food restaurant. Focusing just on current customers without reaching out to new people and you end up knowing everyone's name, pets and children's schools because no one else is walking in the door.

Sugar Ink is 100% targeted to women who shop in Boston. It's so targeted that if John Wanamaker had used Sugar he would have never come up with his quote about wondering which half of his ad budget was wasted. What targeting means to you is that your ad spend goes right where it does the most good.

In other advertising, you place your ad and hope for results. To get results, you need to advertise again. But what is unique about Sugar Ink is that you can combine it with Sugar Marketing Services so that you get your message in front of the audience you want and you get the opportunity to open an on-going dialog with those shoppers.

Advertisers can sponsor links on the side of each email, place a banner at the top of the email and have Sugar create and send a Special email dedicated just to that advertiser.

A final note about our editorial policy
We have a price (you will be amazed at how low it is) but not for what we write in Sugar Ink. It is important to us, our readers and our advertisers that what we choose to highlight cannot be bought or influenced.

For more information and to schedule a meeting, please email Ben Tregoe at btregoe@getsugar.com.

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