Hi, Chris - you know, with Christmas coming up, it might be an idea for your client to offer gift vouchers which could be put towards the cost of eye care - either tests or specs; it's nice to have the cash flow up front!

Then, I know you said he has a well displayed, well-lit shop - but you didn't mention window display or something at the door to attract people in. Retailing is a funny game sometimes and you have to challenge people's perception of your business to attract attention. If you've read Sam Walton's book about the Wal-Mart business, you know he managed to find off-the-wall publicity stunts every now and again to make people talk about him.

I also think that you're on the right track getting fellow mall owners to work together to publicise the area; but it's going to be a bit of work to get that off the ground and won't bring cash in immediately.

If your client works in an area where there are a lot of hotels, he could always offer a "Flying Optometrist" service for those people who go on holiday and either break or lose their specs. A few well targetted leaflets could do that for him.

Then, there's the issue of care homes for the elderly; perhaps one or two of these could be a good prospecting ground for new business.

I think that while you're working on a long-term strategy, you have to encourage the cash register to start ringing; and sometimes it's the low-tech solutions that starts the ball rolling; such as targetting the employees of all the shops in the mall; targetting the local office community with a special offer; keeping the leaflet distribution local in the meantime. Offer a special deal on some designer-name frames and attract the young crowd with that. Once the bank's happier, then you can roll in all sorts of sophisticated programs.

Just a few thoughts - hope they help a little.

Margaret




My own little retail experience!