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Your Going Out of Business PR Plan and how to avoid needing it

Written by: Joni Hubred-Golden

Article Overview: A small business owner struggled to keep her head above water in a bad economy - right up until she decided to close the store. Her going-out-of-business promotional efforts brought in a ton of business, and she cannot understand why. The secret is simple: She finally put promotion into everything she was doing.

Your Going Out of Business PR Plan and how to avoid needing it

My friend Fran owned a retail shop in a quaint small town. She loved her little shop and for many years, made a good living from it.

When the local economy suffered, Fran's shop suffered, too. Anxious about making payroll, she looked for every possible way to save money. She began printing her 5,000-circulation "Book Notes" newsletter on the office copier, keeping only a few dozen on the counter. She restricted monthly author events to one per quarter and stopped serving refreshments. Sale ads in the newspapers, which never seemed to bring in much new business, were replaced by no-cost e-mails to her existing customers.

No matter how much or how often she cut back on expenses, Fran's books never seemed to balance. Eventually, she made the decision to close her doors.

If you have read a single book on marketing, you know why this business failed. But there's more to this particular story.

Fran's unique business had been in the same location for more than 15 years. The building, which she owned, had an interesting history. Some of the items on permanent display in her store came with fascinating stories about her city¹s most prominent families.

When she decided to go out of business, Fran sent a detailed press release to every newspaper in every community where her customers lived, to make sure they all knew what was happening.

She put out one last round of the newsletter to every contact on her list, just to thank them for their business.

She mentioned her going out of business sale to a friend who worked at a radio station.

She bought huge "Going Out Of Business" signs that hung for several weeks across the front of her building, and placed additional signs on the back door.

She gave two young, temporary employees access to her computer, to create new signage for the shelves.

Over the last three weeks her store was open, cashiers took in more money than they had during the previous THREE MONTHS.

Why? Because every local newspaper picked up the story and several specialty publications contacted Fran after reading so much about her. Her friend at the radio station shared Fran's story with a local talk show host, who booked her as a guest. People who spotted her banner signs from across the street walked in, saying they didn¹t realize she was there. Those young, creative employees created cool new signs and also dotted the shelves with attractive tags to indicate "best sellers" and their own recommendations

Fran's Going Out of Business Publicity Plan worked like a charm. She made enough money from her final sale to pay off all her bills and start her retirement with a little nest egg.

And she still has no idea why it worked.

Fran's success came about when "promotion" and "communication" remained at the forefront of all she did. Her inability to see how the myriad "fun" things she did every month - her author events and newsletter, for instance - cost her the regular base of clients who shopped and recommended the store to their friends.

Look at PR as something separate from your business, and you'll miss the big picture. Promotion is not part of your business or an add-on you get to when you can. Promotion IS your business. So take a moment to look at everything you do in the context of how it will promote your business.

Expect that most of it will seem to not work. Expect you will not see a dollar for dollar return on much of what you do.

But taken all together, every effort you make will get you noticed. And that's really the point, isn't it?

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Article Tags: author events, back door, book notes, business signs, cashiers, existing customers, friend fran, going out of business, new business, notes newsletter, office copier, payroll, radio station, refreshments, retail shop, s books, sev, shelves, signage, three months



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