RETAIL STRATEGIES

BY TOM SHAY

Recently we read an article by Lois Brayfield , CEO of JSchmid , a specialty creative agency in catalog design and direct marketing . In her article she explained that marketing should have only three components . Perhaps not always easy to achieve , but easy enough to explain . The components are referred to as the “ Three D ’ s .”

The first D is Disrupt . Even when you as the manager or owner of a liquor store are not focused on your store , plenty of things work to get your attention . Even when you are driving , or trying to relax at home , things are before you or in your mind . You know this is true when a child or spouse says , “ Hey , didn ’ t you hear what I said to you ?”

Any message that is going to get to you by way of television , radio , billboard or social media has a big challenge in the form of the first “ D ,” “ Disrupt .” Yes , somehow that message from another business must do something to disrupt you from whatever you are doing or thinking about .

Now that the advertiser has gotten your attention , be it ever so briefly , their message you see or hear is at least 15 seconds if not 60 seconds . In print it could be as small as one-eighth page ; billboards would be just a few seconds as you drive by ; and with social media it varies from Instagram to TikTok and YouTube .

But within whatever time is there , the message must do something that holds your attention . Brayfield refers to this second “ D ” as the “ Delight ” that will cause you to hold onto that advertising message in your memory .

The final component in Brayfield ’ s trilogy of the letter “ D ” of marketing , and perhaps the most important , is to “ Drive ” you to act . It goes without saying that with your store we want the customer to be driven to make a purchase .

Within the three “ D ’ s ” that Brayfield offers , everyone has a strategy of how to get you as a customer to make a purchase . If you are not handling this aspect of your business yourself , you are hiring someone or a business to handle this important aspect of your business for you .

We do believe there is a fourth “ D ” that runs rampant within the trade . It is often seen as a way to take a shortcut through the other three we have already described .

That fourth “ D ” is “ Discounting .” Somehow , we have collectively reached the point where discounting is seen as a necessary ingredient for delighting and driving the customer to action .

The first concern we have with is counted price is the loss of margin . Do the math of offering $ 4 off of any bottle . What does that leave you as a margin ? Calculate the $ 4 as percentage points in your price . When you look at the net profit of your store as a percentage , are you making money on that sale ?

When discounting occurs in promos such as “ Wine Wednesday ” or “ Beer Thursday ,” are you increasing sales , or just moving more of the sales to those specific days , which now have discounted prices on these items ?

Bottom line of our exploring Brayfield ’ s “ three D ’ s ”: It seems we need to do a better job of adhering to only three , and not four . That fourth “ D ” can be deadly to a profitable business . •

Tom Shay is a lifelong small-business owner and manager . He has authored 12 books on small business management ; a college textbook on small business financial management and co-authored a book on retailer / vendor relations .

8 Beverage Dynamics • Spring 2024 www . beveragedynamics . com