Paint your way to profits

flOOD merchandising is the key to successful sales and lfprofitability - especially wiih coatings, paints and stains.

The following tips were developed by paint retailers who record high sales figures and Jim Mead, director of presentation, Saxon Paints.

O Know your customers and the types of painting projecs they do. The more you lnow about what a customef is doing, whether he is a d-iyer or a professional, the easier it is for you to suggest the products he'll need to do a good job. When you show an interest in a customer, you cultivate a greater sense of loyalty to you as a supplier.

O Provide superior customer service. Second only to value, service is a customer's primary reason for choosing a store. Your customers want to come into the store, get everything they need and be ready to complete the job without problems. Make it fast, easy, corvenient and enjoyable for them by providing all the help they need. Drive home this issue of customer service with employees as well. Teach them that helping a customer is more important than stocking shelves, pricing merchandise, cleaning up the store or anything else.

O Offer price point presentations. When customers s€e sale items, they're generally inspired to buy more of those producB at one time in order to save over tbe long run. So, if you have a paint that seUs fm $3.25 a can and you offer two for $5.99, you're likely to sell twice or even four times as much to each customer during his one visit to the store. This kind of pricing helps you make the most of every sale.

O Develop merchandising areas that enhance products and highlight store specialties. A Parching Center or Outdoor Painting Headquarters and other featured sections within the store encourage customers to buy more combinations of items and rnay even introduce tiem to a product they didn't think of buying until they saw it. Having specialized layouts tells your customers you arc an expert in those areas.

O Packaging attracts and creates a need in the customer. Look for and carry coating, paint, stain and painting accessory products that have both eye-catching and informative packaging. Labels should be easy to read.

O Present paint products to customers in more than one location. If you display all paint sundries together, a customer will only go into that section if he knows he needs these products. By placing painter's tape, drop cloths, ladders, rollers, trays and similar products with the paints, you are able to establish a new need for the customer or remind him of an existing need and create additional sales.

O Display products of like quality together. If a contractor is looking for the highest quality paints, chances are good that he'll also want the highest quality brushes and sundries. By presenting all of these itens in one location, you give him the opportunity to buy up on all products.

O Keep displays neat and orderly. Displays and shelves must be filled. Paint chips and color char8 should be easily available in an anractive holder. This makes shopping easier for customers and creates a higher quality image for your store. Hang products on peg hooks instead of stacking tbem on shelves or throwing them into a bin. Choose spring-loaded displays that will automatically push the next product forward.

Story at a Glance

Merchandising tips that can improve sales of coatings, paints and stains effective packaging ... product placement ... customer service suggestions to help a retailer increase profitability.

O Set up vigneces combining a painted surface with coordinating wallpaper and accessories to give customers an incentive to purchase paints. Although it is convenient to put these on top of gondolas, they are more effective at eye level. Home decorating magazines can offer ideas.