Speaker extols business strategy

BANGOR – The secret to increasing customer traffic, sales and profits in a small business could be as easy, or as difficult, as sculpting a 1,700-pound milk chocolate moose in your store.

That’s what Maureen Hemond and the late Fernand Hemond, owners of Len Libby Chocolates in Scarborough, did 10 years ago, and now visitors come from all over the country, and even farther to see “The World’s Only Life-Size Chocolate Moose.”

Creating a “monument” like the Len Libby chocolate moose can turn an ordinary business into a “consumer destination,” according to Jon Schallert, a marketing consultant from Denver who spoke to a crowd of about 60 Maine small-business owners and economic development officials at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel on Thursday.

“Consumers say they’re time-pressured but will go hours out of their way to pursue new experiences,” Schallert said. Those “experiences” can be simply a visit to a well-advertised, well-branded shop or restaurant, he said.

Schallert used the Hemonds’ moose as a local example of one marketing strategy that worked. Granted, such monuments come with a price. The Hemonds said their moose cost about $50,000, but that amount was returned in 21/2 seasons of sales, Schallert said.

Business owners must pinpoint exactly what makes their business different from the others in their industry and advertise that quality or product to customers outside their community, Schallert said.

“No matter how good you are in your local marketplace, you’ll never be a hero in your local marketplace,” Schallert said. “Make yourself famous.”

Most small businesses hit a plateau sometime after the second year, Schallert said. Instead of looking to city hall, economic development officials and the chamber of commerce to help increase revenues, business owners must take charge and “reinvent themselves” with marketing strategies. Among the specific strategies Schallert gave to create and market a business’s brand were:

. Develop at least one “asset,” such as a special product, service or environment within your retail store or restaurant. Believe in your asset and advertise it with enthusiasm.

. Communicate your assets to your customers. This can be as blatant as writing a statement on an office wall that boasts, “The coolest, most accurate accounting firm in the world,” Schallert said.

. Determine the emotion you want customers to feel when using your product, entering and exiting your business. Every detail and interaction within the store must convey that emotion.

. Avoid advertising your business with cliche terms, such as “high-quality,” “convenient” and “great service.”

. Market to women, who make the majority of household spending decisions.

. Send out advertisements via e-mail. At least 78 percent of people have made a purchase as a result of an e-mail marketing campaign, Schallert said.

. Create a Web site with contact information and your hours of operation on every page. Include a description of your unique qualities, photographs of your store, directions and satisfied customer testimonials.

. Make contact with journalists and tell them your news.

Schallert’s talk was organized by the Maine Downtown Center, a program of the Maine Development Foundation in Augusta. The event was sponsored by Bank of America.

Among the audience members was Brad Ryder, owner of Epic Sports in Bangor. He said he found Schallert’s advice to be “extremely valuable.”

“It’s difficult for us [small-business owners] to step away from the business for a day, but I think it’s worth its weight in gold,” Ryder said. “Now I have to take this enthusiasm and bring it back to my operation and my employees.”