A lackluster economy calls for creative measures.

While national retailers slash prices and spring for high-priced advertising campaigns, smaller independent merchants look to cheaper, creative marketing to catch the attention of customers and potentially bring them into their stores.

Here’s a sample of recent simple but inventive local promotions:

• Tamaccio Salon and Spa hair stylist Teresa Russo-Cox mailed handwritten thank you notes expressing appreciation to her customers for their loyalty and patronage. She offered them a 10 percent discount on their next visit.

• Grapeables, a retail wine store and bar, discounts bottles of wine by 20 percent for a week, changing the varietals weekly. The owners also partner with other businesses to host wine tasting events.

• Sales associates at Sami Fine Jewelry scattered 100 gift packages in public locations for the “Finders Keepers” promotion. Inside was a pearl bracelet and note: “We wanted to give you this pearl bracelet to put a smile on your face.”

• Sellzy’s women’s apparel advertised a June bonus during which a customer buying one top could receive a second one for free.

During a recession, customer behavior changes, and in return, the town’s bottom line is affected.

At the end of May, the town reported 1,298 operating businesses. The businesses are separated into categories; retail trade lists 279 businesses.

Businesses collect 8.9 percent sales tax on sales. The state and county receive 6.3 percent; 2.6 percent comes back to the town. A $5 retail sale translates into 32 cents in tax for the state and county and 13 cents for the town.

Between 2007 and 2008, the town’s retail sales tax slid $157,689, according to Julie Ghetti, finance director and deputy town manager. The Arizona Department of Revenue updates tax figures monthly.

Total retail sales tax revenue in 2007 was $3,919,834, compared to $3,762,145 in 2008. Ghetti projects the 2009 sales tax revenue to be $3.4 million.

Several business advisers view the current economy as providing the biggest marketing opportunity a business is likely to encounter this decade. That’s where attitude comes into play.

“Shopping should be a pleasurable experience,” observed Gail Oliphant at Gridleys, a business started by her parents, Jack and Fay Gridley, in 1973.

“Customers don’t want to listen to a business owner moan about how bad things are.”

Darlene De Franze, the new manager/buyer at Sellzy’s on Fountain Hills Blvd., thinks many consumers are living   “under a major stress umbrella” that is physically affecting them.

The boutique has added cosmetic makeup and treatment products, Motives, to make women look and feel better. The store will offer complimentary makeovers and promotions during the summer.

“We’re making an effort to be a one-stop shop to create a total package,” said De Franze. She said Sellzy’s has “readjusted” its inventory to more affordable prices while retaining stylish merchandise. 

Not all consumers stop spending. They may alter their habits to better fit their financial situations, but they will never stop spending. A wise retailer tailors their inventory to customers’ budgets.

Stephenie Bjorkman, vice president of Sami Fine Jewelry, agrees that “customers still have graduations, anniversaries, birthdays or special occasions when they want to buy a gift.”

The economy has brought resurgence for automotive repairmen. Some consumers are more likely to repair what they drive rather than buying a new vehicle.

The Automotive Services Association, a trade group for repair businesses, report that consumers are keeping their cars operating to nearly 10 years on average from eight years two years ago.

Kelley’s Automotive Repair on La Montana Drive benefits from consumer frugality.

“People are repairing their cars and keeping them running longer. It is also true that people are favoring independent repair shops over dealers because of the expense and inconvenience of going to the dealers,” said Adrian Hyde of Kelley’s Automotive.

“In times like these, there is one thing we would advise everyone trying to save money to do: Do not skip your preventative maintenance.

“Unfortunately a good amount of our business recently has been the direct result of people not properly maintaining their vehicles.”

“Preventative maintenance costs very little, and it can save you from having to spend the large sums involved when cars break down due to neglect.”

Here 36 years

Gridleys of Fountain Hills founders Fay and Jack Gridley have weathered three recessions and survived by “cutting back.”

Opened in 1973 as primarily a small printing shop on Saguaro Boulevard near the current Alamo Saloon, Gridleys has evolved over the years. The business added new merchandise and expanded inventory in response to customer requests.

“I feel that because we listen to our customers is a major reason we’re still in business today,” said Fay Gridley.

Daughter Gail Oliphant has curtailed unnecessary spending, she said, while maintaining an inventory for local customers’ requirements.

Office supplies, particularly ink jet cartridges, gifts and clothing sales and framing comprise the most sales for the Avenue of the Fountains store.

The business tries to absorb price increases passed on through wholesalers to keep their prices competitive, said Oliphant.

“We try to provide good service. If we don’t have an item, we’ll try to find it for you,” she said.

Gridleys has reduced hours of part-time employees. A new line of 30 inexpensive moldings with a quality-finished appearance have been added to give customers a less expensive framing alternative. Sales of puzzles and card games have picked up for at-home family activity nights.

Oliphant is a founding member of a revitalization effort, Town Center, to pump life into the town business core. She has designed a kiosk that would map and locate downtown businesses in the Town Center area.

During the summer in what traditionally has brought fewer customers, Oliphant plans to pump up Pony Express Days activities. She envisions Western-attired historical characters strolling along the Avenue of the Fountains and interacting with shoppers; an old-fashioned quilting bee, square dance, checkers tournament, taffy pull and Wells Fargo stagecoach.

Ideas are gems

What would be your reaction if you found a wrapped gift package in a shopping cart with a note “Finders Keepers…this is yours?”

Town resident Doris Maley was the beneficiary of the gift from Sami Fine Jewelry.  Maley wrote to Stephenie Bjorkman, vice president, to thank her.

“I needed something like that as I’ve had some tough times lately with health issues. I always come to Sami’s when I need something done, such as jewelry and watch repair…This is a very good idea for advertising.”

Bjorkman thinks probably 50 gift boxes are still hidden around town.

“There’s no catch to it. You don’t have to do anything,” explained Bjorkman. The idea was a gesture to “do something nice”.

Bjorkman can be credited with many marketing campaigns for the store: Ladies Night, casino night for men, wine tasting and partnering with Grapeables, visits by Four Peaks amethyst miners, and pirate-themed “bring us your booty” gold exchange.

“We’re blessed to have been in business in this town for 25 years,” said Bjorkman.

Her mother, Sami Jack, started the jewelry business, and like Gridleys has been actively involved in community events and charity fund raising.

Promoting customer loyalty is a trademark at Sami’s, where anyone entering the store can have their jewelry cleaned for free.

Shoppers can find affordable gifts under $100. Pandora charms have been popular sellers this year because they are priced as low as $8. A wide selection is available for $25.

“We try to make shopping at Sami’s a fun experience,” said Bjorkman.  

Wrong time

Sue Orischak was already a successful Scottsdale businesswoman when she opened a second Foot Solutions store on the Avenue of the Fountains in February 2006.

The store sold custom orthotic devices, pre-manufactured orthotics and foot care products. Her Scottsdale location in Thunderbird Plaza, Scottsdale Road, ranked number one in sales for the international company for six years.

“The feel of the Avenue was much different at that time,” said Orischak, who believes a combination of factors closed her business this past April.

“The economy might have been more oblique 3 ½ years ago. I had hoped that the Avenue would take off,” she recalled.

She thought plans to develop the barren property on the Avenue’s south, construction of a multi-screen movie theater and town enhancements of sidewalks, lighting and landscaping were optimistic signs that the business environment would improve. Just the opposite happened, said Orischak.

Her business drew shoppers who lunched at The Desert Kettle and Caroline’s, two restaurants that have since closed.

“They were a good draw for me,” said Orischak.

Business started to slump during the street remodeling.

“It was like pulling teeth to get people to come in,” she added. “That was the first nail in the coffin. People never came back.”

Review: 
Economic series, Part One: Surviving financial fallout
Economic series, Part Two: Sanitary District
Economic series, Part Three: School District
Economic series, Part Four: Construction industry
Economic series, Part Five: Town surviving
Economic series, Part Six: Laid off teachers
Economic series, Part Seven: Stimulus money
Economic series, Part Eight: Food Bank
Economic series, Part Ten: Mayor impacted
Economic series, Part Eleven: Real Estate