HND Month is due to take place in October – with the second annual event aiming to be bigger and better than last year’s inaugural activity.
Retailers have been promised more in-newspaper advertising to highlight HND to readers, more retailer promotions and a better website to support the initiative.
Organisers are urging all news retailers to get involved, saying that it’s not just for stores offering HND, as there is also the opportunity to win customers over with subscriptions.
BR: Why should stores and HND agents sign up?
Andy Law: The whole industry will be publicising the benefits of home delivery.
Plus, there will a range of generous offers to further persuade your customers to place orders with participating newsagents.
There’s also a number of competitions for retailers to enter this year, with some generous prizes.
Why is the opportunity for stores from HND Month better this year?
There will be better offers from newspapers with more in-paper coverage.
We are doing more of what worked last year, and we are going to cut out elements that didn’t work.
What do stores need to do to maximise the opportunity?
Newsagents should sign-up on the HND Month website and they’ll automatically receive a PoS pack and flyers for canvassing, directing potential customers to the many offers, so these should be used.
Retailers should use their social media to promote the campaign locally and, this year, there’s a range of guides explaining what best practice looks like.
Carriage-charges saving for ex-HND retailers
When door-dropping the leaflets, do you have any advice on who retailers should target?
Retailers should look at areas currently being delivered to and look to plug the gaps.
Priority should be given to areas where lucrative existing customers reside. Can areas be expanded and are there ‘black holes’ nearby that no-one is covering, such a new developments?
They should also look at local businesses and form relationships so their needs can be understood; hotels are an example where multiple orders can be taken, but changes will need to be made at short notice.
A customer walks in and buys their regular newspaper during HND Month. How can retailers use the PoS material to guide them towards a sub or HND order?
The flyers will point to the website for customers which contains all the offers.
Staff should, however, make themselves aware of HND Month offers for each publication so they can pass this on verbally, too.
How many sign-ups did the top-performing participants gain last year?
Sign-ups varied greatly last year, by retailer, by area. The highest a single participant picked up was 46 new orders. They converted a lot of their existing customers across to a subscription and also focused on the casual and HND customers that were buying in frequently throughout the week and sold them into a seven-day subscription. This increased the number of copies sold and the number of times the customer came into the store.
If every participant signs up just three new HND customers, what is the average/estimated annual value to the retailer?
This is hard to gauge, as all publishers’ offers differ, as do the price points of the subscriptions. The focus should be on securing the customer for the long term and providing a fantastic service to them via HND to ensure they continue with their subscription and service.
ABCs last year showed 20,000 new subs during HND Month. Can this be beaten this year?
Absolutely. With increased features and advertisements in more titles, plus additional engagement and publicity from newsagents, we expect to smash last year’s total.
What will participating stores receive in PoS and publisher offers?
The full PoS kit contains a range of posters and shelf talkers, which can go all around the stores. Most publishers are offering up to half price for six months, which is a big saving for customers.
You carried out research following last year’s campaign. What was the feedback from retailers?
The main feedback was that it was a strong initiative. Retailers were happy that we were working collaboratively to increase sales and awareness for the service.
This was echoed in HND Month winning Newspaper Newsstand Campaign of the Year at this year’s NMA Awards.
The other area of feedback was around coverage and awareness, and, as a group, we have looked to address that this year, focusing on building social media presence, in-paper content as well as the strength of the offers for the month itself.
What HND agents and publishers are currently supporting HND Month?
All HND agents should be involved as there is loads to gain and nothing to lose. Both national and local publishers are playing their part.
How can stores that don’t do HND benefit?
It’s a great question, as the offers benefit casual sales as well as home delivery. Non-HND stores can certainly direct regular or shop customers to the subscription offers so they can save, too.
What do stores need to do to sign up?
Registration is easy. Visit HNDmonth.co.uk.
Read more news and advice about the newspaper and magazines category and click here for the latest ABC circulation figures
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