McCurry Associates Marketing Idea Exchange Archives

Volume 43 - May 10, 2003

Bill McCurry McCurry Associates wmccurry@mccurryassoc.com (800) 553-1332

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Special Edition - Ideas from Agfa Success Seminar

Note: This issue is from the 18 city Agfa Success Seminar successfully which launched this week. We started out in New Jersey and will continue to 18 cities in the US and Canada - details at www.AgfaSuccessSeminar.com - following are quotes from some attendees and insights they gained. 

1. From Sid Davidowitz, MotoPhoto franchise from Paramus and Park Ridge, New Jersey

   Success Seminar was super. I got a lot out of it and my people got a lot out of it. I bring as many of my staff as I can - we had sales people attend just the customer focused morning session and my managers and I were there for all the sessions. It's important to help your people grow, to further their education and understanding of what makes success in our industry.

   The section on congruency with our customers and employees really hit home with me. I'm looking at everything we do to be sure we're sending the right message at all times and we live up to what we stand for.

   The section talking about Dan's Camera City's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) was great for me to hear with my managers. The way Dan's delegates AOR to its team is very interesting and a method we can adopt. It allowed us to discuss exactly what's expected of them. They came to me after the seminar and asked what they should be responsible for. The fact we were all there to hear this made the communication on this sometimes sensitive topic easier.

   One idea shown at the seminar was Concord Camera's bundling of six packs of Agfa film with toy animals as a store run consumer promotion. That prompted one of my managers to take some old stuffed animals that hadn't sold and work on a promotion of that dead product with single use camera. It's not the same thing Concord Camera was doing, but it's taking an idea we got from the Success Seminar and "adopting and adapting it" to fit our needs.

   This was not just another Retail 101 type session. The information is geared to the here and now of this industry. The video interviews with customers and industry employees were superb. 

2. From Laurie Sandrian, Sandrian Camera Shops, Morristown, NJ

   We've thought about doing frequent customer punch cards before - the example from Larry Loziuk of Slide Effects - Lincolnshire, IL is perfect. He combined photography with a traditional punch card that makes it unique, sells the store and builds affinity with the customer. We're going to adapt that idea for our market.

   Your idea of keeping it simple for customers is right on. You gave good examples of how to do that by offering our premium service as the norm and when requested allowing the customer to order "ala carte". This keeps the decisions easy for many of our customers who can't decide glossy or matte, bordered or no borders, single or twin prints, etc.

   There were some many good ideas to improve our business; I can't tell you how excited I feel.

3. Please don't use my name

   The various CD's you showed from other photo retailers helped me decide we need to deliver our work on CD's that look more professional. Seeing what others have done makes it easier to get concepts that will work for us. I'm embarrassed to say we waited so long to catch the shift to CD's as the "new film". Thanks for the kick in the pants on this issue and other issues.

4. Jerry Harmen, Madison Photo Plus, Madison, NJ
Editor's note: Jerry wrote this for Chris Lydle (who operates www.photoimagenews.com where the McCurry Marketing Idea Exchange is archived.)

   Agfa had the guts to put this program together - they kept it non-commercial and helpful to everyone in the industry - they should be commended for this service to our industry. I never felt like I was sitting through a 6 hour commercial - more manufacturers should do things to help independent retailers.

   Today was Bill McCurry's Day of Reckoning - Beta testing the Agfa Success Seminars in the NYC Metro area. An overcast day, a broad cross section of retailers and mini lab owners, IPI and Town & Country officers. A formidable task.

   As expected, the day went without a hitch (well, the roast beef at lunch was tough). The day was broken into 3 different independent sessions, separated by coffee breaks or lunch. The early session, "Making Money, Having Fun, and Helping People - All at the Same Time" concentrated on your business from the customers' point of view. As usual, Bill interacted with the audience, and rewarded those who contributed to the seminar. The exercise went from total stranger to loyal, dependent customer.

   The second session, "Focusing Your Team of Success in Tough Economic Times" was a group discussion of what merchants can do in their own locations to increase foot traffic, increase profitability, recruit new employees and keep them happily on the job over the long term. There was in depth discussion of the problems surrounding making profits from digital printing and other services. Contribution rewards continued.

   The final session, "Digital Marketing with Little Cash" expounded upon ideas found in McCurry's third book, "Digital Guerilla Marketing". Attendees exchanged ideas of what they'd done, successes and failures, and gained insights into being to work with little or no budgets. This was the loosest session, as dealers spoke about their own needs, and then saw how many of these needs are more universal than originally thought.

   McCurry gave us insights into what successful dealers do . . . how they resolve the day to day stress points that most of us still deal with . . . . More than 50% of the time he was challenging me with new perspectives . . . We've all heard the old adage, "the chain is as strong as the weakest link" and when McCurry said, "your poorest performer is setting your company's standards", it forced me to look at that old saying in a new light.

   McCurry had a good cross section of dealers he quoted from across the country - with new ideas I could use - some I could just apply, others would need tweaking to fit my organization - others I will use to focus my thinking for a related improvement to my business.

   A key speaker in all the sessions was hundreds of miles away, in Concord, NH to be exact. Michael St. Germain's store supplied interviews and display ideas for Bill's points. Michael is the incoming President of DIMA.

   All in all it was another day of challenging one's mind to keep up with Bill. His interpersonal skills were as sharp as ever, and his keen ability of listening to what went unsaid was second to none. I can't say that the entire day was worth the price of admission, because it was FREE! The entire cost of the day (per attendee) was measured in time, and what was taken home was worth far more than a day's pay.

   There wasn't even a sale pitch from Agfa, who resurrected the Success Seminars after a few years' absence. It was re-assuring to see 50 or so specialty photo businesses represented in the room and to hear them actually open up and share ideas. As an extra incentive, Agfa gave each attending firm a free copy of "Digital Guerilla Marketing".

   Anyone who is serious about their business has to come to the seminar - and with an open mind to how the industry has changed and how they will respond to those changes. If they just want to close their mind, disregard change and expect the money to come to them they should stay home.