"The premise was a TV commercial within a commercial, and our theme was Texas Hold 'Em — playing on the Ace in our name," Polidoro relates. "A film crew came into the store and did the whole thing. We worked with the local cable system and our spot appeared on the broadcast of every New York Yankees game. We're definitely planning to do it again... maybe this time with football."
Thinking beyond the bounds of traditional marketing, Ace Tool has also developed an extensive presence on the World Wide Web. Starting as a basic website, www.acetool.com has turned into a very active site. Sales from the site have increased dramatically since last August with customers "shopping" from as far away as Europe.
"The biggest challenge has been getting our long list of products on the site," Polidoro says. "We have about 25,000 items from Bosch, for example (including repair parts), and it takes a while to get all that entered." Take that times the 50 companies Ace Tool represents and you see the magnitude of the situation.
"The site has really taken off, thanks in part to the efforts of our own Leon Davidman. We had a fantastic Christmas season last year," she adds. "We sold items on the web that don't sell as well in the store. Strait-Line lasers, for example, sold exceptionally well on the website, but we don't sell nearly as many in the store.
"We're learning as we go, but we expect the website business to get even bigger. And, we promote it everywhere — radio, TV, print and even with a large neon sign right at the top of the store's front window."
Putting technology in play
The Internet is just one example of Ace Tool's commitment to put the latest technology to work. From an expansive system of security cameras to a detail-oriented business management software package, the team has come to rely upon computers throughout the business. The enterprise management system comes from Universal Accounting Software, Edgewater, NJ., and Polidoro played a role in customizing it for her business — many of her suggestions have been incorporated into the basic program that's available "off the shelf." The system includes modules for all the basics of business management, including: counter/point of sale; receivables; bank reconsiliation; inventory; payables; rentals; contact management; purchase orders; work orders; sales orders from the Internet; and general ledger. It all runs on the Windows platform.
"Once you learn to look up a customer, you can do anything," Polidoro explains. "When a manufacturers' new pricing list comes in on an Xcel spreadsheet, for example, it can all be imported into the module so the updates are almost immediate throughout the whole system.
