Shake it UP!
by
Cathy Arnold, Marketing Director
This is an exciting time of the year. While the rest of the country associates the end of January with the Superbowl of football, those of us in the craft industry anticipate the Superbowl of Trade Shows – CHA Winter. In preparation, you probably have a folder at your desk marked “CHA 2006” so you can keep invitations to pre-show events, a daily schedule (which should already include an appointment with your Fred Hill Rep), recent inventory reports by vendor, your quarterly store budget, and a copy of your Red Bag Club Notes.
Along with CHA and the excitement of new products, this time of year challenges us to consider new strategies for marketing. Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the best selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, writes, “If you do things the same way you’ve always done them, you’ll get the same outcomes you’ve always gotten. In order to change your outcomes, you’ve got to do things differently.” This is not suggesting you abandon programs that are successful; it is asking you to consider trying some new strategies. In order for you to determine if any of these proposals are successful, you must first adopt them (incorporate them into your business goals), practice them over a reasonable amount of time (not just once), and track their progress (record sales, referrals, traffic, class attendance, etc.).
Ideas to consider:
Build CHA excitement by having a ‘CHA Unveiling Event.’
Design a display using empty boxes of various sizes stacked up on a table covered by a ‘veil’ of velvet. Create a clever tent card teasing customers about the upcoming new products. Plan the unveiling for the weekend following the show. Bring your digital camera to the show and take pictures of new product, displays, and projects. Collect brochures and catalogs that you can scan and enlarge for posters. Pre-sell and collect money on hot products so you can re-order sell outs with funds already in hand. Ask your FHI Rep which manufacturers are advertising CHA products in consumer magazines. Make your store an authority on ‘the latest and greatest’ products.
Hold monthly Customer Appreciation Days.
For February, host your Customer Appreciation Day on Valentine’s Day. Since Valentine’s Day is Tuesday, not a traditionally busy shopping day, it will draw traffic. Offer themed incentives such as: 10% off all red and pink albums, 10% off Valentine’s Day items (order the new True Love Collection by Flair before January 27 and receive a 5% discount), BOGO (Buy one, get one) 50% off from an endcap you create with items you would like to move to create space for new CHA product. With each purchase, give your customers a small token. Cost of 2 packages of M&M mini packs: $5; cost of printing ‘Your Store Name loves its Customers’: under $1; expense of employee wages spent creatively attaching this message to candy: $10; building customer loyalty: Priceless.
Implement ‘Up Sell Program.’
Hold a monthly employee meeting to discuss this rotating program. Each month (or week) instruct your employees what to promote at the register and what to promote as they help customers on the floor. (Have you ever ordered at McDonald’s when they didn’t suggest additional product; “would you like fries with that?”) At the register, consider offering adhesive or album refills, common products every scrapbooker replenishes. On the floor, rotate products. Track sales of the featured product so you can re-order when inventory runs low. Place a small reminder of the product being promoted on the register to aid your cashier. Observe your employees to make sure they are implementing your plan.
‘One, two, three’ that Lead to Success.
Each month set a goal to try at least three new things. These can be big or small goals, but you must write them into your business plan. “The majority of people meet with failure because they lack the persistence to create new plans to take the place of failed plans.” – Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Do your part to create new scrapbookers.
Assume responsibility to promote the success of our industry. The way any industry thrives is by creating new customers. Reach out to the local Boy Scouts with a promotion featuring K & Company’s Boy Scout collection. If you have a university within range, contact sororities and promote K & Company’s sorority line. Contact area High Schools and offer to order custom papers from Stamping Station or Laserline. Contact area sports leagues and promote Creative Imaginations’ new brag books. Look around your store with an eye seeking products that would work well with clientele you do not currently target.
Shake It Up Saturday!
Once a month have an event that is ‘outrageous.’ Not only will your customers enjoy the variety, it will give you an opportunity to have fun with your employees. Depending on your climate, consider having an opposite weather event: if there is snow on the ground, have a ‘beach’ party or if there is a beach outside, have an event featuring fake snow. Have a Disney event (featuring Sandylion’s Disney line) and encourage employees and customers to dress up as their favorite character.
5% of Customers are Creative / 95% Need to be Lead.
Since most of your customers need to see product used in a project to entice them to purchase, lead them! Post page layouts above featured product (Creative Imaginations produces them or blow up examples from vendor catalogs). Post idea sheets (MAMBI and C-Thru Ruler offer them.) Offer classes featuring collections (Bo Bunny and Creative Imaginations have pre-made class kits.) Classes are proven methods for better sales. At least once a month, unveil your new class schedule (keep successful classes but add to them.) Remember to order class kits well in advance of ‘seasonal’ promotions, such as Mother’s Day Brag books or Tribute Graduation albums. (If you have a line that is not moving, this should definitely be targeted for a project example.)
Pass it on.
If you allow the customer to leave your store with only their bag of purchases, you are missing another opportunity to promote your business. Inside each bag you should pass on a flyer promoting upcoming events, new classes, new product you expect in, coupons for future purchases, or project sheets (check the projects featured in your Red Bag Club Notes.) Tell your cashier to reference the promotion as she bags their purchase, “Next week we are having our Customer Appreciation Day on Tuesday, I’ve included a flyer with all of the details in your bag.”
Partner Promotions.
Consider having a joint promotion with other retailers in your area. If a toy store is nearby, see if they would like to share a promotion themed around their Disney toy line. Plan an event featuring your Sandylion Disney products and put a sign advertising it at the toy store. At your store, incorporate one of their Disney toys (with a tag around its neck indicating the name of the toy store) into your display advertising the event.
Try new things, see which ones fit. As you record your trials (and errors) consider following this sage advice: “When you accomplish a goal, don’t cross it out. Instead, write ‘victory’ next to and move on to the next one. This way whenever you have a bad day, all you have to do is review your victories to feel good about yourself.” -- Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup of the Soul series.