The Fastest Way to Grow Your Scrapbooking Business
1-2-3
Copyright Jennifer Salahshor
What is the fastest way to grow your scrapbooking business?Lots of advertising - great specials - open hours
all night - free gifts with orders.Well, while all of these things seem like good ideas, first let's look at
the downfalls of each.
Advertising
Expensive, unless you have a relative in the industry or a teenager who is willing to walk around in a
sandwich board all day. And no guarantee that it will hit your target audience. Of course there will be some
that see your ads and be interested in coming in to see what you have to offer; however, unless they write down
your information or have a photographic memory chances are they will forget even the name of the business. Now
I am not trying to negate the advertising industry, but let's face it folks, unless you have some catchy slogan
that will be remembered, people just won't.
Look at Our Great Specials
Terrific, so do the large chain stores. And chances are that they also have a much larger inventory than you
carry, unless of course you have the financial resources to hold a diversity of items and the place to keep
them. Specials are great draws - they will bring people in, but if you don't have other items that they are
interested in or a completer set for new trends, they probably will come in, purchase the item on sale and
leave.
Since scrapbooking is such an addictive hobby, scrappers are always looking out for an inexpensive way to
find the items they want and will go to the many vast resources available to them to attain these items.
As an example, I just discovered the art of Pergamano. I found a wonderful book with patterns and
instructions in my favorite craft shop, but after perusing the book, I noticed several of the tools that I
would need to purchase in order to complete the project that I had in mind. After searching the store, I then
spoke to the owner and while she was familiar with the techniques in the book, she did not carry any of the
tools. Well, that is where the internet comes in handy, but again, while finding the tools, I was unable to put
my hands on the necessary tool to find the ones that best suited my particular needs. So I am still
searching.
Anyway, specials and sales are great, but one bit of advice - too many specials tend to devalue your product
and the line that you carry.
Crops 24 Hours a Day!
Yes, believe it or not, I have seen this offer. It's great for those of us who have small children and find
that our creative juices start kicking in around 9 in the evening, but who wants to go out in the middle of the
night wheeling our most dangerous weapon available - our portable 500 pound craft tote?! I find the monthly 5
til midnight crops much more satisfying. Aside from the fact that it's a great girlfriend night out, I also am
intrigued by the sharing of techniques that goes on at these crops.
One major downfall of too many late night crops is that you, the owner, unless you are superwoman or a
caffeine addict, will become ineffective in your daily business during the daytime hours and the toll it will
have on your family is not worth the time. We get into this business to share what we love, but exhaustion will
quickly turn this love into a burden.
Free Stuff
"Wow, I got a free heart stencil with my $100 purchase!"
Women are funny creatures. We love to get free stuff; it doesn't matter what it is, if we know how to use
it, or even if we already have 12 of them, we love free stuff! Now, when I add up how much I have spent to
receive the .25 item for free, I just want to scream.
Instead of a free gift with purchase, I suggest the club approach. I really get excited when I watch my
little punch card starting to get full because then I know that soon I will receive a discount (you set the
percentage or $ amount) and I will use that discount to purchase something that I wouldn't normally buy. This
is a great incentive for generating excitement, especially when we are able to share our new tool or kit with
our friends.
One word of caution though, make sure that you as the retailer are very careful with how the discount club
works. Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous scrappers who may try to alter their club cards, and so my
suggestion is this: if you have a computer, keep a record on your computer and show the customer how close they
are to earning the club discount, or keep an alphabetized index file and write it down for your records. Both
of these methods are also helpful at tax time when you are able to deduct these discounts from your gross
earnings.
Okay, so you want to grow your scrapbooking business...
Aside from the suggestions above, the one thing that will grow your business the fastest and keep your
customers coming back to you is Personal Service. How many times have you heard the saying, "When you receive
bad service you tell 10 people, and when you receive good service you might tell one?" In the retail business
this is especially true.
So again I will mention, Personal Service. Not just the kind that says "Have a good day," or "Hi, how are
you?" I mean real Service. Remember your clients' names, kids' names and even birthdays. Notice how we went
from customer to client? That implies an on-going relationship; these kinds of relationships grow over time and
also are shared.
Your new clients will want their friends to meet you. They will mention how you sent them a card on their
birthday with a coupon for a % discount or a $ gift certificate to redeem with you during their birthday month.
They will want to come to you because you offer them personalized service, the kind that asks about their
children or makes suggestions for LO's for special occasions, or shows them the hot new items and trends so
they can be familiar with them before everyone else.
Sending out a monthly "Tips and Techniques" newsletter or a yearly calendar at a glance with special days
marked for "VIP" discount days will not only offer a different and affordable method of advertising, but will
also let your clients know that you genuinely appreciate them.
Put your clients needs before yours - make them feel important and they will keep coming back to you.
Remember the theme song from the TV show "Cheers?" The line is "You want to go where everyone knows your name."
Well, how true is that? Giving your clients your most important asset - your time - will bring better
advertising than a full-page ad.
Offering this type of personal service builds relationships into friendships, brings new customers into your
business that will also become clients, and will empower you, the business person, to grow a strong and
thriving business because you have built a strong and thriving relationship with your new "purchasing
friends."
How to Turn Your
Scrapbooking Hobby into a Profitable Business
The Scrapbooker's Guide to Business
Convert your fear into confidence with Scrapbook Business Expert Kathy Steligo. Learn how to start and run
your business while minimizing your risk and maximizing your success.
What you'll get >>
- How to register your business name and get permits & licenses
- How to manage your home store inventory
- What scrapbook business owners say about owning a retail store
- How to make your internet store stand out from the competition
- How to produce, patent and market a scrapbooking product
- How to find new scrapbook customers
- Profiles of successful Scrapbook Entrepreneurs
Start a Scrapbooking Business
T I P : Easy Online Genealogy Search
Tool
Discover lost family information, build & print your family tree & even start a business
creating priceless family scrapbooks for others |
