Have you ever made it to the month of November and thought: “What in the world am I going to do to bring customers in my door this Christmas? Should I run a newspaper ad (if so, what kind), should I do radio, cable TV, social media… oh Santa, please tell me what works!!” Unfortunately, for many early years in my store’s existence, I used to ask myself this very question. Have you found yourself thinking the same thing? C’mon now… Santa is watching you!!
So, if you’re one of those who’ve found yourself in this predicament, pay close attention for the next few minutes…. I’m going to share some powerful techniques you can apply today to have a successful holiday season!
1. Using your POS system or by hand, immediately find out who the “Top 20% Of Your Clients” are and send these special clients a box of chocolates along with a note saying how much you appreciate their business and inviting them to stop by and see you during the holidays! Yes, it will most certainly reap dividends! C’mon tightwad… it doesn’t cost that much to do.
2. Using your e-mail list (you do have one don’t you?) start sending weekly e-mail blasts to your clients letting them know about new items, special sales and to watch their mailbox for your upcoming Christmas flyer!
3. Send each of the clients who have frequented your store in the last 3 years a $25 gift certificate or gift card to spend, good until December 24th. You may even send a higher amount to your better clients. Don’t have a heart attack! Some will spend the $25 and nothing more, but most will spend that and much more… it’s a proven fact!!
4. If you’ve not gotten in the social media game, now would be a good time to start! I send daily Facebook posts to my followers letting them know of special holiday events just for them, as well as new items, sales, etc.
5. Reach out and touch someone by picking up the phone and calling them! That’s one of the reasons we have sales associates.
6. Advertise that you’ll be providing “Christmas Cash” by purchasing your customers’ old gold & silver. Yes, there’s still a lot of it left.
7. Consider using “Voice Broadcast Technology” – yes, our politicians long ago discovered they could call you at home and ask for your vote. But, did you know that you can record a call in your own voice and program it to hit your client’s answering machines while they’re gone to work and make it sound like you were calling them personally? I use www.voiceshot.com for my customer call list.
8. Using one of the techniques above, offer to let your customer’s trade in their unwanted jewelry toward a new piece. Many times using this method, you’ll find an interesting piece for your estate jewelry case.
9. Take advantage of “Black Friday” by offering a special promotion! I still can’t believe the jewelers that don’t take advantage of this. Folks are already out shopping. Why aren’t you being creative enough to give them a reason to visit you? We’ve done a postcard promotion for the last 5 years that never fails to bring more than 500 people in our door in the first two hours of “Black Friday!” Take time to think about what you could offer to entice people to come see you.
10. Everyone loves “Freebies” – why not purchase a nice, but inexpensive, gift to give your clients with a purchase of $100 or more? I’ve given away stuffed animals, boxes of chocolate, gas cards, pocketbooks, etc. Trust me, it works.
There you have it friends, ten proven ways to ramp up your marketing to create a successful holiday season. If you even take one or two of these ideas and use them, you’re sure to see a dramatic increase in customer traffic and business!
Take a look at the picture of the interior of our store on Black Friday 2011. If you think it’s impossible to compete with the Big Box Chain Stores, think again! We’re not in a big town either – our population is slightly less than 4000. Now, the question is, what can you do to bring in floods of traffic? If we can do it, rest assured friends, you can do it!
Bill Warren is president of The Gold Mine Fine Jewelry & Gifts, Inc., a successful jewelry store in the Hudson, NC. He recently formed Warren Marketing Systems, a company dedicated to helping small to medium size jewelers achieve success through innovative marketing. He regularly speaks at jewelry shows and conventions and also is a member of the Marketing Wizards Alliance. If you would like to receive more money making ideas like those in this article, consider subscribing to the Marketing Wizards Alliance Newsletter. To do so or to contact Bill, call 828-729-1020 or e-mail goldman86@bellsouth.net.
