Expanding into the gift market

[Barb Pelton]

The last couple of years I've carried a modest amount of gifts in the store. This year I made a commitment to get into the gift/home furnishings business in a serious way. The merchandise has mostly arrived and the store is brimming and I spent 3 full days merchandising the store. (boy was that fun! I'd almost forgotten how much I love visual merchandising!) So far, the response from our customers has been VERY positive!

The Question:
For those of you who have taken your framing business and turned it into framing/gift business (or in my case, framing/art/home decor/gift business) how long did it take for you started seeing non-framing traffic and WHAT was your most effective form of advertising to attract the new blood?

What I've Done So Far:
I've added additional signage to the outside of the store to attract new eyes.
I've advertised weekly in the local newspaper.
And currently working on a flier for our regular customers (a given...but I'm trying to attract a NEW crowd that will then become comfortable enough to return for framing)

I'm Considering:
Billboards.
Newspaper inserts.
????

I'd like to hear what has worked and NOT worked for others, as well as what kind of time framed to expect. I'm currently guesstimating it will take 2 years before we reach my volume per sq. ft. goals.

 

[Emibub]

Barb, How about showing pictures? I am seriously lacking when it comes to merchandising. Right now I have a fairly modest selection of gift items but if I survive the next two years in my current location I will be relocating to a bigger set up and would also like to add on more home furnishing type stuff.

I had no movement on anything I added last year but the stuff is starting to move now, slowly. It kind of excites me to add actual merchandise. I've always felt framing was a non risk (ha!) thing to sell because you didn't purchase it until the customer does. Guessing what people want to buy seems so risky to me. But as I'm selling this stuff I love the idea of wrapping it up putting it in a bag and sending them on their way..........no measuring.........no ordering.......no cutting........just wrap it up and send them on their way. Sounds like heaven to me.(could be possible framing burnout victim)

Please show pictures if you have them and good luck.

 

[Lance E]

Barb, just who is the "NEW" crowd? What is the demo for them? New product launches are well recieved on breakfast radio for us, however you need to do a hard and heavy campaign (get the crews in your shop, maybe 40 ads/day throughout the next week) perhaps covering a range of demographics if you're unsure who the target might be at any given point. A light campaign following (20-25 spots/week) will be very handy. Make the store visibly different from the outside also, window splashes may be beneficial if reflection is a problem.

 

[fttom]

We added gift baskets to the framing in the home shop a couple of years ago. It has worked real well for us. We print postcards, and send them to the local professional people who are likely to purchase them, right around the Holidays that we are targeting, i.e. shortly after Thanksgiving for Christmas giving. We are in a small town, so the cost to us is low, but the return has been great. We offer a bigger and better basket than any of the other stores doing this, and have a bit bunch of repeat customers. We are also sure to put a couple of our business cards in the bottom of each basket that goes out. We've gotten a number of calls from those cards, as well.

Susan

 

[Elaine]

In my gallery, I have the following components: Framed original artwork (consigned), unique artisan gifts (some consigned, some purchased), and custom framing (custom, readymade,etc). I have found this to be a good mix for my area, since we are in a highly trafficed tourist area. When the tourists slow down, the locals come in to see whats new; a lot of them shop locally for gifts for birthdays, xmas, etc. I target a local "neighbors" section of the newspaper for advertising - I had the most responses to this when I first started; yellow pages, chamber of commerce phonebook, lots of networking at chamber of commerce, merchants association meetings, go to lots of art shows and hand out cards, etc. A lot of my framing customers are my gift customers, so it wasn't necessary to target them specifically. I think with basic marketing, consistency is the key. My direct mail didn't do as much for me as I wanted. I think that people who are framing are interested in their homes and your lines will catch on very quickly.

I checked into billboards - VERY expensive, and I'm not sure how effective.

my 2 cents!!

Good Luck

Elaine