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8 simple events to stimulate sales
In addition to wholesaling savvy & stylish handmade paper wares, we also own two retail stores in Metro Detroit called catching fireflies. Our stores are filled with handmade & imported whimsical wares that make people smile.
Throughout the year, we like to offer fun sales or low cost giveaways that encourage our customers to stop by & save. In addition to bringing more people through your doors, these small discounts & little giveaways sometimes lead to slightly larger sales since there is a guaranteed savings on non-clearance items.
We've been offering this fun sale on Sweetest Day (a Mid-Western area holiday in October) for the past few years and it's always a hit. We buy a bunch of carnations which are fairly cheap & hardy, then tag them with slips of paper that have 10, 20 or 30% marked on them. We put them in a big vase on the counter and when our customers check out, they pick one & get the discount listed along with a pretty posy to take home.
For our discount ratios we use: 60% get a 10% discount, 30% get a 20% discount and 10% get a 30% discount. You can make your own slips or print ours HERE. We wrap the slip around the stem and staple tightly.
This event would also work for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day.
This discount concept can be applied in various ways depending on the season. When back-to-school season rolls around, tag fun colored pencils or the ever popular smencils.
Or for the holidays, candy canes work great.
And who doesn't like to crack open an Easter egg to find a surprise? All these fun activities help engage your customers plus they get to save some cash. A wonderful way to make their shopping experience memorable.
I haven't met anyone who doesn't like to score free goodies. For our give-aways we like to select products that are consumable so when the customer uses & likes it, they want to come back for more. Think bath & body items, candles, food, stationery & so on. We then set a purchase value based on the cost of the product.
For this promotion we created a coupon that read, "Receive a free shower steamer with any purchase over $10"
Our goal was to create buzz about these new shower steamers so we kept the purchase value low which in turn created a lot of extra traffic our stores during the week the coupon was valid.
You could also host a give-away like this on a Saturday, but then I would up the required purchase value to encourage higher sales than average.
This quirky event only takes buying some stamps & maybe offering a 10% discount on cards. So for every card your customer buys, they'll get a free stamp.
We have lots of 'just because' cards & this helps remind people to write to those they love... or stock up on birthday cards for the next couple of months.
You really could have this event anytime, but it might also be nice to tie it into National Greeting Card Month in April.
Another silly event that makes your customers smile at the check-out. We call this day "Summer Gambling" and have them roll 3 dice when they're ready to check out. We add up the dots and that's their discount.
If you have kid related products, this is a great way to get them to stop by after school is out. We offer up a roll of giant sized smarties to any child K-5 who shows us their report card during the month of June.
We don't require a purchase, but often the child convinces the parent to buy them a little something;) Regardless, it spreads goodwill and brings feet inside your store.
Stay tuned for more of our clever marketing ideas that tie into charities... which leads to free press - which is always a good thing.
save $67 dollars this summer!
Come visit us in Atlanta 3-2-213 or New York 9118 this summer to see our latest goodies and save save save! All a.s.a.p. orders over $500 get to choose 2 of our new 'little wisdoms'
And if you can't make it to the shows, but want to take advantage of this great deal, just mention this promo on your order form and we'll honor it;)
new goodies debut at summer trade shows
Love the look of our ransom quotes, but would like a lower price point? I introduce "Little Wisdoms" They retail in the low thirties and have the ability to stand alone or hang on a wall. Perfectly priced to give for a house warming, retirement, graduation or birthday gift. Size 5x6
We're also introducing a larger format frame that holds 5x7 photos. Our colorful paper backdrops paired with a dainty flowered gem will definitely make your picture pop. They retail in the mid thirties. Size 8x11
Memory magnets continue to sell sell sell. We introduced these pretties in April & they're doing very well. They retail for ten dollars which make them the perfect little pick-up gift.
And did you know we do custom magnets too?
Call for details!
memorable marketing strategies
In addition to wholesaling savvy & stylish handmade paper wares, we also own two retail stores in Metro Detroit called catching fireflies. Our stores are filled with handmade & imported whimsical wares that make people smile.
Each quarter we like to send our most valued customers a little something special in the mail. It's our way of showing appreciation for their business and also a fun reminder to stop by again sometime soon.
Here's what landed in their mail box in 2009...
We created handmade wooden Valentine postcards thanking them for a
great 2008. And when they brought the postcard back before February
14th, we gave them a package of cookies we recently started carrying at
the store.
Our customers loved getting a cool piece of 'art' in their mailbox and it also gave us the opportunity to get them hooked on a new line of cookies we offer.
We purchased colorful foam flip flops from the dollar store and hot glued card stock to the sole and transformed them into very memorable postcards. Since flip flop season was right around the corner, we asked them to bring in the flip flop in exchange for a free hand painted glass nail file with any purchase during the month of May.
We heard lots of fun stories about finding these in their mailbox and one of our customers even used this idea for a summer party she was hosting.
Since we were celebrating nine years in business, we used fun birthday candles as a postcard to let them know if they showed us their candle postcard anytime during the month of September they would receive 20% off their purchase.
They really enjoyed this special treatment since normally we only offer our 20% off everything birthday sale on one Saturday in September.
For the month of December we created a personal thank you card that included a pair of kaleidoscope glasses that make Christmas tree lights sparkle extra bright. We also included a sheet that said: We believe in making days brighter, not only for our firefly fans, but also for others in our community near and far. We invite you to help us in our efforts by shopping with us this December and we’ll donate 20% of your purchase to a charity. Then we listed 4 charities they could choose to support with their purchase.
They appreciated the chance to be charitable while still shopping at their favorite shop and this also enabled us to give back to our community.
2010 color inspired groupings
Looking to add some fresh designs to the mix and want to create a color story that pops? Here are a few selections that may catch your eye.
3 Low Cost Ways to Attract New Customers
In addition to wholesaling savvy & stylish handmade paper wares, we also own two retail stores in Metro Detroit called catching fireflies. Our stores are filled with handmade & imported whimsical wares that make people smile. After being in the retail business for almost nine years, we've developed some non-traditional ways to spread the word about our store.
1. Forward to Friends: Instead of hoping your customers will tell their friends and family about your store, offer them a tempting reward that's worthy to talk about. Each month we do a blog post and email blast featuring a themed give-away package valued around $60. Our customers can enter to win the package by sharing the blog post on their Facebook page or forwarding the email to their friends (each forward counts as an entry).
Some of the benefits include: one very happy winner (that will probably tell more friends), an opportunity to showcase some popular products and having your customers spread the word about your great store to their friends and family.
2. Give It Away: Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on traditional advertising, find opportunities to include valuable coupons or gift cards in goody bags. Many chambers, downtown development associations and charity functions are always looking for contributors to gift bags. We donate $5 gift cards (no strings attached) and package them in a sturdy, eye-catching sleeve that features some of our popular products and contact info.
Some of the benefits include: it gives them a worthwhile reason to check out your store, the gift card/coupon doesn't cost you anything until it delivers you a customer, plus it spreads good will.
3. Reward Local Business: Instead of relying on customers driving into town to come see you, tap into the wealth of people who work within minutes of your store everyday. We developed a Downtown Discount Card for local employees that's good for 12% off all purchases, all the time. We packaged it with a postcard that features some of our popular products and visited all the businesses within walking distance of our store including, hair salons, restaurants, coffee shops, other specialty shops, dentists, doctors, lawyers, banks, real estate offices and even the post office, city hall, library and funeral home. And if the person we talked to at a business hadn't been to our store, we also gave them a $5 gift card as an invite to come visit us.
Some of the benefits include: develops an awareness of your business district offerings, encourages business to business support and creates loyalty.
We hope some of our ideas inspired you to think differently about advertising. And once you've conquered the feat of getting new customers in your door, be sure to learn how to get them connected so they keep coming back for more.
2009 free frame deal
The birds are chirping and the sun is finally starting to show his face here is Michigan and that means it's time for our popular spring special!
With this super deal, you can put together some sweet collections for Mother'sDay, graduation, wedding season and christening gifts - plus score some of our best selling ribbon frames on us.
This deal is valid through May 15, 2009 and can be used multiple times, however it can't be combined with other offers such as our return-refresh program.
Simply note the free frames you'd like us to send you at the bottom of your order and we'll ship out our stylish & savvy paper goods to you as soon as possible.
Feel free to give us a ring at 1 800 414 1654, fax us at 248 336 0196, call your local rep or shop online!
flea market display ideas
If you're looking for ways to make old items seem new again, try mixing up your current displays by taking a trip to your local flea market, Home Depot or Ikea store.
Here is a quick snapshot of our a.i. paper design display at our retail store in Metro Detroit. It all starts with a couple of $15 saw horses from Ikea and an old door. Then we pile on a couple chairs, ladder-like display and top it off with some hanging windows.
Then we showcase our wares by grouping them together in similar color themes.
It all makes for an interesting display that's easy to change and keep looking fresh.
