I have been in the lurker mode @ Ganoksin for the past two years. I
finally feel it is time to say hi and thank you for all the
that has been shared.
I will be hosting a grand-opening in February for my B&M jewelry
store. I am currently open only two days a week, as I am in class
fulltime Mon-Thur. I really don’t feel like I am official yet.
Is there anything that you wish you would have done for your
grand-opening, or for those that don’t have a b&m is there something
you would like to see done that is within reason. Is there any promo
or idea that did work well for you?
The grand opening is scheduled for February 13th. I seriously
considering giving away a .50 heart shape diamond on that day. I am
wanting to build a mailing list from those that register. What
questions do I need to ask on the reigistration cards?
I know this is simple stuff, but I really will appreciate all the
input given, as I only have 1 time to make a 1st impression.
The questions you need to ask on your registration cards depend
entirely on what you want to know about your prospective customers,
and how boldly you’re willing to try to get that You
might try to get the dates of their special occasions to send
reminder cards a few weeks in advance. You might try to find out if
they see themselves as more “classic”, “contemporary” or “arty” in
their jewelry taste. You never know what people will tell you, if you
ask.
Of course, that’s after the usual… Name, address, phone, email…
how do you prefer to be contacted, how did you hear about us, may we
include you on our mailing list…
OK, Angela, my recommendation is DON’T open the day before
Valentine’s! Unless you are in the (literal) middle of no-where, you
will be competing with MILLIONS of dollars in advertising by every
conceivable jewelry competitor. On top of that, most of your
potential customers will have bought their gifts for Valentine’s day
already, leaving them with little incentive to buy.
I am surprised you’re planning a grand opening a year from now.
February? Someone posted not to compete with the big stores. It
depends on your customer base and what you sell. If you have a
smaller database you might want to consider a vendor show, even you
as the vendor. Vendors showing loose gems, pearls, etc. A fashion
show.
Have snacks, drinks etc.
Do you have a database? Hope so? Send direct mail out 2-3 times to
the list before the event. Getting contact info is crucial.
I will finish school on December 17th. I don’t feel like there is
enough hours in the day to the opening right with the finals and
everything that happens with the holiday traffic. I figure once I get
beyond the holidays I will be able to do things properly and in
order. My goal is to have my web site completed by the end of
October. I want to have it be an additional avenue to the shoppe. I
am definately a planner. So I am hoping planning this far in the
future will allow me to do things that I would not be able to do in a
shorter time frame.
I am not in the middle of nowhere, I do live in a small town outside
of Dallas, about an hour out. There is one jewelry store here, and
one repair shoppe here. My shoppe is open two days a week while I am
in school. I have owned a gift shoppe for the past 15 years and have
gradually gone to jewelry while in school.
So does it sound as bad as it did when you first read it? I am
looking to start advertising the free give away of a pink diamond
the black Friday week end. They can go to the website and download
the registration card, or come by the shoppe to pick one up. The give
away will be on the grand opening day. I hope to build my data base
from those that register.
So basically, this will be more of a ‘coming out’ party for your
established business branching into a newer direction. That does make
a huge difference, and won’t require near as much ‘overcoming’ as
starting from nothing (or next-to-nothing) would.
I have weighed your words and discussed them with those who are close
to me I am now considering the weekend of January 29th-30th. We don’t
want the after Christmas bills affecting the $$ spent. Thankfully
Valentines is the next holiday, one that should not be forgotten! ;o)
We don't want the after Christmas bills affecting the $$ spent.
If that is the rationale for this late January date, I think the
reasoning is flawed, sorry to say. Some years, January can be a
pretty strong month, particularly the first couple of weeks. If Xmas
credit card purchases are what you’re concerned with, remember that
some people use every bit of their billing cycle before coughing up
the dough to Amex. This might put it right in the end of the month
period you’re suggesting opening. I don’t know about everyone else
but
if I just paid off a big bill, I like things to= cool off for awhile.
A better rationale for late Jan would be to try to capitalize on
Valentine’s Day. One can’t open the day before VDay and hope to do
anything. If you combined the excitement of a G-O with Vday you just
might get some business. The key element here is excitement. Your
promotions should give the public a reason to come in NOW! Something
along the lines of “Don’t give your GF the same old same old, go to
“Your Name” and find a truly unique whatever whatever blah blah”. You
would have to have some heavy promotion in that short a time to be
effective, because your first task is to train people to come to you.
Do at a time when they are looking for your type of product.
I should say that a rationale can be made for or against any opening
date.
