What makes an in-store event outstanding?
It is a combination of entertainment and engagement. It is about getting the customer to believe they have to have that piece of jewelry and they have to buy it now at your store. In creating that excitement, think about your business without the jewelry for sale. What would bring your customers into the store? A trunk show featuring an artist? Celebrating the accomplishments of a member of the community?
What is your top takeaway for creating an experience that drives sales?
Think of yourself as an entertainer instead of a retailer. You want to create an event that your customers will put on their calendar and make a point to attend. Months after the event, you want people to ask, “When is the next one?”
Look at most of your own shopping experiences. There is little to nothing that is pleasant in the experience. Yet the customer is spending discretionary money; there is nothing in a jewelry store that a customer must have, but rather things she wants. That’s why you have to make the shopping experience fun and entertaining. It all begins with the top person in the store — often the owner — who has to make a conscious decision to have fun before they interact with the first employee or customer. If that person is having fun, then the employees can have fun and so can the customer. Even if the customer doesn’t say it was “fun,” but describes it as “pleasant or a great experience,” she is still conveying that she enjoyed spending her discretionary income.
What are the key elements of creating a successful in-store event?
Detailed planning is the most critical. We use a calculation in which we look at the amount of anticipated sales and the projected cost of the event, including advertising, entertainment, food and related items.
There are no set rules as to the right balance; you set your own balance. To help you plan, we’ve created a promotion-evaluator calculator. The important part is calculating the balance, instead of just doing stuff and “the balance is whatever happens.”
In our experience, advertising expenditure always has to be the lowest dollar amount. No customer cares how much you spend on media. Good advertising starts with your existing customers, but you create an event that your customer looks forward to attending — and brings her friends to.
Is there a formula everyone can follow?
Watch other businesses and organizations. What are they doing to get people to attend their events and talk about their business? Make a point to attend events in the community and take note of how you feel participating in them. What elements do you find the most engaging?
Definitely don’t limit yourself to only observing other jewelers’ events. Broaden your scope. You might be able to adapt elements to your own business. Consider tying into an event with a related but non-competing business.
What is the most important criterion for an independent jeweler planning an event?
Remembering the customer. People buy jewelry to enjoy and celebrate. I never understand the jeweler who sells a wedding set and fails to reconnect with the customer before each anniversary. The same applies to birthdays, holidays or occasions that are memorable to that customer. An in-store event can be as simple as celebrating all the birthdays of customers on a specific night or recognizing the birthdays or anniversaries of famous people that month. Jewelers need to be proactive; traditional advertising is reactive. It is far easier to keep a customer than to get a new customer.
What are your suggestions for event planning on a limited budget?
Think about what happens at your event. If you have properly niched your store, you bring together customers of a specific social-economic group.
Who else in your community would like to attract this customer? What restaurant? Is there a musician or musical group that would want your customers to hire them for a home party? Invite these businesses to participate, which will also help defray some of the costs.
What is the “absolute no” of doing an in-store event?
Basing the event on discounting. If you hold a “half-price sale,” customers know about the event. It kills sales in the weeks leading up to it.
Does incorporating social responsibility contribute to a feel-good experience for customers?
The key to making the cause marketing work is that the beneficiary has to be something your customer would like to support on their own. Your event provides that introduction.
One jeweler held an in-store event to benefit the local zoo. The zoo brought some animals to the store — including a snake that was placed in a display case.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2019. To subscribe click here.