Top 10 Things an Antique Dealer Needs to Know About Marketing
1. Make it Easy to Find You
There are potential customers that aren't finding your store. It's frightening, and frustrating but true. The first thing that every business should do is make it easy
for your customers to find your store. Place an ad in the local yellow
pages for starters. But beyond that have a good website that has a map
to your location, hours you are open and DON'T FORGET YOUR ADDRESS AND
PHONE NUMBER!
Many of the top search engines have places now to enter
you address and other information about your business. It's free, so
there's no excuse for not having a listing on Google.
2. Make it a Memorable Visit
There is a lot of competition out there. With so many other stores with different inventory and different locations, it's difficult for a small storefront to appear unique. But there are things that you can do to appeal to the fun nature of antiquing. Here are a few suggestions, but be creative and try something that you'll have fun with too.
- Have "Identify This Antique" drawings. Engage and challenge your customers while they are in your store. You could offer a %off coupon or just give away an item from the store. (If you are getting them to fill out an entry card, get their email address too).
- Provide a little history on your inventory. This could be as simple as photocopying a section from an antiques book or even writing on a 3X5 card. This is a good way to get your employees engaged and learning too, by researching for these cards.
- Host workshops in your store. There are a lot of people that want to know how to take care of their antiques, refinish furniture, reframe paintings etc. You can use local talent for things that you don't know how to do yourself. Perhaps inviting a local frame store owner or accomplished collector in for a workshop.
- Start a club. Make time for your diehard collectors to hold meetings in the store, to share what they love. You'll be glad you did. Dedicated customers are your best advertising.
- Be the face of your store. Make a point of talking to customers. Tell stories, share a cup of coffee and help them remember your face, and how much fun they had talking to the owner of "XYZ Antique Store".
3. Signage
Be visible! Signage can be expensive, but it's well worth the investment. Sometimes a simple staked sign on the corner and posters hung in restaurant billboards can make a difference. There are simple "Antiques" banners that can add to the impact of your main store sign as well.
4. Seek Out the Customer
Find the customer where they live and play. Many folks see the online "social media" and "pay-per-click" realms as too scary. As business owners, we need to find a way to connect with our customers on a personal level. Social media can be a great way to talk to people that really do want to listen. It could be as simple as posting videos of neat things you've acquired for the store. Or posting tips on Facebook and Twitter for your loyal followers. Granted, not all of your customers will follow you online, but increasing your visibility to a wider audience can improve the impact of your offline efforts too.
Seeking out the customer means placing ads in local media too. Consider sponsoring an event in your community as well. Many times you can trade advertising for an afternoon of working at a fundraiser.
5. Give Away What You Know
You've acquired a lot of knowledge as a dealer. And most people are glad to share what they know. So why not turn that hard earned knowledge into value that you're customer can really appreciate. On the slow days, spend a little time typing out short how-to guides that your customers can take home with them (with your address and website at the top of course). You can also post that same material online (Facebook and website) to get more mileage out of your time.
You're providing a service that they aren't getting many other places, as well as sending them home with literature about the store that you've conveniently printed on the back of the sheet.
6. Research
There's nothing sneaky or underhanded about spending some time in your competitors store. Find out what they are up to. What kind of unique things are they doing? Pay attention to the atmosphere of the store and find out how the customer are interacting with the store. Don't copy, but you might get some ideas on how to arrange your store better or improve your signage in the store. You might even find out that your competitor could be a great ally.
7. Cycle The Inventory
It's not easy to do. After all, you've spent countless hours collecting the inventory you have. Learning when to let go of stagnant inventory can be your best friend however. You have the option of selling some items online quickly so that you can fill up the shelves with new items your customers can discover.
8. By the Numbers
Market by the numbers. Find out what works and what doesn't by keeping track of why your customer visited the store today. Coupons are a nice physical way to see if a customer looks at your ad in the local newspaper. Websites are great at tracking visitors and which pages they spent the most time on. Learn how to use a spreadsheet program. It's an easy way to graph out your sales figures by the day so you can see at a glance when you had an increase of activity. Keeping track of your customers could be as simple as asking them at the register why they came in and jotting that down on a piece of paper.
9. Email Marketing
Email marketing has gotten a bad name from the people that have abused the system. We don't want junk mail. For the people that trust you enough with their email, treat them like friends and catch up occasionally. It's okay to send out notices of events and special promotions. You can even send them a few of those tips you wrote out earlier. Email is a great way to build relationships with your customers. There are online programs that are easy to use for sending out bulk emails. Many of which can be free for small email lists.
10. Love Your Business and Let it Show
Every customer that walks in your door needs to leave with a connection to the store. You accomplish that by simply loving what you do. It shows to the customer.
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