The final 8 weeks of 4th quarter Consignment Marketing Tips
September 6, 2019
Consignment Marketing Tips to make your life easier
That’s what I’m all about, you know. Making your life a little easier. If you haven’t read the first 8 weeks of my 16-week Consignment Marketing Plan, it’s not too late to jump in. Those consignment marketing tips began Wednesday, September 4. Use the Plan to schedule your weekly marketing. Gain ideas for promotions, and download actual social media images.
Here are the last 8 weeks
Week 8 Wednesday, October 30
Sales Training
It’s the day before Halloween and except for a few stragglers, this holiday is over. It’s full steam ahead to the biggest shopping season of the year. According to research, 60% of consumers begin shopping before Thanksgiving. Set up special training sessions for your sales team. Review your policies for such things as shoplifting, layaways and reward points. For spotting shoplifters, read How to tackle the elephant in the room…theft. Teach your staff how to cross sell merchandise. Begin promoting your extended hours for the holidays, plus advertise your Shop Small event. Stay steady on your social media. Post pics of new employees, tweet photos of your store or take funny team selfies. Celebrate Tongue Twister Day on Friday, November 8. Choose a tongue twister and have shoppers read it at the register. If they get it correct on the first try, give them 5% off.
Week 7 Wednesday, November 6
Customer Service
Begin your donation drive this week. Encourage your staff to be especially thankful and recognize everyone who takes the opportunity to donate. If you’re not doing a donation drive, find other ways to celebrate this season of thankfulness. Hand out “Thank You” cards with return incentives. Encourage followers to post their favorite Thanksgiving recipe or memory on your Facebook page. Wednesday, November 13 is #WorldKindnessDay. Be especially complimentary on this day! Schedule team sales goals, holiday parties and sales rewards for recognizing exceptional customer service and sales. Review 4 ingredients to sweeten holiday sales. Determine your top 25 – 50 customers and send them a special invitation for holiday shopping. Your Shop Small plans are finalized and clearly explained to your staff.
Week 6 Wednesday, November 13
Holiday magic
There are just 6 weeks until Christmas. This week, your shop needs to completely transition from Fall to Christmas. It’s time to create magic. Holiday signage indoors and out should be in place. Your Shop Small and/or Black Friday event marketing is under way. The sights, sounds and smells of Christmas should fill your store. One of our best consignment marketing tips is to use your front window as a big billboard. Create holiday windows that draw customers in. Reinforce the quality of merchandise and the exciting surprises shoppers will find inside. Your staff, including any part-time employees, should know their holiday schedules. Communicate again what you expect of them for Black Friday and Shop Small Saturday. Read How to nurture your best and most motivated employees. Your donation drive ends this weekend.
Week 5 Wednesday, November 20
Neat and tidy
Let’s face it, holiday shoppers are messy. Ransacked racks, disheveled shelves, and dressing rooms in total disarray are the norm. Add special holiday snacks and beverages and you’ve got a serious mess. Because of preconceived ideas, consignment and resale stores especially need to stay clean. Curate your merchandise and purge the junk. Be diligent about the way your store smells. Take a hard look at your floors, ceilings and cash register area. Read 13 ways to improve your consignment shop cash wrap. Make quick improvements wherever you can. Train your staff to diligently tidy up displays. Create a schedule for maintaining the dressing rooms. Assign an individual to clean and re-stock the cookies and/or cider. Your salespeople should be busy at all times.
Consignment Marketing Tips for the last 4 weeks!
Week 4 Wednesday November 27
Holiday hashtags
Christmas is now a little less than a month away! Your holiday hours, special shopping incentives and events should be promoted regularly through social media, emails, signage and flyers. Don’t send too many emails. During this busy holiday season, customers start deleting more out of stress. Use social media to your advantage. Add popular holiday hashtags that help shoppers find you. Review 24 days of holiday hashtags that begin on December 1 to celebrate the season.The 2019 Holiday Hashtag Calendar also lists fun holidays like National Cookie Day on December 4th and Ugly Christmas Sweater Day on December 20th. Planning for inventory reduction and changing decor after the first of the year should start now.
Week 3 Wednesday, December 4
Shopper and Consignor focused
Start thinking like a holiday shopper. They’re no longer shopping for themselves, but for others. Change the conversation to, “Who are you buying for today?” Since most of your inventory is one-of-a-kind, your sales team must review new merchandise regularly. They’ve got to be prepared to immediately offer suggestions and find those items. Read Increase store traffic with these holiday ideas. Shoppers are drawn to stores and salespeople who offer that personal touch. Contact all of your consignors and vendors too. SimpleConsign’s Consignor Central lets you send a holiday greeting of thanks to all of them at once. Even though Christmas is only 4 weeks away, remind them when you’ll be accepting Spring inventory. Explain how you’ll handle your after-Christmas sales. Keep them informed of any changes. After all, they’re in business with you. Read 4 shrewd tactics to attract the best consignors.
Week 2 Wednesday, December 11
Lead the charge
As Bob Negen says, “There’s a time to work ON your business and a time to work IN your business.” Be on the sales floor interacting with staff and shoppers. Who doesn’t like to be personally assisted by the owner of a company? Use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to heighten excitement about new merchandise arriving. Start thinking about 2020. It’s okay to dream about the coming year. Plan for changes you know you can make and write down ones you hope to make. As you contemplate the close of another year, read How to beat the resale owner blues. The stress of the holidays can overwhelm you so give yourself a break.
Week 1 Wednesday, December 18
7 days to go
By now, shoppers and staff are frazzled. However, you can make a huge difference in the minds of everyone. If you and your staff show patience, kindness and an extra willingness to be helpful, you will have a customer for life. Doing extra things for your staff this final week can go a long way too. Bring in cookies, fruit or pastries in the morning; provide pizza in the afternoon; write special thank you notes and offer as many sincere compliments as you possibly can. Boost the morale of your staff and you’ll change the attitude of shoppers. During these last 7 days, flood your social media with holiday hashtags. Friday, December 20th is #NationalUglySweaterDay. Hanukkah begins on December 22nd.
Wednesday, December 25
Merry Christmas!
Congratulations! You’ve survived. Take the day off. Relax with family and friends. Relish the joy of a prosperous year end. All of us at Traxia wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
