Marketing Ideas
There are 5 ways that you can reach your market:
Direct mail, face-to-face,, telephone, e-
commerce and institutional advertising.
Use this worksheet as a prompter to assist you in
defining the strategies
necessary to accomplish your sales goals.
Download this document in a print friendly
PDF
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Face-to-face
Sales
-
Annual client appreciation event (private sale by personal invitation, held after hours, walk-ins are not
turned away!)
- Annual 10% off summer sale – runs 6 weeks
- After Christmas Gambler's Sale (Promote with 50-60 radio spots per day, runs for 5 days, involves
entire store – sell stock only, set deliveries by area, offer 5% discount 1st day, 10% discount 2nd day,
15% discount 3rd day, 20% discount 4th and 5th day. Great way to turn over the stock in your store!)
- Tent side walk sales (held once a year to clean out scratched or old inventory, advertise on the radio,
on web site and in the newspaper. Contact rocking chair manufacturers to bring in a truckload to
round out the inventory for the sale.)
Client event
- The Great Pumpkin Give-away (give away pumpkins at your store front)
- Host an annual customer party or picnic in your own home or local park
- Family fun day (clowns, magician, free soda and pop corn)
- Trees for life program with Laurel Green Seedlings 800-987-3362
- Mall promotions (run through CMP, a national mall promotion vendor, rent a 10x15 booth, hand out discount
coupons)
- Set up booths at local county fairs
- In-store staining and finishing workshops (posted on website, posted on schedule in store, must sign up, do
them regularly)
- Speak to local business organizations and civic groups about how to finish or repair furniture
- Visit chamber of commerce meetings
Direct Mail
- Handwrite thank you notes to each customer after the sale
- Color postcards 4 times a year highlighting new pieces of furniture
- Newsletter
- Note Pads
- Post card mailing or email offering free give-aways to past customers and clients:
Free tire change
Free pumpkin
Free dessert at a restaurant
Free flower
- Send birthday cards
- Send a "thanks for a great year" letter
- Send thank you note to referring customers with a discount coupon
- Buy mail lists of people who just bought a new home. Send out coupons for a
discount off their first
purchase.
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Telephone
- Follow-up with each customer after the sale
- Call each past customer each year and ask "how can I serve your furniture needs" , invite them to stop in the
store.
E-commerce
- Hire a professional web designer.
We recommend Concept
Design Group because they specialize in Unfinished Furniture
Web sites.
- Set up an email farm using World Merge or Netmailer software (send out a newsletter four times a year
telling customers to visit your website for the latest news, furniture, and staining tips)
Institutional
- Personalized shirts
- Wear name badges when on the show room floor! No exceptions!
- Web site
- Yellow page ads
- Bill boards
- Cable television ads
- Delivery services instead of classified ads (Newspaper inserts or door-to-door)
- Home & garden TV promotions
- License plates with slogans
- Movie theater ads
- Newspaper column
- Park benches
- Place the GF Waterbase Finishing Video in supermarkets as a rental
- Radio ad
- Traveling billboard (magnetic sign on van or car - make up several with different #'s on them)
- Delivery trucks with advertising, web site and store name painted on the side
Other tips
- Rearrange your store frequently to create energy
- Organize a buyer's club
- Offer gift certificates before Christmas
- Have a lay-away policy
- 90 days same as cash (use a finance company)
- Organize a bridal registry
Courtesy of General Finishes Corporation
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