Eight ways to make your trunk shows into high-performance events.

Blah Blah Trunk Show ... blah blah designer will be in the store ... blah blah new collection introduced ...” These are the words passing through your customers’ minds in the time it takes to pull your direct mail out of the stack and throw it in the garbage. Their response could be as few as two words (“don’t care”) or as many as four (“been there, done that”).

Harsh, but true: Customers no longer think special appearances are all that special. Wine, cheese, and the latest jewelry collection elicit mild interest at best. And yet, in this economy, it’s more critical than ever to capitalize on the loyalty and interest of your current clientele. So what’s to be done?

What American entrepreneurs have always done: Make things better. Think of upcoming designer store appearances as opportunities for employing the ingenuity and innovation that made you a strong retailer in the first place. Create an occasion that’s not just another event, but a gotta-be-there-to-believe-it experience.

Some retailers and designers are already working collaboratively to do just that. Based on their successes, here are some ideas that can help you deliver lucrative events in 2009.

Start With a Compelling Concept

Ask yourself why your customers should care — what’s so interesting about this designer, or his collection? How can you tailor this event to capitalize on his unique personality, gifts and experiences?

It’s all about connecting the occasion to powerful emotions that your customers already feel for something, says Jeff Feero, co-owner of Alex Sepkus Inc., whose two “Road Trip” events in 2007 and 2008 with designer Stephen Webster captured the imagination of Rolling Stone magazine and England’s The Independent newspaper, along with thousands of customers worldwide.

“As jewelers, we don’t actually change the way people look, but we absolutely change the way they feel about themselves,” Feero says. “So a trunk show or personal appearance that stirs a well placed romantic notion for myth is a powerful tool in our business. And good fun to boot.”

The “romantic notion” Feero speaks of is, in this case, the concept of the cross-country American road trip, as he and Webster drove Feero’s 1959 Ford Thunderbird to various parts of the United States. Other possibilities for stirring customer emotions might include events centered around the nostalgia of the Roaring ‘20s, the beauty of a white Christmas, or the over-the-top luxury of a private jet flight.

Connect With Customers in a Personal Way

When Webster and Feero approached Art + Soul owner Debbie Klein about kicking off their 2008 Road Trip in her Boulder, CO, store, she jumped at the chance and got on the phone.

More than 250 customers attended, Klein says, because her sales associates burned up the phone lines, inviting their best customers to the appearance. “Customers appreciate the phone calls — they feel special and remembered because you’re personally calling to remind them. We call hundreds of people; it really makes a difference.”

Steven Tapper of Tapper’s Fine Jewelry in Detroit, MI, agrees that clienteling by phone is a must. “Very few salespeople like making phone calls. But you’d be surprised how many customers are so thankful that you thought of them and called,” he says. “E-mail, postcards, handwritten cards, but most importantphone calls — it’s the personal connection that makes the difference to people.”

As for the event itself, designer Penny Preville says that small dinner parties can be the most effective way to help customers bond with the retailer, the designer and their jewelry. “A lot of stores seem to be doing dinner parties, which are a lot of work, but very successful. They’re very intimate; you get to know the customers and feel like you’re all friends,” she says. “You create a relationship with them that you would never have otherwise.”

Take Your Show on the Road

In the past, simply getting customers into your store was a good enough reason for an event — but today, that approach can be a mistake, says Natalie Humphrey, brand director for A. Link. Recent A. Link events have been held everywhere from an airplane hangar to a spa resort at the top of a mountain.

“If you’re trying to promote a particular brand, it’s often counterproductive to stay in the store, because it’s so easy for customers to get sidetracked looking at watches, or giftware, or pearl jewelry, etc. If you’re spending a lot of time and money and effort to be there, sometimes it’s better to take the event off-site, so you’re not having to compete with everything else in the store,” Humphrey says. “You do have to consider things like insurance and security — but it’s worth it.”

Being outside the store adds to the appeal of an event, as customers may have a chance to see a place they wouldn’t otherwise see. Brad Price, store manager at Krombholz Jewelers in Cincinnati, OH, recently held one event in an old renovated mansion, with yet another event transporting customers via private jet to the diamond district in New York.

Leaving the store can also mean expanding your market, giving you a chance to sell customers who might not have come into the store. Tapper’s recently decided to take its act west, to a promising market two hours away in Kalamazoo, MI. “We took a limousine van and a couple of showcases with a million dollars in merchandise, paid for special lighting, and created an event that way,” says Tapper, adding that more customers have since been making the drive to their Detroit-area stores from Kalamazoo.

Make It a One-of-a-Kind Occasion

If you’ve done it before, don’t do it again — customers won’t be interested. “If a store has too many trunk shows, it can be like crying wolf,” Feero says.

Art + Soul intrigued customers by marketing the Road Trip kickoff as an event unlike any they’d ever attended. “We came up with a cool logo and tried to make it a little mysterious, enticing, and definitely sophisticated to get a hip buzz going,” Klein says.

Likewise, Klein’s next big event will give customers the singular opportunity to have a big-name designer create a custom piece in person. “In March, we’ll have Anne Sportun from Experimetal in the store, and people will be able to pick a stone and have a piece designed right there and then,” she says. “In the past, we’ve had clients come into the store and say ‘I love this stone, but I wish it was in a different metal.’ Now’s their chance to get exactly what they want.”

An event that does justice to the word “unique” is one that nobody wants to miss, Tapper says. “People want to be a part of this type of event because of the exclusivity. You have everyone from local magazine publishers to top business people — essentially a Who’s Who of ‘My Favorite Customers.’ There might be 100 people there, but it’s a small number in relation to the number of people who would like to be there.”

Partner With a Charity

Connecting the event to a charity that the designer cares about is a huge plus, says designer Robin Rotenier.

“The best partnership of all was with the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago,” he says. “Their big fund-raising effort at the time was for a new Primate Cage that would provide better care for rare monkeys. The Lincoln Park Zoo is the only free zoo in America, giving underprivileged kids a chance to see rare animals. I love animals, so it was a perfect fit.

“I sketched a monkey while we were on the phone, and I told them I could carve a really fun charm that could be auctioned at the event. That monkey became my best selling cufflink and charm.”

Preville agrees that partnering with a charity can make a huge difference in just how engaged the designer becomes. “My favorite event ever was one I did in New Orleans with Aucoin Hart Jewelers, where we worked with Habitat for Humanity after Hurricane Katrina,” she says. Friday night was a kickoff cocktail party, while Saturday’s sales went to benefit the charity.

“On Sunday, the store was closed, so the whole staff and the owners and I all went down to help build a house,” Preville says. “I was hammering, sawing, and installing insulation underneath the house. Everyone was doing things they never thought they could ever do. We were raising money for charity and we actually got to do something to help people.”

Drape Your Customers in Jewelry

Trust is a major selling point for jewelry customers. What could communicate that value more than allowing them to touch and wear your jewelry freely, without having to ask?

“As often as I can, I try to put the jewelry out and make it accessible to customers,” Humphrey says. “When you have a group of qualified consumers, they love to be able to go up, touch the jewelry, and try it on.”

For the Road Trip kickoff party, Klein’s idea was to call Art + Soul’s better clients and ask them to model the jewelry. “We worked with a fashion editor at one of the local magazines and she helped accessorize everyone. We figured they would have fun wearing the jewelry that night, and then maybe also get attached to it and want to buy it — which is exactly what happened.”

Prior to the Ladies’ Night in their store, Howard Tapper and his wife Susan invited 30 of their best customers to their home for dinner with Penny Preville. Jewelry was on display in the living room, and people were able to walk around and try on different pieces.

“Having the jewelry accessible makes a huge difference,” Preville says. “It’s nice to pass pieces around the table so everyone gets to hear a comment like, ‘Oh, that’s so pretty on you.’ And it’s great for conversation.”

Add Prestige Through Powerful Partnerships

In November 2007, A. Link partnered with celebrity chef Ming Tsai on behalf of its retail partner, Lux Bond & Green, which is located across the street from Ming’s restaurant in Wellesley, MA. Fifty top customers were invited to “an evening of excellence.” Rather than floral displays, diamond jewelry was used as centerpieces for the tables.

“It was all about creating an incredible experience,” Humphrey says. A. Link split the $10,000 cost of the event with Lux Bond & Green and invited Robb Report to create a gift bag. Ming participated or free. “It was very successful, and we did sell lots of jewelry.”

Good partners add more draw to the event. As Humphrey explains, “When selling diamond jewelry that goes for $25,000 or more, you need to get the husband and wife together. She has to fall in love with the piece, and he has to see that she’s fallen in love with the piece. If you have these other brands, like a car, or a jet, or a boat, or a watch, you’ve got something at the event to keep him intrigued. She’s intrigued by the diamond jewelry. So they both get something from the event, and at the end of the night, they’ve probably both got their hearts set on something.”

One resource for such partnerships? The media. “Our media partners are always helping us to cultivate those relationships,” Humphrey says. “Within their pages, they have advertisers of other categories that we may want to partner with. And, if they have an event that they’re doing, they can bring us in on it.”

Deliver the “Wow” Factor

Going over the top isn’t a turn-off to customers. On the contrary, you owe it to them, Tapper says. “It’s not about being a snob. It’s about knowing that if you want to impress your customers, you have to give them something they haven’t seen before.”
Klein went to great lengths to ensure that her customers got a bang out of the Road Trip kickoff party. “They had a custom cocktail created just for us, my favorite local artist created a stylized painting of the 1959 T-bird we traveled in, they had a hot DJ, and fine catering,” Feero says. “They created a major event and people had a blast.”

Feero says the party at the close of the Road Trip by Jason Baso, owner of Palladio in Vancouver, BC, was no less impressive. “There were 300 people and a Lamborghini waiting out front,” he says. “It was a rockin’ good time — so much so that by closing time, people would not leave the store, so we moved the party to a bar downtown. We sold a lot of jewelry to longtime fans and made some new ones as well.”

“The appearance is not enough — you have to offer something extra,” Webster says. “It’s about added value, making people think they have to see you because you’re part of a fun package.”

Sometimes, going the extra mile can mean as little as giving away an impressive gift certificate to each attendee. Tapper’s partnered with Crane’s Business Magazine for a “Women to Watch” event, which honored 15 women leaders. “We gave them each a gift and a $250 gift certificate,” Tapper says. “That night, one woman spent $1,000, and the next morning, another woman came into the store and spent over $2,000.”

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