Yes, there are marketing benefits, but the real prize is a benchmark the store and staff must live up to every day
A few years ago when I was planning to build a new store, I never dreamed about winning the title of America’s Coolest Store. As a matter of fact, the contest was nowhere near my mind, but I knew I wanted the new store to be the coolest store my customers had ever experienced. That desire was part of every design decision made throughout the process. Once the construction ended and the dust settled, I knew we really had something special.
Customers kept coming in saying our store felt like it should be in New York or Las Vegas.
I knew about INSTORE’s Cool Stores contest, but never really thought about entering until finally our vendors began giving us the push. After reading all that was involved, I almost stopped right there.
Man, am I glad I decided to go through the process!
We figured if we could just place that would be great. Never did we dream about winning first place.
When we heard that we had won, it felt like winning the lottery. The staff was so proud to work at Grogan Jewelers. As the news got out, our customers and local community started feeling the pride, and this has certainly resulted in increased sales.
Who wouldn’t want to own a fine piece of jewelry from the Coolest Store in America?
“Everything we do,
we ask ourselves
first, ‘Is this
something the
coolest store in
America would do?’”
The small town community in which we do business was excited to see our store recognized nationally, and we make advertising our America’s Coolest Store title part of our strategy in digital and print and integrate it in everything we do.
But being the Coolest Store in America is more than advertising and sales. Everything we do internally, we ask ourselves first, “Is this something the Coolest Store in America would do?” When the staff sits down to talk sales goals and team training, doing what a Coolest Store should do is always on the forefront. It has created a new benchmark for us.
Ultimately, winning the America’s Coolest Store title has helped us reinforce our brand and our image in the community. It has given the staff something to be proud of and excited about and has affected everything we do in the store. I would definitely recommend anyone who is excited about the uniqueness of their store to give it a try!
Jay Klos is the president of Grogan Jewelers in Florence, AL, named INSTORE’s America’s Coolest Store in the Big Store category in 2014.