(Our November print issue includes a feature story detailing “10 Steps to Last-Minute Holiday Success.” Today we bring you an excerpt explaining one of those steps: being memorable.)
The Hunt House’s McMurray decorates the store Christmas tree with scrolls that contain discounts. Beginning Dec. 1, when customers make purchases, they take a scroll from the tree to learn what percentage of discount they’ll receive on the item they have already selected.
“They can’t go back and get more stuff,” McMurray says, once they learn their discount. One scroll offers a 100 percent discount, but the range is generally 5 to 40 percent.
“People have tried to dig into the tree,” she says. “They figure we’ve hidden the 100 percent one deep.”
The promotion is advertised on the radio and in the newspaper, but word of mouth often leads to more sales, too.
Albert Yocum of Yocum Jewelry in Marceline, MO, kicks off his holiday season during a popular town event called Peanut Night.
Advertisement
All the participating merchants put coupons or prizes in bags and the Chamber sells the bags for $1 each. They usually sell more than 2,500 bags in half an hour.
Last year, Harris Jewelers in Troy, OH, ran a wish-list contest with a prize of a $1,000 shopping spree. The store also celebrated its 70th anniversary by offering a $70 gift card with every $250 holiday purchase through Christmas Eve.
Retiring? Let Wilkerson Do the Heavy Lifting
Retirement can be a great part of life. As Nanji Singadia puts it, “I want to retire and enjoy my life. I’m 78 now and I just want to take a break.” That said, Nanji decided that the best way to move ahead was to contact the experts at Wilkerson. He chose them because he knew that closing a store is a heavy lift.
To maximize sales and move on to the next, best chapter of his life, he called Wilkerson—but not before asking his industry friends for their opinion. He found that Wilkerson was the company most recommended and says their professionalism, experience and the homework they did before the launch all helped to make his going out of business sale a success. “Wilkerson were working on the sale a month it took place,” he says. “They did a great job.”