Apr. 2-7
TRAINING Hold a mini-conference right in your own office. Assign each staff member a topic for a 5- to 10-minute presentation. Extra team-building points if you make the event a pot luck!
SHOP Go through your jewelers’ bench and findings cabinet and melt or return findings that are more than one year old. Just like inventory, findings have turn and age, and if you haven’t used it in a year, you probably won’t ever, says repairs guru David Geller.
INVENTORY “Get into Balance to Buy or The Edge Pulse and run a report on fast sellers from last February and March with ‘0 on hand’ and reorder those items or some in a similar category or price point.”
Apr. 9-14
APPRAISALS Use the slow months (April, July-September) to check client files to see who needs to have an appraisal updated. Send out a postcard reminder.
STAFF Ask employees for their summer vacation requests. And while you’re working on a roster, book some time off for yourself.
MARKETING Call a brainstorming meeting for Mother’s Day (May 14). Dad and child evening? Mom and daughter event? Cross promotion with a spa? Bring a list of ideas to the meeting.
INVENTORY Scan your showcases. It’s time to make room for the upcoming buying season. Might also be time to look into launching that eBay account to clear those duds of yore.
Apr. 16-21
GENERAL Invest time in finding places where you can differentiate your business. These can be big and small. What does your door handle look like? What’s your telephone answering machine message sound like? What’s your 404 error page say? Could you make your cash register receipts more fun? Think of the power of 1,000 points of differentiation. And get busy.
MARKETING There are a string of mini-selling dates coming up including prom season, communions and graduation. Draw up a schedule for case displays and email bulletins.
Apr. 23-28
OPERATIONS Is your phone in a public part of the store? See if you can’t move it to a more private spot where conversations can remain confidential and won’t interfere with sales on the floor.
MARKETING Do you have traffic that goes behind your business? Yes? So, do you have signage behind your business that’s designed to draw that traffic? No? Mary Gillen of IdeaSiteForBusiness.com suggests you get busy. Check out the traffic flow around your location and place signs strategically to attract the attention of the busiest traffic flow.
INVENTORY Run some reports from last year’s bridal season. Your emphasis should be on wedding bands, bridal party gifts, and the mother of the bride, which is a growing category for many stores.