Spoke with Maria today about during a collective Mailer of coupons for all our stores. I was thinking the size of a Bed and Bath Coupon.
Then Maria said maybe we should hire a kid to stand up top by the outlets and hand them out to people coming out of the stores.
I think that this is a great Idea!!! And something we could do this Labor Day weekend when everyone is doing their back to school shopping.
We could offer $5.00 off a 25.00 purchase at all our stores. Depending who would want to do it, we could put in Big Letters $30, $40, $50 Dollars in Saving as the title of the Coupon. Offer valid only this weekend!!!
I could create something quick on publisher and have it ready for this weekend if anyone is interested.
Great idea - I'm in for the coupons, and yes we should definately have someone up top handing them out. I've often thought about hiring someone up on the roadside there dressed in a costume to hand out coupons - that's always something to think about for the future too!
I came up with a design for the coupon. It is the size of a postcard and we can split it into sections for each of us. If you are interested, post and I will send you a copy of it. It is a work in progress, so comment if you want changes to it. I think we would need to get it to Staples by Wednesday to get it printed in time. How many should we print?
If we advertise that it is valid only for this labor day weekend then we could potentially be limiting ourselves by ordering too many or too little, but if we have an expiration date of, let's say the end of October, then if we have left overs then we can hand them out again at our next event (Harvest Moon), then for the October events.
Hey girls, all the coupon ideas sound great! Why don't we try the "Labor Day weekend only" one first and then try a longer expiration period next time around. This way we can experiment and see which way works best. I am assuming the one day or weekend thing is better because that's what the Van Huesen Group does and they have been doing this coupon thing for a long time. We could learn alot from them. Anyone know a few kids we could give a few bucks and some free things to. I would chip in a free lunch and drink for each of them each day and money if need be.
What does everyone think of the way the Van Husen Group has handled their coupon situation lateley? If you make a purchase they give you a $5 coupon to spend in one of their other stores that same day. If you go spend that coupon, you get another coupon for another one of their stores and so on and so forth. We could try something similar from store to store. Each store could be holding coupons for each others stores and handing them out to create more traffic for everyone.
I just spoke to Carol, if we can have the flyer of coupons together by Thursday morning, the Village will do the printing for us. This saves us the money.
Maria, could you explain the Van Husen coupon program. Is it that they have to make a purchase at each store before receiving the $5 coupon? and is there a minimum purchase before they get the free coupon? Otherwise, they could come in my store and purchase something as little as a 0.25cent piece of candy and get a $5 coupon. I'd like to know how it works.
Tracey, that coupon was just an example of how smart the Van Husen Group is by keeping customers shopping from one store of theirs to another. Why couldn't we all have some kind of coupon that we could give to the other merchants to hand out to their customers after that customer has made a purchase? I'm sure it would at least peak the customers curiosity enough to check out the next store. Just think, if they made a purchase in that second store and received another coupon, how much fun it would be to shop at the Village.
I think we should definately have 2 kids for at least Sunday since the farmer's market is on, and there are some customers that only shop at the market and do not shop at the village stores. So I think there should be someone circulating the market area. I do have someone available!
Barbara ~ you forgot us! I think when I spoke to you the other day we had decided to do a coupon that said "Prim Pantry etc. 15% off All clocks! ALL Month!" We definitely want to take part in this. Thanks for all your hard work.I'll see you at the meeting Friday morning.
Hi Barbara, Wow! You have gotten alot done. You go girl!
I think two kids is a good idea too. Have you told everyone the cost? I definately believe you need to spend money to make money (as they say), but I don't know if everyone else feels the same.
What did you mean by half page size? Aren't we doing the flyer that you emailed me?
The map is a great idea. Some people who work in the Village don't even know where the stores are.
If the village will go along with paying for 1,000 flyers, then why not print them all.
Unless I could do the first hour of handing out the coupons it would be a little tricky for me to send someone up top in the heart of the day just because I need to have 2-3 people here serving. During 12-4 would be difficult for me! However, if we hire 2 people Sat, Sun and Mon from let's say 11-4pm @ $7 per hour (with free lunch and ice cream and drinks). Then that would be a total of $210 labor costs divided by 7 participating stores only means that we're paying $30 each for labor. Obviously if more stores participate this figure will be less! I don't think that's too expensive - like Maria said you have to spend money to make money! What's everyone think?
I'm okay with the figure for labor as I do agree with Maria that you have to spend money to make it. Would like it if the total cost for this could come in under $75 tho'. The only time I would be able to put time in would be when there is someone to be in the store, I'm more than willing to do it, just need to co-ordinate schedules. See you all tomorrow.
So, I think having the two kids passing out fliers was a positive thing. I saw many people carring them and three people used them. I do believe that it made people aware of our stores, below the upper level. The verbage may hve to be tweeked for the next time. We had one of the best saturdays this year, only selling smaller items. How did everyone do and what are your thoughts?
Saturday was a very good day for us too, and Sunday was even better :-) We received 13 coupons Sat and 12 Sun. And yes there were lots of people walking around looking at their sheets and talking about the participating stores, so I also think it definately brought awareness to our stores! There were a lot of people that came in and never handed in their coupon, so I think they may have thought that the promotions were automatic and that they didn't have to hand in the coupon - oh well, this worked to our advantage! I think the handing out of coupons is GREAT - love it!
Hi Everyone, A resounding YES to all of the above! Lots of people had the flyer but didn't use it. And it definately brought people from up above down below. Thanks again to Barbara and Marty for all thier hard work!
Thank you Barbara & Marty ~ we also shared in the largess! Saturday was great, Sunday even better. Same observation--saw lots of flyers, of course for us it was an automatic % off this time,so there was nothing to hand in. Next time will definitely use a coupon ~ there will be a next time, right?
Barbara & I would also like to thank the OLV Office for printing the fliers, the Lafeyette House for making copies Monday when we ran out of printed ones, Everything Homemade and Chocolate Parfait for providing the workers food and drinks. I believe working as a team, we have made the Labor Day Weekend a great success for all. Let's make this the start of many profitable days through the new year. Barbara has an idea for dressing up the village but I will ask her to explain that. Lets keep the ideas flowing!!!!
I think the face painting for Halloween is a great idea! Also guys, I spoke to my bank the other day (First Hope), and they agreed to do a "business spotlight" week for us. We could give them an upcoming events calendar, and any literature / products that you want to display from your store. Last year I displayed my Chocolate Thanksgiving Turkeys and they were a big hit with the customers - I generated business from it! So I think it would be good exposure for us - and it's free. If you're interested please let me know.
I also think that all the banks do what Tracy is talking about I know mine does. Maybe we could set a table with village info on all of us and then just move that set up from bank to bank or branch to branch. Like Tracey said it is free and another way to connect with our local community.
If everybody gets their promotional stuff together by next week, and I'll get Carol to print off an October events calendar, then I'll take it to the bank for the "business spotlight week". That way we can promote our stores and advertise our October events.
The banks sound like a great idea girls. What day do we need to get our promo info to you Tracey?
Natalia, the woman who runs the fundraising for the lafayette school district was in yesterday looking for a charitable gift for their yearly fundraising dinner. It seems that there will be over 100 people from Lafayette there. I am donating the cake for the event plus a gift certificate. I was telling her about our October activities and she told me to email her the events schedule and she will email it out on what she called "Tiger Talk", I think it might be to the entire school district!
For the business spotlight, we have to get our materials ready by next Thursday 24th so I can drop everything off at the bank on Friday 25th. Everything will then be displayed until Monday 4th October. So it will be great to advertise all our October events. Does anyone want to do the coupons again? The bank told me that when businesses offer some kind of discount / coupon they get better results. Please let me know because Barbara is emailing me the coupon file and I'll get Carol to print them off next week.
Printing up a coupon page again is a good idea. Tracey, please put us down for Buy one Lunch get one free with this coupon, any Monday thru Wednesday. Expires 10/31/2010. Thanks
Hi everyone, As for the business spotlight at first hope bank: I'm going to be moving everything from the Andover branch tomorrow and placing it in the Sparta branch for next week. Does anyone else's bank do this? If so, let's get another bank lined up so we can keep our information floating around.
Please post Advertising ideas here.
ReplyDeleteSpoke with Maria today about during a collective Mailer of coupons for all our stores. I was thinking the size of a Bed and Bath Coupon.
ReplyDeleteThen Maria said maybe we should hire a kid to stand up top by the outlets and hand them out to people coming out of the stores.
I think that this is a great Idea!!! And something we could do this Labor Day weekend when everyone is doing their back to school shopping.
We could offer $5.00 off a 25.00 purchase at all our stores. Depending who would want to do it, we could put in Big Letters $30, $40, $50 Dollars in Saving as the title of the Coupon. Offer valid only this weekend!!!
I could create something quick on publisher and have it ready for this weekend if anyone is interested.
Great idea - I'm in for the coupons, and yes we should definately have someone up top handing them out. I've often thought about hiring someone up on the roadside there dressed in a costume to hand out coupons - that's always something to think about for the future too!
ReplyDeleteI came up with a design for the coupon. It is the size of a postcard and we can split it into sections for each of us. If you are interested, post and I will send you a copy of it. It is a work in progress, so comment if you want changes to it. I think we would need to get it to Staples by Wednesday to get it printed in time. How many should we print?
ReplyDeleteIf we advertise that it is valid only for this labor day weekend then we could potentially be limiting ourselves by ordering too many or too little, but if we have an expiration date of, let's say the end of October, then if we have left overs then we can hand them out again at our next event (Harvest Moon), then for the October events.
ReplyDeleteHey girls, all the coupon ideas sound great! Why don't we try the "Labor Day weekend only" one first and then try a longer expiration period next time around. This way we can experiment and see which way works best. I am assuming the one day or weekend thing is better because that's what the Van Huesen Group does and they have been doing this coupon thing for a long time. We could learn alot from them. Anyone know a few kids we could give a few bucks and some free things to. I would chip in a free lunch and drink for each of them each day and money if need be.
ReplyDeleteTo figure out how many to print, let's ask Bass how many transactions they had last year. That should give us a starting number.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. Also, last year the village office would print flyers for us if they were not in color. We could use colored paper.
ReplyDeleteWhat does everyone think of the way the Van Husen Group has handled their coupon situation lateley? If you make a purchase they give you a $5 coupon to spend in one of their other stores that same day. If you go spend that coupon, you get another coupon for another one of their stores and so on and so forth. We could try something similar from store to store. Each store could be holding coupons for each others stores and handing them out to create more traffic for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI just spoke to Carol, if we can have the flyer of coupons together by Thursday morning, the Village will do the printing for us. This saves us the money.
ReplyDeleteMaria, could you explain the Van Husen coupon program. Is it that they have to make a purchase at each store before receiving the $5 coupon? and is there a minimum purchase before they get the free coupon? Otherwise, they could come in my store and purchase something as little as a 0.25cent piece of candy and get a $5 coupon. I'd like to know how it works.
ReplyDeleteTracey, that coupon was just an example of how smart the Van Husen Group is by keeping customers shopping from one store of theirs to another. Why couldn't we all have some kind of coupon that we could give to the other merchants to hand out to their customers after that customer has made a purchase? I'm sure it would at least peak the customers curiosity enough to check out the next store. Just think, if they made a purchase in that second store and received another coupon, how much fun it would be to shop at the Village.
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteAn Update on the Coupons
Right now we have the stores below who would like to be included on the coupon:
Everything Homemade
Chocolate Parfait
Carey Lane Accents
2B Continued
Fuzzy Nation
Nihao
The Book Store
Debbie at the Village Antiques was not in yesterday.
The Village Mane will get back to us.
Left a message at the Lafayette House.
I had to call Mark from the Depot.
If we end up with 10 coupons. I think we should move to a half page size.
When I walked around yesterday, I invited all to the meeting on Friday.
Margaret at the rock and gem store said next time and she had a great idea. Why not put a map on one side and coupons on the other.
I found a kid to pass them out on Sat, Sun, and Mon.
One of the outlets was able to give me a count of everyone who walked in their store last year. They had a 1000 people over the three days.
Tracy mentioned that maybe we should have two kids.
So what is everyone's thoughts on Two kids and how many coupons to print?
I think we should definately have 2 kids for at least Sunday since the farmer's market is on, and there are some customers that only shop at the market and do not shop at the village stores. So I think there should be someone circulating the market area. I do have someone available!
ReplyDeleteBarbara ~ you forgot us! I think when I spoke to you the other day we had decided to do a coupon that said "Prim Pantry etc. 15% off All clocks! ALL Month!" We definitely want to take part in this. Thanks for all your hard work.I'll see you at the meeting Friday morning.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, Wow! You have gotten alot done. You go girl!
ReplyDeleteI think two kids is a good idea too. Have you told everyone the cost? I definately believe you need to spend money to make money (as they say), but I don't know if everyone else feels the same.
What did you mean by half page size? Aren't we doing the flyer that you emailed me?
The map is a great idea. Some people who work in the Village don't even know where the stores are.
If the village will go along with paying for 1,000 flyers, then why not print them all.
Sorry Una Lee, I got my lists mixed up the Prim Panty etc. is in and I have not spoken to the book store yet.
ReplyDeleteI spoke to staples yesterday and they said that they could take care of us last minute on Friday.
So I will make a draft, bring it to the meeting and we can make whatever changes we need and have it printed friday afternoon.
I'll have prices and samples so that we can decide what we want and know the cost.
The kids handing them out is our biggest cost. So another Idea is for each of us to help for an hour a day instead of hiring another kid.
Unless I could do the first hour of handing out the coupons it would be a little tricky for me to send someone up top in the heart of the day just because I need to have 2-3 people here serving. During 12-4 would be difficult for me! However, if we hire 2 people Sat, Sun and Mon from let's say 11-4pm @ $7 per hour (with free lunch and ice cream and drinks). Then that would be a total of $210 labor costs divided by 7 participating stores only means that we're paying $30 each for labor. Obviously if more stores participate this figure will be less! I don't think that's too expensive - like Maria said you have to spend money to make money! What's everyone think?
ReplyDeleteI'm okay with the figure for labor as I do agree with Maria that you have to spend money to make it. Would like it if the total cost for this could come in under $75 tho'. The only time I would be able to put time in would be when there is someone to be in the store, I'm more than willing to do it, just need to co-ordinate schedules. See you all tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteSo, I think having the two kids passing out fliers was a positive thing. I saw many people carring them and three people used them. I do believe that it made people aware of our stores, below the upper level. The verbage may hve to be tweeked for the next time. We had one of the best saturdays this year, only selling smaller items. How did everyone do and what are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteSunday was another good day, better than Saturday!!! How did everyone do and what are your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteSaturday was a very good day for us too, and Sunday was even better :-) We received 13 coupons Sat and 12 Sun. And yes there were lots of people walking around looking at their sheets and talking about the participating stores, so I also think it definately brought awareness to our stores! There were a lot of people that came in and never handed in their coupon, so I think they may have thought that the promotions were automatic and that they didn't have to hand in the coupon - oh well, this worked to our advantage!
ReplyDeleteI think the handing out of coupons is GREAT - love it!
Spoke to Mark at The Depot yesterday and he said the same as Tracy. He also said that he saw more bags from uptop then usual.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone, A resounding YES to all of the above! Lots of people had the flyer but didn't use it. And it definately brought people from up above down below. Thanks again to Barbara and Marty for all thier hard work!
ReplyDeleteThank you Barbara & Marty ~ we also shared in the largess! Saturday was great, Sunday even better. Same observation--saw lots of flyers, of course for us it was an automatic % off this time,so there was nothing to hand in. Next time will definitely use a coupon ~ there will be a next time, right?
ReplyDeleteBarbara & I would also like to thank the OLV Office for printing the fliers, the Lafeyette House for making copies Monday when we ran out of printed ones, Everything Homemade and Chocolate Parfait for providing the workers food and drinks. I believe working as a team, we have made the Labor Day Weekend a great success for all. Let's make this the start of many profitable days through the new year. Barbara has an idea for dressing up the village but I will ask her to explain that. Lets keep the ideas flowing!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am really excited about Halloween! How about having the kids back to do face painting for us?
ReplyDeleteI think the face painting for Halloween is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteAlso guys, I spoke to my bank the other day (First Hope), and they agreed to do a "business spotlight" week for us. We could give them an upcoming events calendar, and any literature / products that you want to display from your store. Last year I displayed my Chocolate Thanksgiving Turkeys and they were a big hit with the customers - I generated business from it! So I think it would be good exposure for us - and it's free. If you're interested please let me know.
I love the TV ad idea!!!
ReplyDeleteI also think that all the banks do what Tracy is talking about I know mine does. Maybe we could set a table with village info on all of us and then just move that set up from bank to bank or branch to branch. Like Tracey said it is free and another way to connect with our local community.
If everybody gets their promotional stuff together by next week, and I'll get Carol to print off an October events calendar, then I'll take it to the bank for the "business spotlight week". That way we can promote our stores and advertise our October events.
ReplyDeleteThe banks sound like a great idea girls. What day do we need to get our promo info to you Tracey?
ReplyDeleteNatalia, the woman who runs the fundraising for the lafayette school district was in yesterday looking for a charitable gift for their yearly fundraising dinner. It seems that there will be over 100 people from Lafayette there. I am donating the cake for the event plus a gift certificate. I was telling her about our October activities and she told me to email her the events schedule and she will email it out on what she called "Tiger Talk", I think it might be to the entire school district!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFor the business spotlight, we have to get our materials ready by next Thursday 24th so I can drop everything off at the bank on Friday 25th. Everything will then be displayed until Monday 4th October. So it will be great to advertise all our October events. Does anyone want to do the coupons again? The bank told me that when businesses offer some kind of discount / coupon they get better results. Please let me know because Barbara is emailing me the coupon file and I'll get Carol to print them off next week.
ReplyDeletePrinting up a coupon page again is a good idea. Tracey, please put us down for Buy one Lunch get one free with this coupon, any Monday thru Wednesday. Expires 10/31/2010. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteAs for the business spotlight at first hope bank: I'm going to be moving everything from the Andover branch tomorrow and placing it in the Sparta branch for next week. Does anyone else's bank do this? If so, let's get another bank lined up so we can keep our information floating around.