Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

No customers? No problem… Kate will keep you busy growing your business

Are customers and suppliers few and far between in your consignment or resale shop in January?

Rather than stare out the window and worry that everyone’s forgotten you (they haven’t; it’s just that, well, it’s January, after all), do a long-term improvement or three for your business. Some proven winners:

Reimagine a piece of merchandise in your shop. It’ll freshen your outlook, as well as your shoppers’, during a dull time of year. Your headline or subject line? MyShop is Playing Around… Come Join Us! Document your make-over (a new way to accessorize a work outfit? An intriguing way to paint an end table?) with how-to photos and post it on your blog, web site, social media… mentioning, of course, that there are opportunities for them to get creative just waiting for them on your sales floor! Re-use your series of photos (3-5 is the ideal number, with captions of course) into a broadcast e-mail to reach even more potential shoppers! Here’s some inspiration to get started. (Click that number one to get more ideas…)

Mention your business Facebook page, web site, and other social media on your personal profile Facebook page. After all, you’d answer if someone asked you where you worked, wouldn’t you? To get a clickable screenshot of your business page, create a URL with your business page name in place of mine in this example: https://www.facebook.com/2Good2BThrew?ref=bookmarks . Then make a note to repost a simple message every few weeks, to drive traffic and fans to your business page.

If you already do this on a regular basis, work on your online reviews. Here’s some info that can get you started.

RTFM: Internet-speak for “Read the [Fine] Manual”: Dig out, and read, the manuals for your equipment, software, and fixtures. Many’s the wonderful “I-didn’t-know-it-could-do-that” features founds by shopkeepers, even long after they’d been utilizing their adjustable racks, credit-card machines, hardware or software (I discovered how to print a booklet on one sheet of paper when I read the printer’s manual!) Same goes for looking up instructions, FAQs, and forum ideas on the Internet. You might also want to re-read Too Good to be Threw Complete Operations Manual, even if you haven’t looked at it in years. Things that weren’t applicable then, might well be now. Visiting our entire Family of Resale Sites, to see what you can adapt to your business, is another worthwhile use of your time. I guarantee you’ll find something you love in our resources and Products!