Complimentary Offering

[Anton]

I'm in the process of starting a framing shop of my own and am ferreting away at my business plan. (trying to pick a catchy name fpor the business is the most difficult thing )

I'd like to know how many of the members to this forum offer complimentary products and what they offer. What seems to be a good complimenting product, i.e. artists materials, exclusive pottery, wide range of prints, etc - OR - is it even worth considering?

Hope to hear some suggestions from group,

many thanks
Anton

[SquareFrames]

Hi Anton,

Congratulations on your business, I hope all goes well for you, and that you enjoy the picture framing experience.

In our workshop / gallery we offer, a wide and diverse range of original artwork, manily by local and some overseas artists. Local artwork by local artists always seems to go down well.

We also offer prints, framed and unframed, cheap and expensive, you can never tell what the next one through the door will want. having said that, in our gallery we offer 90% of our prints via catalogue or brochure, as I said you dont know what anyone wants, and it also keeps your outlay down. Scour the WWW and contact any print company offering brochures.
We also have local sculptors leaving their work on a sale or return basis, as do all our artists, the only thing we offer FOC is a cup of coffee if they want one. We always ask, makes the customer feel more at home.

We once asked a major artist materials firm to give us a quotation for a start up package, and due to the size of our downstairs gallery, they quoted £15000,00, it was a NO NO, but it is a good way of bringing in a quick cash flow turnaround I hear.

What I would suggest, is to forget about newspaper advertsising, get on your computer, design a flyer and get posting through doors. Offer 10% discount on framing to those that bring the flyer in for your first month and hope for the best. Believe it or not, you wont be loosing a hell of a lot by offering such a discount.

If you have any problems, ring me at any time, I am only too willing to help you in any way I can.

All the best for the future

Steven
SquareFrames

[John]

We found cards, bronze sculptures, and silver jewelry to be a waste of space.

[SquareFrames]

Hi,

Like John we have tried, and still have an artists' bronzes, we tried cards, the post office and newsagents kicked up, we even once tried hand painted milk churns (to get our own back on another shop) ..... all I can say is 'Thank god for Sale or Return'

But dont that put you off trying these Anton, give it all a go, you never know!

Steven