The Framers Forum

Hi,

I have just started up my own framing business, to which i am working from home and receiving business through my fathers shop. Previously we offered picture framing through a previous picture framer on the high street who decided to close down and remain in their workshop. Majority of their customers still return to them, travelling quite a distance.
I plan to put out a marketing campaign to try and draw more customers to my services however I am struggling for any inspiration as to slogans ect to attract customers. Does anyone have any suggestions or examples of ones which have worked for them?
I want to create something with an upbeat buzz to it and not the standard picture framing adverts I see.

michaela

saw something on a recent post! hope its not stealing someones real slogan but how about

we cut corners to please

Hi Michaela

Good luck with your new venture.

my serious answer to your question, would be to think in terms of what your business will be offering, rather than trying to think up a clever slogan. In other words what would be the benefits for the customer of using your service?

For example, write up the answers to some of these service areas:
delivery? or not
Number of choices of frames
Opening hours
Speed of service (turnaround time)
Conservation level service?

Try to think from the customer's point of view, and I think that in doing this planning, you will come up with some key words which will help you come up with your 'slogan'.

It can also be a useful idea, to analyse the customers that you have had already, and think about what it was that made them choose you/like your service, and work your marketing around these points.

Years ago i saw a framer in another part of the country with a clever slogan that took off Andy Warhol's famous quote about everybody gets 15 minutes of fame. So I copied it. I had a load of literature printed, and shop signs made incorporating '15 minutes of frame' in the logo. i was very pleased with myself because it was witty and I smiled every time i saw it. Customers didn't see the joke, and were pissed off when I told them it would take a week for framing, when it say 15 minutes in the window! i changed the slogan after about 6 weeks, and started to think from the customer's point of view!

They say education is expensive . . . . .

we've had several slogans over the years, but you have to stay on the ball, or they soon look dated.
So FFS dont have anything involving the word "solutions", thats so Noughties.
"We can frame it" is one we still have on the window.

Good luck with the business

my boss (in banking) always said 'yank my doodle its a dandy'

Just stick to what's important.

1. What you do.

2. How to contact you.

Don't complicate the message with other irelelevent information.

Recommendation and word of mouth are your best adverts.

We run a very small ad in the Stop Press section of our evening paper:

Need something or someone framed? Call us now. Only half of you will be disappointed!
Website
Phone Number

Generates quite a few calls - one client yesterday with 13 (yes, thirteen) items for framing - biggest single retail order we've ever taken..

If you think it sounds naff - it probably does.
Test it on your kids - they're usually honest.
Avoid "Bespoke", "Tailored", "Designer"
Try "Individual", "Personal" and finally - as already stated, word of mouth is number one so make sure your work is top-notch.

Best of luck, we've only been going a few months and it is tough but very rewarding.
P