Give your customers a real bargain
omeone once told me
that the right time to go fishing is when the fish, are biting!
The problem in our industry lately is that our volume is down
and there is little and no way to make a major improvement. So
it becomes time to become creative and take a positive step at
“jump starting” our volume.
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How often when you fall behind and explain
to your crew, “This work must go out TODAY!”
Lo and behold, everything gets finished on
time and, even more amazing, it was double and twice the daily
load! (Also amazing is that the quality wasn’t
sacrificed.) How was that possible? I might add, no one was
carried out on a stretcher or had to be carried home.
Most of the time when that happens there
was little notice or preparation due to a boiler breakdown on a
holiday week and yet it was all possible and accomplished
because of full cooperation.
The winter months, certainly in the
Northeast, have always been a time of low volume, and
especially at a standstill when a few days of snow or storms
suddenly appear. Is there something we can do about it?
For some, the only avenue is to put
everyone on part-time, or an outright lay-off.
What do the major marketing retail outfits
do? What measures can be considered? They run a “Super
Sale” — and it works!
A very successful store has ran a
“Going out of Business Sale” for the last 10 years.
Some years they switched to a “We Lost our Lease
Sale.” But it’s the same as “Overstocked
Sale, Inventory Sale, or Fire Sale” They boost dismal
sales to unprecedented heights. Most important, everyone is
happy — the store as well as the customer who keeps
coming back looking for a repeat bargain.
If we analyze our customers routines and
habits, we find that invariably they store closets full of
clothes that they won’t ever wear again or will even give
away, because of a weight change or new style. For nostalgia
and fondness, it becomes a shame to throw them out. Basically
they never wear the garments and they won’t part with
them or give them away or just throw them out.
Here the chance to solve both problems.
Offer a “Clean Out Your Closet Sale” — ten
garments (or the more the merrier), no limit, all with 50
percent off. All garments are to be moth- and mildew-proofed,
free of charge.
The only stipulation is that all orders
are to be pre-paid by presenting any legitimate credit card (so
your plant will not become the new storage closet). By having
the order pre-paid you can offer free storage, such as box
storage with free moth-proofing, etc. The purpose here is that
you are guaranteed payment, usually within one week (via credit
card) and you can request one week service on all these
discounted orders.
Next it would be foolhardy to start an
attractive offer such as this without as much notice as
possible (always during your slowest time). Example: preferably
have the sale during the month of February and advertise it
heavily in January using local newspapers, radio and, depending
on the cost, local TV. Be sure you have good support from your
counter personnel as well, suggesting by “word of
mouth” to all customers and telling your friends. Use
inexpensive hand tags on each garment.
Prepare the plant and crew. All equipment
should be in fine working condition for a smooth, effective
program and promotion.
If it is planned correctly, the cost will
be negligible, since production cost at present is at its
highest and volume at its lowest. Most plants today guarantee
worker a set amount of hours, or a salary, and seldom support
piece work, so the labor cost is always at a fixed rate. The
problem becomes a management decision to provide the necessary
volume.
You also have the advantage of repeating
the same offer each year as “The Annual 50% Discount
Empty Your Closet Sale” with less than the previous
year’s expenses.
Should the sale go better than expected,
you also have the advantage of extending it by “popular
demand” with a 50 percent discount offer available for an
additional extra week in February.
If it delivers less than expected, you can
review your advertising budget, but it is wise, as with any
plan, to start at the beginning and question your customers
before you start the program. Would you be interested in an
“Empty Your Closet Cleaning Sale?”
Be sure to mention that everything will be
handsomely finished, sealed and moth-proofed. Then announce the
date and the terms and, depending on the response, you can
decide on the budget.
Again, it has a two-fold purpose. You keep
your good, experienced workers without the threat of a lay-off
and reward your customers with an unusual bargain. There is
also the benefit of attracting many new customers who have a
good reason to try your service and receive their wardrobe
smartly packaged with carefully finished garments presented in
protective tissue.
No firm can maintain this kind of discount
continuously, but because of the inherit expense of maintaining
a profitable operation with little volume and the risk of
losing valuable employees, this all becomes possible.
It might be the only time you can sell
price with so little cost and create the realization that your
customers are truly getting a “Bargain Deal.”
Ray Colucci, a consultant to the fabric
care industry, has revised and made available three timely
pamphlets: “Up Front Is Where It Counts” for
counter training; “Pressed for Perfection” for
finishing techniques; the popular “Route to Success To
the Home of Office” for complete route training. The
pamphlets are $20 each or all three for $50. Immediate delivery
with all postage paid is promised. Send requests and payment to
to R. Colucci, 410 Warren Ave., Mamaroneck, NY 10543.
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