Brainstorm “Shop Early” Promos, Study Foot Traffic and More To-Dos for September

Sep. 3-9

MARKETING Spend time segmenting your email list so that you can send tailored offers that will be welcomed and opened. Segments could include fashion mavens, bridal couples, high net worth buyers, watch collectors and so on. The more relevant you can be, the more your customers will engage with your marketing.

SALES File this under the “It never hurts to ask” column. If you brought in a line after JCK that hasn’t quite taken off, hit up your brand rep for support. They will be eager to help and often have ideas about what has worked in other markets.

INVENTORY An unsettled economy makes it imperative you stay on top of your inventory. Bottom line: If it’s not enhancing your business, you shouldn’t have it. Moreover, you don’t want the stuff that customers have shown they don’t like obscuring all the good, salable merchandise as we come into the key selling period of the year.

Sep. 10-16

MARKETING Brainstorm ways to encourage customers to take advantage of “shop early” promotions and a possible layaway program for Christmas.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS Order Christmas cards this month so you’ll be able to handwrite and load them in October before it gets insanely busy. Think about including $100, $250 or $500 off coupons for your best customers.

Sep. 17-23

MANAGEMENT The long, slow days of summer can put staff in a sluggish headspace, notes Wadeana Beveridge, owner of Community Jewelry in Brandon, FL. Reignite the fire with a carefully curated list of to-dos. “Keeping on top of projects, cleaning, advertising, repairs, custom, etc. is the key to smoothly functioning,” she says.

MERCHANDISING Take time to watch how customers move through your store. Foot traffic tends to develop an organic flow, and you can take advantage of your customers’ natural instincts to strategically place cases and collections. You can also use your biggest sellers to draw customers deeper into the store and past some of your less popular items.

Sep. 24-30

MARKETING Start planning what “doorbusters” you can offer for Black Friday. Can you identify a loss leader to get traffic into your store? Can you negotiate with a particular vendor to buy a particular SKU in bulk?

FINANCES As the third quarter comes to a close, review historical numbers for Q4 to determine what your goals are and how you are going to get there. Don’t only look at sales numbers and ticket sizes but also make sure to look at your new customer count, recommends consultant Megan Crabtree.

MERCHANDISING As merchandise is retrieved from cases, the glass gets smudged. Set up a routine so your sales staff does this when they’re not working with customers. And be sure to shine the pieces that have sat in your cases all year.