MIA NEWS an update from your industry trade association
The team at Nevada Music on its ‘70s Day’, when the store sold gear at 70s prices... That certainly got the punter in
customers and new sales for your shop. We all know the problems of the times we are in, so, as the best-selling book says: SUMO (Shut Up and Move On). Your average customer is
New customs for new customers E
Paul McManus of the MIA offers some useful pointers on how to make your business grow when the going gets tough…
nough of all the doom and gloom. This month, I am going to focus on new
sort. There are so many ways this can be achieved (many at little or no extra cost). These can often involve some
probably not going to be spending more on gear than in 2010 (anything but), so let’s talk about your shop getting some brand new customers. A recent MIA newsletter for our members discussed 27 ways to increase sales and I thought I would pick out just a few of the themes that this covered. The ideas below concern the
actual bricks and mortar shops – we can leave websites, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and so on for another article. This is all about getting people in your premises.
EVENTING The trepidation a new customer feels about coming into a music shop can often be easily overcome if there is something special happening on that day. For example, an event of some
78 miPRO MARCH 2011
sort of musical performance either inside or outside the shop. Something that can be pre- advertised is always useful, such as a themed day (like the Nevada Music 70s day – see picture), or the regular, free Musicroom workshops. Of course, nothing grabs the attention like a local music celebrity meet and greet. Basically, anything that says there is something special happening in the shop today, giving curious people an excuse to pop in.
“
Many people need a nudge to show them that they are, in fact, musical.
there are more people who want to play an instrument than actually do? Many people often need a nudge to show them that they are, in fact, musical. It is amazing how many people convince themselves otherwise, either through a general lack of confidence or a bad experience at
school or the like. Think Obama and find ways to tell the customer “Yes, you can.”
TASTER LESSONS A really effective way to draw a new customer into a shop is if there is some type of free ‘taster’ lesson to inspire them to want to start playing (or maybe start playing again). Remember the MIA research that shows that
EXPERTISE You are the local expert on all things musical and the public respect the expertise and knowledge that exists in the shop. Any event along the lines of ‘Everything you always wanted to know about learning the guitar, but were afraid to ask’ can be a great way to get those new people over the threshold and into your shop.
UNIQUE It is always powerful to have
something in your shop that you can shout about as being unique or different from all your competitors. There have been some great
articles recently about shops in the States which have become specialist outlets for left-handed players or the one that deliberately stocks end-of-range instruments that the other shops seem to ignore. Or the shop that boasts ‘the biggest selection of ukes in the country’… You get the idea.
Think about introducing
something lateral and creative. Nearly everyone working in a music shop is a musician, so we have entire workforces full of artistic and creative people. How can you get this over to the general public in a way that engages them and brings them to your shop? Think of The Guitar Store in Southampton with the shop fronts made to look like amplifiers, or Bonners putting an Elton John look-alike playing the piano in the window on a Saturday. Play Something managed to get its keyboards
The MIA is here to offer support to companies in the industry. Please let me know if there is anything the
MIA can do to help your business? Plus, a special offer for new
retailer members: £200 plus VAT for 13 months. (Contact
clare@mia.org.uk for more details on this). Paul McManus:
paulmc@mia.org.uk www.mia.org.uk
WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK
into the local garden centre and, again, Nevada Music’s 70s day with products at 1970’s prices and so on and so forth. We have a number of shops in the UK that have made ‘eventing’ a regular, pre-planned and calendarised feature of their shops’ offering. There are all sorts of ways and facts and figures that you can use to track the success of an event. So, what is there to lose? Surely it must be worth a punt. MIA 01372 750600
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