With the nation anticipating Boris Johnson’s economic road to recovery strategy later this week, we spoke to Jo Stott to discuss how the new normal might look once shops are able to open their doors.
After running Y.A.P Bridal for 10 years, Jo Stott, founded Jo Stott Consultancy, a coaching service for bridal boutiques, advising on all aspect of running a successful bridal business.
In this two-part series, Jo will outline in-store changes and new digital offerings your boutique may want to implement when you re-open.
Brides haven’t stopped searching for their dress or thinking about their weddings.
There are currently three type of brides:
Each type of bride needs to be recognised and connected with now in the appropriate manner to ensure they convert when trading starts again. One of the key messages you need to convey is that you understand their fears/concerns and are putting in place the correct measures to guarantee they are safe when they come to collecting/buying their gown.
While we cannot predict the future, or the ’right’ way to do things, we can be sure that we won’t return to business as usual.
The first part of this two-part series covers the changes you can make in store to help keep yourself, your staff, and your customers safe when we return.
Making sure your store meets strict hygiene requirements is going to be vital to ensure your business can operate.
You will need to reduce the number of people in your store, the most effective way to do this is to set a limit on the number of guests.
We treat brides as VIPs and offer outstanding personal service. We need to change our mindsets as the some traditional services we are used to providing will no longer be viable.
You will need to ensure you are complying with social distancing rules, so staggering and extending appointments will be essential.
Take this time to review the layout of your store to allow maximum number appointments, whilst still following government guidelines.
Many stores already send reminder emails/texts. It’s going to be more important than ever to communicate with your brides via text so they understand what measures you are putting in place to keep everyone safe and to reduce the number of no-shows
These are a few examples of how we can adjust our stores, while still delivering exceptional customer service. Next week’s article will focus on how we can explore new ways to captivate our brides through virtual based experiences. I will discuss the two-pronged approach I have introduced to the stores I work with. Both virtual offerings start with a virtual bridal appointment and can lead to either an in-store appointment or a revolutionary new ‘brides at home’ service.