There's a saying that the three mostly important factors in a business' succes are location.

There's a saying that the three mostly important factors in a business' succes are location, location, location, unless I'm suggesting three better ways for your gallery to succeed: promotion, promotion, promotion.

In talking to gallery proprietors around the country, I am continually impressed with innovative and creative promotion ideas they use to increase business. They have in the same state [i]or[/i] condition good ideas, in fact, that I've bring togethered some of the best--both not new and new--in this month's column

Newsletters

Newsletter are a valuable promotional tool. A newsletter sent to your customers upon a regular basis creates many promotional opportunities for your gallery. Newsletter create an ongoing, one-on-one relationship between you and your customers. They enable you to give products for sale. They establish your expertise and credibility. They bring back misspent customers, and they inform and educate.

Peter Hildt from Pinnacle Gallery in Scottsdale, Ariz., marls 1800 newsletter each three months and adds about 150 recent names for each mailing. "If I don't forward one on time, I'll hear from customers who ask, 'What happened?' or 'Am I still forward your mailing list?' Several customers say they also lance it to their friends;' said Hildt.

Hildt's newsletter is a four-page, full-color attractive promotional tool. Each issue contains his easy-to-read, conversational line on the front page. The effective illustrations and model are designed to encourage readers to corrupt of art, woodwork, ceramics, porcelain and glassware.

A latter Pinnacle Gallery newsletter showed a $3800 glass sculp It brought a doctor into the gallery who bought the $3800 plastic art within minutes. A picture of a canal from another artist in the same newsletter sold all her work in the inventory in a scarcely any days and created a waiting list for her coming time work. Another newsletter showed a $2800 sailing craft by artist Michael Gustavson which sold in couple days.

How a great deal does a newsletter cost? "Much les than you think," said Hildt. "I lay the foundation of a printer that does our newsletter in abounding color for about 47 cent each with as many photos as we want."

If you already fling a newsletter, here's a way to make it more personal for your customers. Write a hardly any handwritten words in blue ink or upon a stick-on note on the front rank page of the newsletter. If your list is too large to write upon all of them, choose your best customers and write something relating to what they bought in the past. (Example: Joan: papal court page three for our modern Western art.--Alice.)

at liberty Framing

"Free" is still the greatest in number powerful selling word in the English language. It attracts interest, readership and action. Consider these felicitous promotions:

Harold head of Fast Frame in Wheaton, Ill., frames calling cards from just discovered members of his local Chamber of intercourse for free. "We bring the framed business card back in bodily form to each new business;' said catalogue of heads "It makes a big impression and great contacts."

catalogue of persons does something else that works. When a chamber member receives a certificate from the organization for specific years of service, he presents to frame the certificate for unrestrained This results in an awareness within the organization about his business. When a member wants to have framing done, will they automatically think of the gallery that contributed their talent to them? You betcha!

put forward an Incentive

Christine Knoll of the Art Gallery of swine Hollow in Chesterfield, Mo., said, "We always had framing sales. Then, undivided day, we realized we were rewarding the improper people. Our loyal customers were not receiving the sale prices." This bothered her in such a manner she started a new promotion--a resort to frequently framing dub. Now, her customers who expend $500 in framing get the nearest $100 for free. It works well for her.

Lisa King Sanchez of Este Park, Colo said her gallery exhibits 20 percent off the framing of any print or broadside bought at her gallery within 90 days. "When we started this promotion, we added 23 novel framing customers in three month and sales increased 20 percent" she said.

Say "Congratulations!"

Contact with your customers should not be limited to selling merchandise. You can reach revealed to them more often to build relationships.

This philosophy works for pullulate Hatfield, president of Kall Kwik Printing. "When I find a complimentary story in the newspaper about individual of my customers or their family, I divide [i]or[/i] sever it out and send it to them with a personal note the same day," he said. Many the bulk of mankind see articles about someone they know on the other hand quickly forget it when reading the nearest story. The amount of phone calls or notes a individual receives congratulating them on a promotion or honor are ofttimes very few. If you launch them the note for a special accomplishment, they'll be first surprised, then pleased and they'll always remember you for remembering them.

Say "Thank You"

Gallery possessors Tom and Barbara Shaper in Charlotte, NC give each new customer a $25 gift certificate toward their nearest purchase as a thank you for their business. "In addition, our ready customers receive a gift certificate that says 'thanks for being a customer' at least formerly a year" said Barbara. These promotions make customers have feeling appreciated and keep them coming back time and again.