Surviving The Lockdown As A Quilt Shop
Summary
As quilt shop owners we are under stress during the lockdown. How do we protect our customers and continue our businesses? We answer your questions here.
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Surviving The Lockdown As A Quilt Shop
Balancing being profitable and safe during the lockdown (from covid19) is a challenge. How do we protect our customers and continue our businesses? By adapting and providing different services. These are some things to consider:
Business Under Reduced Contact
To keep the 6 to 10 foot distance rules and the no groups over 10 (all subject your local rules) consider the following:
- Share Quilting During The Lockdown With A Smile with your customers to help you help them
- Have more classes with fewer people spaced apart with hand sanitizer at each station
- Let customers come in alone for 15 minute intervals. Pre-scheduled during or after hours.
- Consider phone orders with delivery to the curb, parking lot, their home, or mail them
- Consider video classes and sew-alongs using zoom.us or other video platform
- Coordinate between your local hospitals and your customers to make masks for hospitals. Read the article containing pattern and instruction video. Also a hint may be to put a furnace filter fabric layer between the cotton layers.
- Consider a virtual shop hop where customers make something where items come from multiple shops (see below)
- Increase contact through social media and newsletters
- Sell gift certificates
- Follow CDC guidelines to keep everyone safe
Keep Local Customers Engaged
Facebook is the tool most shops use to keep local customers informed and engaged to produce business. Newsletters can also work, but not as well. Make posts on Facebook often.
Common Facebook Posts
- Photos of new stuff
- Photos of sale stuff
- Classes (entered as events)
- Photos of completed projects
Facebook Posting During This Period
- Make posts of what you are doing to protect your customers (photos help)
- Give them suggestions to be safe (or share Quilting During The Lockdown)
- Post as often as you can from 3 times a day to 3 times a week to engage them
- Include all the common posts from above
Virtual Shop Hop
If you are considering working with multiple shops to have a virtual shop hop, please contact Susan Hyder of Hyderhangout in Cleveland TN at (423) 715-2908 or Susan@hyderhangout.com for the pilot program or a spinoff.
My Thoughts
I can not stress this enough. If you stay safe, protect yourself, employees, customers, and share the measures you are taking to protect them; this will increase your business. If you do the Facebook posts listed above and make it clear the great lengths you have done to keep them safe, you will be fine.
Use QuiltingHub
QuiltingHub has been helping shops since 2010. In 2019, we combined with four competitors to become an even more powerful marketing resource. We have over 10 years of marketing experience. Over 85 articles have been written by shop owners trying to help shops succeed.
If you have questions or marketing ideas during these times, please call or contact us. Our focus is on you and we would love to help.
Check This Out!
Check out the most popular tool on QuiltingHub. Use the search 'Map Of Resources' or the 'Resources Trip Planner' to the right (or below).
Glossary
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Accessories that are available for sewing machines and are especially made for quilting.
- Posts
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Smaller blocks, often colored fabric, which are used to join the pieces of sashing together.