It's Show Time at Daisy's!

When we last visited Daisy, about a year ago, she was The Lady Who Knew Who She Was. Every Day's a Party at Daisy's was a beautiful party and paper store. Daisy sold gifts, party goods, and stationery and invitations. The store looked like a party. The ceiling was painted in hot pink and yellow and orange stripes so that the store looked like the inside of a tent. The fixtures and displays were all done in the same theme. Daisy even dressed the staff in orange or hot pink or yellow T-shirts. She was just as particular about her merchandise and the way she ran her business. Every Day's a Party at Daisy's was wonderful … and profitable.

A year later, her store is still a delight. Daisy has expanded her gift section and managed to keep the shop bright and fresh and interesting. Her Web site is doing well, too.

But when Daisy took us to lunch at a sandwich shop in the courtyard next door, we learned that she wasn't blooming after all. A new store, similar to hers, had dashed into town and set up shop right across the street.

"The owner of PittyPat's Party & Gifts is loaded with money," Daisy said. "The store is scrumptious. And they have a full-time window designer. They have had three animated window displays in just four months. I can't compete with that. Yesterday, I saw one of my best customers glued to PittyPat's window!"

We strolled over to take a look. Daisy was right. The window fascinated us. It was just before the Fourth of July, and the window featured an animated Uncle Sam holding a red-and-white-striped umbrella. There were red, white, and blue sparkles "raining down."

Daisy was in trouble.

It is fun for us to have a nasty retailing problem to solve, and Daisy is one of our favorite retailers. So, over another sandwich in the courtyard, we presented Daisy with a plan. This is what we told her: When your competitor does something wonderful, you have to do something more wonderful. PittyPat's windows are glamorous, professional, and exciting. But they are expensive and may not relate directly to product in the store. Take the idea of action and improve on it. Find a way to bring live action to your windows without spending money on expensive animated displays. Utilize free vendor promotions, employees, your children, and money-hungry actors.

Then we gave Daisy some specific tips:

Design your main window so that it looks like a stage. Put a big banner sign across the top that says, "It's Show Time at Daisy's!"

Frame the window using old-fashioned theater lights across the bottom and red velvet theater curtains with gold fringe on the sides.

Check your window lighting to make sure that you have a well lit stage.

Keep your awnings down to provide shade for the actors and audience.

Plan for and promote one week of action each month. You can't manage constant action.

Be sure that each of your shows is designed to sell a specific category of merchandise.

Make the sales message for each show obvious. Use window signs to emphasize the message.

Back up the activity in the window with good in-store displays.

Make sure that all of the employees know what is going on in the window and what merchandise goes with it.

After closing time, put an easel in the window with a big card that says: "Gone fishin'. Join us for the action at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning!"

Back up your efforts with as much publicity as you can manage.

Here are a dozen dramatic ideas for window performances to be used over the course of a year:

1. Fill a window with gift baskets, cellophane, ribbon, and products. Put a table and chair in the center and have an employee who is good at gift baskets create fabulous baskets right in the window. Be sure that she puts a price sign on each completed basket.
2. Promote that new party book by filling a window with party supplies and having the author sign her books at a table in the window. Display a big sign bearing the author's name and the details of the signing.
3. During wedding shower season, have a mime demonstrate cooking gadgets in the window.
4. Fill the window with baskets, ribbons, paper grass, tissue, and crepe paper. Have an employee create Easter and party favor baskets to order … right in the window.
5. Set up an embroidery machine in the window, and surround it with products. Have a representative from an embroidery vendor in the window personalizing chef's aprons and hats and T-shirts. Be sure that one of the signs suggests the possibility of doing hats or shirts for a wedding party.
6. Move your giftwrap department into the window for a week. Fill the window with lots of product, ribbons, wrap, tags, and finished packages waiting for customers. Use a sign to list the prices of your wrapping services.
7. Have one of your employees set up a personalizing station in the window with mugs, Lucite boxes, watering cans, etc. She can use paint pens to personalize them right in the window.
8. Have a mime in the window fill frames with your customers' pictures and make memory collages.
9. Set up a round table in the window and have a party specialist use your merchandise to decorate fabulous party tables.
10. Move your computer personalization system into the window for a week and demonstrate custom stationery and party invitation printing.
11. Have someone from your local nursery use their greens and your ribbon and product to create Christmas wreaths. Post a sign that says that you take orders for custom wreaths and decor.
12. Put a Christmas tree in the window and have an employee decorate it in a different theme each day.

We are happy to report that Daisy is blooming again. Her windows are jumping, her customers are delighted, and business is divine. Daisy knew she had succeeded when "Show Biz at Daisy's" was the headline in the Entertainment Today section of the local newspaper.

Next time, we will tell you how Daisy made the news.