Time for More Signs

You'll remember our friends, Nina and Nancy, and their store, Unexpected Pleasures, from the January issue of Gifts & Decorative Accessories. Nina and Nancy found that customers were confused by many of the signs in their store. In fact, they agreed that some of the signs were pretty awful. Last time, we described the fun new signs Nina and Nancy put up. But there's more to their story. Customers reacted so favorably to the new signage at Unexpected Pleasures that it soon became a "signature" of the store. Eventually, employees and customers made suggestions for more fabulous signs.

Nina and Nancy discovered, as most retailers do, that their store offered many services that customers were completely unaware of. Signs — wonderful signs — became the answer to that problem. Nina took the dreadful sign announcing their "open hours" off the door, and removed the charge card logos too. Then she had the local glass supplier etch the store hours and the charge card information into the door glass. It was highly visible and allowed people to see through the glass door more easily. And it was very chic. We know, because we once saw the same thing on another door, and almost broke our ankles getting out of a cab for a better look!

One of Unexpected Pleasures unexpected services is personalized hot stamping for all leather gifts. To get the word out, Nancy had a hunter green, leather, easel-backed sign hot-stamped in gold, with all the information about their hot-stamping services. While she was at it, she had five red leather luggage tags hot-stamped too. Each one says, "We make fabulous luggage tags!" You can imagine what happened to their luggage tag sales after that.

From there, everything seemed to be signable. Nina took one of their sky blue lap blankets to the embroidery shop, and had it embroidered: "The corner of this blanket can be embroidered with a name, a monogram, or a message for you or somebody special!" She had another one done with a monogram, and a third (this one red) done with the message, "Happy Birthday to Sooze, with love from Leslie!"

Norma makes fabric-covered message boards finished with webs of ribbon. She made one for display in the store colors of Unexpected Pleasures. Sales improved when she tucked a large note under one of the ribbons. It read: "We can make this message board just for you from your own fabric!" Norma also tucked several assorted fabric swatches under another ribbon as examples.

"Wish Lists" have brought in many sales for Unexpected Pleasures. Those sales improved when Nina used a leather notebook with gold-edged pages for customers to register their lists. She hot-stamped the white leather book in big red letters: WISH LISTS. Next to the book, she put another sign, "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride? Don't wait for a wedding. Sign up for a Wish List and have everything you want!"

Although Unexpected Pleasures is a gift store, it also sells yummy chocolates. You can probably guess the rest. Nina and Nancy put together a collection of vases, small boxes, and other containers, and displayed them with the chocolates. Each container had a small, hand-written sign peeking out from it, saying, "Fill me with chocolates. I make a great gift!"

Even more sales were chalked up when Nina and Nancy tucked this whimsical-looking sign in their window: "Need a Green Striped Tiger? Ask us about our Personal Shopping Service!"

When summer arrived, one of Nina's customers gave her an idea by purchasing gifts for her kids at camp. After that, Nina made a sign: "The kids are away, Now you can play! We send fantastic Care Packages to you and your kids!"

During the summer doldrums, Nancy did a whole window of paintable gift items. The sign said, "You Name It … We'll Paint It While You Wait!" Another sign said, "An Absolutely Positively Amazing Prize will be given to the customer who finds the most original item in our store for us to personalize!"

After Nina had seen a program on PBS about how Tupperware built its sales, she decided to try something new. The sign for her new idea said, "Can't come to us? We will come to you. Host an Unexpected Pleasures-ware Party and we will bring the store to you and your friends. P.S. We love margaritas!"

Unexpected Pleasures also does great giftwrap for a reasonable charge. When Nancy found that some customers wanted more, and were willing to pay for it, she wrapped a large box in white paper with multi-colored silk ribbons, silver bells, and tassels. She used a gold frame for the sign that said, "It's a Wrap! If you need something spectacular on the outside of the box , make an appointment, tell us your budget, and we'll help you make an impression they'll never forget!"

But sometimes even great stores like Unexpected Pleasures make mistakes. Nina and Nancy put a sign next to the cash register that said, "If we goof, help us to make a wrong turn right. Tell us about it, and we'll try to put a smile on disgruntled faces."

People often ask us for the answer to the "too-many-competitors-all-the-stores-are-the-same" question. Well Unexpected Pleasures has no competitors that even come close to it. This store is definitely not the "same-old, same-old."