Holiday Prep for Small Business : Steve McKenzie's + Staples

Jill of Steve McKenzie's helps customers complete their holiday wish list with custom postcards & a desktop poster.I am back again to help you prepare for the upcoming holidays with Staples Print and Marketing Services! This time with my favorite partners in crime - Steve and Jill McKenzie, of Steve McKenzie's . This super chic gift boutique and interior design studio is located on the trendy Westside of Atlanta, Georgia. Steve is a seasoned professional with vast experience in business.The truth is that you should be preparing for the holiday season now if you own a retail store. Steve and I are here to walk you through three great promotions that you can easily achieve with the help of Staples.It's no surprise that I enlisted his expertise once again. You may remember him from last year. Of course he knocked it out of the park again. Steve and Jill are a natural choice because Staples Print and Marketing Services has been their go-to resource for years.This year we wanted to be extra creative; wait until you see what we have up our sleeves. With the help of Staples, we could be creative and make our holiday promotions super cool.Steve and I created three impressive store programs with Staples. If you're a small store owner, listen up. Steve and I have some very important information to share with you to make you look like a total pro during the holiday season.Holiday Program 1: Partner with Your Vendors and Create an In-store Event:Steve created a tabletop program that offers beautiful product at a savings. To enhance the promotion, Steve and Jill ordered banners with exclusive imagery they got from a vendor. Be smart: your vendors have beautiful images, and they want you to use them. Steve uploaded the image to a Staples Print and Marketing banner template, added some clever copy to it, and voila a stunning banner to drape in your window.A tabletop trimmings poster hangs in the window while a smaller version beckons guests to the display. Tabletop trimmings post cards are available for shoppers to easily see discounts.  To support the event even more, Steve ordered table top signs and postcards that customers can take with them. The flip side of the postcard has all the items listed that will be discounted in the promotion. I love the catchy tag line "Tabletop Trimmings".Holiday Program 2: Create a Holiday Event for Customers The idea of a workshop for the holidays is fantastic. Steve has had great success with conducting classes over the past year. He and Jill decided that a Holiday Gift Wrap Workshop would be a fun way to mingle with customers while teaching a skill. Serving nibbles and drinks while doing a craft like gift wrapping is a super way to get to know your customers. Here's how Steve and his team put the whole thing together:Steve designed a great postcard invite that he turned into a poster for his store. He framed a poster and placed it on an easel. A fantastic way for customers shopping to note the event and register to attend.The postcard/invites are also placed on a display table that Steve set up in the middle of the store to showcase the event. This display farm table will serve as the actual wrap desk during the event. But he placed it in the middle of the floor a few weeks before the event, all set up to rally interest and conversation before the workshop event.On the night of the Wrap Workshop, Steve and Jill will provide the paper and the ribbon and string and demonstrate wrapping techniques. It's a super way to bring everyone together during the most wonderful time of the year.Steve & Jill created a 24x36 poster with Staples Print and Marketing Services for their window display.A framed poster gives customers directions while a custom postcard added to each shopping bag promotes the party. Program 3: A Comprehensive Gift Certificate Program and a Wish List ProgramSometimes gift certificates can look ho hum. Steve came up with the brilliant idea of using an invite template from Staple Print and Marketing Services to create a very stylized gift certificate. Check out the beautiful gift certificate he created. Sometimes it's the little touches that make such a big difference.The wish list program is a great way for you as a retailer to help customers get what they want during the holidays. Steve and Jill came up with this beautiful sign to promote conversation with their regular customers. This wish list service is an extra touch that will separate you from the rest. Your customers will love this easy way to share what they love in your store. Here's how it works: customers fill out this card, on the card they write who you should contact, and you take care of the rest. It makes gift giving easy.Branded tape measures make cute takeaways for shoppers who complete a wish list. The wish lists are customized rack cards from Staples Print and Marketing. Gift cards created using Staples Print and Marketing invitations are branded with the store's logo & address. 3 Great Tips from Steve

1. Use your vendors for beautiful imagery.
2. Create holiday events that your customers want to attend.
3. Make sure your gift certificate program is as comprehensive as it can be. Be creative and use an invite template.

Products used in today's post: 

1. Custom Photo Postcards 2. Custom Photo Banner 3. Custom Party Invitations 4. Personalized Tape Measures 5. Custom Rack Cards 6. Avery Round Labels 7. Custom Posters

Photo credit: Annette Joseph