nursery matters JOHN BARKER John showing off his zoom skills online to a Pramland customer
Barking Mad
john@pramland.co.uk
Lots can change in a month. And boy oh boy has a lot changed since last I wrote my article! Pramland’s John Barker tells us more…
L
ockdown 2.0 finished, some of us lucky areas managed to avoid Tier 4 and therefore another closure. Christmas and New Year came and went then Boris locked us all down again for an unknown period of time. As you can imagine, I (like each of you) am furious that we are once again being forced to risk all we have worked for as a result. The lack of knowing when we can re-open makes every decision we make a risk. Our industry is and always has been dependent upon parents to be being able to visit a store to try out all the prams, strollers, car seats etc. before you make their final decision. Many of those customers choose to return to the store to make the purchase others decide to purchase online. The truth of the matter is that when we lockdown the vast number of parents to be don’t buy. I’m not say no one buys, just that the bulk of our customers would rather purchase in store and they will wait until stores re-open (whenever that will be). We can all offer video appointments etc. 28
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but the conversion rates on such appointments can be low if the customers are really wanting to try things out first-hand. If you aren’t currently offering online video content keep reading as I’ll be having a look at how easy it is in a few paragraphs! I’m encouraged to see the recent news that Nursery Stores have been granted “essential” status in Scotland in relation to click and collect. This is a huge win for all those north of the border and I just hope that this status is soon applied to our showrooms too. Just a quick nod to “Nursery stores are an essential business too” petition doing the rounds. This is a wonderful petition and deserves ALL our support, if you haven’t already PLEASE share on your Facebook pages etc. as the more we promote this the more signatures we’ll get. The end result could benefit all of us so please ensure you’ve been part of the effort. I’m writing this months article slap bang in the middle of January (much to Penny’s annoyance – sorry ED) and we are about to rack up two weeks of
video If you aren’t currently offering on ling ea look at content keep readin g as I’ll be havingraphs! how easy it is in a few pa ra lockdown. The very recent news of Precious Little Ones closing their doors has been a talking point with many retailers and again reinforces the need to ensure good margins are maintained at all times. It’s no good selling a thousand prams a week if you’re only making profit on 4 or 5 of them. It’s a sad loss of jobs for all those involved but once again I hope it serves as a stark reminder to all of us that remain. . . margin is your top priority! So far we have been very busy on our reduced hours during lockdown with lots of deliveries and calls from customers. And yet again Facebook is the shining light and a real god send for us stores forced to close. The ability to communicate and engage with our customers is vitally important and the
tools that Facebook offer are priceless right now. Remember, keep posting often. Your customers need to know you haven’t gone anywhere. If potential customers see a thriving business, actively promoting themselves and their range they will be driven to your store. If you’re confident enough head to Facebook Live, customers really love the idea of sitting at home watching people demonstrate items to them. I can assure each and everyone of you, Facebook Live brings business to your store! You will see orders being placed off the back of it. If you are confident enough to “go live” why not prerecord? We all have smart phones in our pockets to use for recording and they will even allow you to edit your videos. Even if you get tongue tied and