Marketing Suggestions for new boutique

LJinSweetwater

I am in the research/planning stage of opening a small boutique that fills a niche that is currently void in a small town.  I have the big picture for my marketing plan, and have estimates for printing what I need, but, need some suggestions/resources for fine tuning!  First, is a description of my boutique, then the area/competition - or lack thereof , target customers, and what I hope to do. Thank you for any and all suggestions!! They are greatly appreciated!"Kaleidoscope is a contemporary boutique featuring the latest fashion trends with a touch of class in an eclectic mix of accessories, gifts, and home decor for the fashion-savvy lady who demands quality, affordability, individuality, and leading edge designs for her fashion expressions".  (This is not my tagline - too long for that! Right now I have: Kaleidoscope, the art of fashion in accessories, gifts, and home decor. suggestions are very welcome). The town has only 1 upscale ladies boutique - and her inventory is much more preppy than mine will be, 1 discount dept. store, and 1 moderate dept. store.   Locals must drive from 45 min to 1.5 hours to the nearest metro location to do their specialty boutique shopping.  By the same token, residents of the nearest metro locations drive to our town to shop in the historic downtown shopping district.  None of those shops carry the same items I will, and, my items will not be found in chain/dept. stores.  I will be located inside an established gallery in the downtown district.  My customer base will largely consist of women, ages 30-55, both professional and stay at home wives, residing in 6 counties. (5 small rural counties with very minimal shopping options, and 1 metro.  There are many upscale neighborhoods, golf communities, etc. in the rural counties). I will be hosting a trunk show, hopefully with a few designers present, for my grand opening event.  There will be write-ups in the appropriate sections of newspapers in those 6 counties, and I will also be featured on programs with local news channels that highlight unique new businesses.  (These will both be done free of charge). I would like to send "invitations" to my trunk show event.  However, to blanket mail to 6 counties would be more costly than it would be worth.  Does anyone have resources for very good, affordable, target mailing lists? OR have any other suggestions?

LJinSweetwater

Thank you.  I have not used direct mail before.  My experience was always that word of mouth and changing window displays every day was my best advertisment, of course, that does not apply for a new business.  I needed to know how to find my targeted mailing lists.  Local mailing house, huh?  I guess I wasn`t expecting it to be that simple!   After thinking about it some more, I am wondering if I should just have my pre-opening print advertising be styled like an invitation, as opposed to a targeted mail-out of classy printed invitations?   Can anyone speak from their own experience? I need to get the most "bang for my buck" with this venture. I am still gathering estimates, so I have not finalized the budget.  Also, if anyone can suggest an online resource for logo design and printed materials I would appreciate it.  I want something WOW, and I know that the old adage "you get what you pay for" is true, but, I don`t want to break the bank either.  The best quote for logo design alone, so far is $65 per hour...does that sound reasonable?  I want my logo to be in process color, I think that will be essential with the name being Kaleidoscope...

LisaL

Because you seem to have limited experience with design and printing, I would suggest finding a graphic designer who will really walk you through the design process. Why? Because they`ll be able to work within your budget. For instance, a logo that incorporates many different colors will be much more costly to print using many common printing methods. I`m running out the door now, but I`d be happy to answer any questions you have about the design/printing end of things. Just send me a PM. Lisa

LJinSweetwater

Thanks everyone.  I appreciate any and all suggestions.  My areas of expertise are in buying, managing and sales as opposed to the advertising and marketing.  I can come up with the basic idea of what I want, but need all kinds of help developing it!! I agree about the description of the boutique - too ho-hum for what I plan.  That`s not intended to be advertising copy, just the description I came up with when making my list of what I want the boutique to be.  I am hoping I can turn that over to the advetising/marketing professional(s) and they will give it the "wow" factor...would love to hear more suggestions from the community, though. I do realize process color is the expensive way to go for logo design.  But again, I want "wow" factor.  I know that I have the ability, and will have the merchandise, to retain the customer once thcy come in the boutique, but first I have to make them eager to come see what I have.  I have quotes from a local award-winning printer with an in-house graphic designer, but, really don`t know if the prices are competitive.  I have some more homework to do, I will need to get some more quotes to know what is and isn`t competitive.  And I appreciate any and all advice I can get!!  SOOO much work going into research when all I really want to do is get started!    But, I know it will be worth it in the long run, I want to "do it right", and since I must present my business plan to investors in order to make this dream a reality, I want everything in the budget to be the best option for the business.