I just started reading the book, The Great Neighborhood Book. There are alot of great ideas in it to make a neighborhood be a friendly & awesome place to live, hangout, & raise a family.
According to the book, they believe in the Power of Ten. Meaning, that if there are at least ten things you can do in a particular spot, it will likely become a popular destination for people in the neighborhood (pg 36).
So this makes me think (even though today is my day off & I'm trying not to think!), what things can we do to make Reading Frenzy BookShop a great place to be in Zimmerman? Well, off the top of my head I can think of a couple, but I need everyone's help with this. What kinds of things do you see in a neighborhood bookstore that would make you keep coming back & tell all your friends about? Seriously, I want your input! Don't be shy! I love to hear people's ideas.
A couple of things I can think of are:
1) The adjoining door/easy access to Dunn Bros. The greatest coffee shop on earth (not to mention their extremely fantastic staff).
2) Our unique kid's area. (Can't publicly tell all the secrets of this one now), but kids are going to want to come here to hangout, find, & read their favorite books. Incidentally, one of my favorite things is to pick out kid's books! Zack, my son, just loves for me to read to him these great finds! (No wait, that isn't exactly true anymore... he's 21 yrs old! I do try to read to him. But he just rolls his eyes at me : ) )
3) Awesome Events - author signings, activities, book clubs, discussions. I have a background in Event Planning & this is going to be so much fun!!!
4) Should have had this first! The books! We will have popular books & unique books that you might not see elsewhere. This is the fun part of the job... finding books that our special customers are going to love to read. Independent Bookstores have great freedom in choosing books that may not be seen on the New York Bestseller List. Trust me, there are ALOT of books & authors out there that are awesome that just need some exposure.
5) We are going to have local/regional authors, books, artists, & other products that are locally grown, so to speak. From MN & around. Let's face it... Minnesotans are unique! The place we live in is unique. Reading Frenzy is going to feature many of these local talents. I'm excited about it! I've told several people & reps this week... RFB is looking for the unique, not necessarily the most popular.
6) Spectacular custumer service! Knowing product, customizing book orders, helping people find the perfect book, & listening to customers needs will help us stand out. Old fashioned hospitality will be at the forefront. (All those years of greeting & welcoming people into church will pay off here!)
7) Atmosphere. RFB will be a comfortable place to hangout, enjoy some outstanding candies, sip your white mocha latte with raspberry coffee from Dunnies (Mike's favorite), meet your friends, and find a great new book to take home.
8)Product line. In the book business they call them sidelines. Basically anything you sell outside of books. Oh, you will love the stuff we have picked out!
9) New, used, & sale books. You'll find new books to purchase, gently-used books, & used books that are a little more worn - different choices for different needs.
10)...... Let me know what else will make Reading Frenzy BookShop a special place to be in Zimmerman!
Did I miss live music along with the author signings? That must be included in activities...
ReplyDeleteI like the local unique spin. People like to be in on something first, or at least have stuff that is not the norm. Something they have not seen a thousand times already.
What about offering some space for local schools to have an art show, or a short story contest that the English teachers could give extra credit for? Maybe you could publish the stories somewhere on the website if you have space. Or put the top ten art pieces on display on your website. In addition to a staff picks page, how about a customer recommendation spot? That could even be like a bulletin board in the store, or on a post with fancy post-it notes...or on the website, somehow.
Storytime? Coloring contests throughout the year? Have the pages available for download on the website. What about a reading contest? Well, not really a contest, but something like the Pizza Hut thing where they get a free little pizza after they've read so many books. You could have some kind of prize they get after the parent signs off on how many books they've read...something that you don't have to keep track of. Oriental Trading sells fun toys in bulk so it wouldn't cost much.
I'll keep working my brain...