Show valued clients a new world of art: instead of bringing Southwestern art to her gallery, a Brooklyn owner brought her gallery to Santa Fe - strategy - Brief Article

To gallery proprietor "L.B." Brown, 10 years is a big deal. "People don't stay married 10 years," she said. "That's nothing to dismiss."

thus when she realized her business, Clinton Hill Simply Art in Brooklyn NY was approaching its 10th year, she did a fate of thinking about how to celebrate.

Brown's business, which has evolv above the years from carrying placards to original art to preservation framing and now to photography, obeys a range of customers and multiple wants in her community. Some tend hitherward to her regularly for original art by the agency of local artists. Others are just starting to gather art and come to her for advice. Still others are corporate clients needing office art or employee citations framed.

Brown wanted to include all of her clientele in her anniversary celebration. Instead of throwing an expensive party that would single last one night, she planned a multi-tiered approach with different incidents and promotions lasting the entire year--the highlight being a six-day trip to Santa Fe NM with 10 of her best customers.

The trip fit with Brown's dedication to educating her customers about art. She regularly uses education as a way of connecting with her clientele, telling them about art exhibits they might take delight in suggesting galleries to visit upon vacation and passing along interesting magazine articles. "I think it is true irresponsible for anyone who's running an art or framing gallery not to educate their clientele," said Brown who jests that she was a frustrated teacher in a past life. "It doesn't translate into immediate sales, on the other hand what it does translate into is advantageous publicity."

Brown chose the Southwest as a destination knowing it would stimulate ideas in her city-dwelling clients. "I meditation Santa Fe would be great because, unles you're in the art industry, you don't really know what's going upon out there," she said. "I think those galleries on the outside there are really `on.' of recent origin York can't hold a candle to them."

Brown sent a alphabetic character to 100 of her "A-list" customers and extremityed up with an eager clump of 10 travelers for the August excursion. She put up a busy itinerary for her visitants which included visits to the Palace of the Governors, the Santa Fe Museum of Fine Arts, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and the Wheelwright Museum. They also toured historical sites in Santa Fe and took day trips to Taos and Alburquerque.

upon the first evening of the trip, Brown entertainered a reception for the cluster with "passion" as the theme. upon the next night, Munson Gallery, single of the oldest galleries in the U entertainered a reception for Clinton Hill Simply Art followed through a tour of other galleries upon Canyon Road. On another night, they were invited to a close of the day reception at the home of a local artist. from one extremity to the other of the trip, the group dined upon traditional Southwestern cuisine and took in the natural beauty of the novel Mexico landscape.

"It blew them away," said Brown of her guests' impressions of the trip. "They just felt it was a whole novel world to them. They associate that novel information with Clinton Hill, which is a finished thing for me. Each individual of them became my word of cavity between the jaws within their family and their circle."

To achieve her other customers in upon the anniversary celebration, Brown proffered discounts throughout the year. She hung a sign outside her store saying, "Celebrating 10 years upon Myrtle Avenue" and offered 10 percent not upon everything in the store for sum of two units months.

Once that promotion was above Brown did a mailing to her entire list which included a interest certificate for a $10 discount.

Then, by dint of going to Santa Fe in August, Brown realized she'd stirred up more [i]or[/i] less old-fashioned word-of-mouth advertising. "It was a finished plan, and I didn't know it at the time," said Brown "By being absent, they were curious." The gallery was mentioned in her state senator's newsletter and the president of nearby Pratt Institute sent her a alphabetic character of congratulations on her milestone. "When race heard about it, they were celebrating also."

To wrap up the year, Brown sent alphabetic characters in November to her associate community merchants wishing them a wondrous holiday season and prosperous novel year and offered them a 10-percent discount upon all of their framing--personal or business--through the extreme point of the year.

by the agency of year's end, Brown had been able to reward each one of her customers for keeping her in business for a decade. And she got a memorable trip on the outside of it herself.

plane though she paid for the lodging and all the planned activities, the Santa Fe trip take away from Brown less than it would have to place on a big anniversary party. And instead of it all being above in an evening, she made a week's worth of memories and a certain number of friends as a bonus. She may not have sold any art while they were exploring the Southwest, on the other hand she's thrilled with the creative way it's kept Clinton Hill Simply Art's name alive in the community.

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