Continuing to Get the Word Out

I was never one of the kids in school who had the desire to raise my hand to answer questions.  I was always a quiet learner and participant.  You can imagine how hard it was for me when I had to deal with the fact that there was a class participation component to my grades when I was in graduate school.  I sometimes had to force myself to speak up in class!  I'm much more comfortable talking one on one or in small groups.

So contacting people who may not already have a relationship with Zoe can be challenging for me.  I feel like the little girl who is trying to will herself to raise her hand in class!  But since I function outside my comfort zone just about every day, what's one more thing to add to the mix??

One of the things I try to do is to always keep abreast of what is going on in Old Town.  Whether it be larger events, new businesses, or promotions, I like to know what is going on so I can share the information with my customers, consider the business impacts (positive and negative), and consider new ways that I can work with my fellow business owners.

A couple weeks ago, I was looking at the website for Virtue Feed & Grain, a restaurant that opened a couple of months after Zoe last year.  It is part of a family of restaurants located in Alexandria that are owned and managed by a well-known husband and wife team.  I noticed that they were having a Little Black Dress night on Wednesday nights!  Immediately I thought "Hey, I have a nice collection of Little Black Dresses coming in this Fall!  And since they are just down the street, I'd love to partner with them on this!"

They had a General Manager email address on the website and I sent an email introducing myself and sharing my idea for a) offering their customers showing me a receipt from LBD night a discount and b) coordinating some informal modeling this Fall when I have my full complement of black dresses in store.  They were very positive about the idea and immediately asked for my logo so that they could provide the offer as part of the information given to patrons when they hand them the check!  I was so delighted!

Sometimes, all you have to do is raise your hand...

Next up:  Market Trip