The Social Aspects of the Antique Business

During a sluggish economic period, the antique business languished. Antique dealers rearranged merchandise, changed out inventory, but nothing seemed to increase foot traffic and sales. In a tough economy, anything regarded as a luxury item falls to the bottom of the list. More than ever antique dealers need to focus on the customer…not their inventory. The social aspect of antiquing can help tremendously in transitioning from a push strategy to a pull strategy.

Some of the social niceties can be as easy as offering complementary refreshments like fresh coffee and cookies. A small premium at check-out is always appreciated, like discount coupons to food establishments in the surrounding area or a map to other interesting shops. The Spring Antique Mall gives away small American Flag lapel pins. The concept is to make the shop a place people want to visit when they have time on their hands, or want to escape to a stress-free environment, or a place to go shopping with friends.

Men will become regular shoppers if you can help them with suggestions for gift-giving occasions, or provide them with a personal shopper. If you include a complementary gift-wrap, you have a shopper for life.

Technology has enabled the antique business to reach out to collectors with websites and email messages, but unless antique collectors know about your shop, they may never find it on the internet. Emailing customers of sales and special events is an excellent way to give clients ‘preferred customer status,’ but many are reluctant to provide email addresses for fear of being ‘spammed.’ One of the best social concepts for building rapport with customers is the use of social media. This enables customers to sign up to receive your social media messages. Although there are several social media sites, this writer prefers Facebook for a number of reasons. A Facebook site can be established for your antique shop which is like a mini website…and it’s free! You can post pictures of merchandise, send out invitations to events, and even post videos. What I especially like about it is that it’s interactive. Many websites are not set up for two-way communication with customers. Facebook enables you to easily communicate with customers, and this relationship-building is the very crux of your business. Is it time-consuming? Not very much. Checking on the site a couple of times a day is enough to keep up with it. Taking photos, doing the photo-editing, and posting them can take a little extra work, but let me tell you what work is. Trying to load a piece of antique furniture in the back seat of a 2-door mustang by yourself, and then unloading it…that’s work. Maintaining a Facebook site for your antique shop… not so much.

To view the Spring Antique Mall’s Facebook site, type the name Spring Antique Mall, then sign up to ‘become a fan.’ You can ask questions about antiques or collectibles, and you’ll get updates real time. You can also visit the Spring Antique Mall’s website at www.springantiquemall.com The Spring Antique Mall is located on the southwest corner of I-45 North and FM 2920 (Exit 70A) in the U-Haul rental & storage center. Hours are 10-5 Mon-Fri, 10-6 Sat, & 1-6 Sun. For more information call 281-355-1110.