You are reading 3Bits & Change, Joseph's email about building a direct to consumer business on the internet. Today’s email was written to the sound of a cafe in full bustle.
Good day!
We had a delightful Thanksgiving week and hope you did too!
The shop has been open for ~3 weeks. Our postcard mailing, scheduled after the midterms and before Thanksgiving, worked. We sent a postcard to ~8000 addresses inside 2 miles of the shop. Nearly 200 people have walked in the shop in approximately a week and a half. Win.
Our aim was to get people to walk in and just check out the store, the classroom and some knives. We’ve had a line 3 and 4 deep around lunch time on multiple days. GO! We’ve sharpened hundreds of knives for approx 100 families. And, we’ve heard a few things over and over. Here are some of those things.
Bit #1 • “What number am I?”
Timely direct mail with a clear CTA works. The first CTA was to have your knives professionally sharpened before the holidays. People brought knives! The second was to trade the postcard for a little orange knife. People brought the card in!
We only had 100 knives for the promo. So multiple folks arrived asking what number they were. They had been planning ahead to get to the shop “early.” Perfect.
Many brought knives to sharpen. Some would bring all of their knives. Others would bring just one (as a test). And still others would come in and chat us up before bringing in a few knives (that they had left in the car). :) We passed many tests.
It takes all types to support a local business. I know that in a very different way today than I did 4 weeks ago. We’re thankful for all of you that stopped in, sharpened with us and have or will share our story with friends and family. Only three of the 100 knives remained when we opened today. Gwen was the 100th. And Paul was quite disappointed to be the 101st.
Bit #2 • Is this a franchise?
We’ll take the compliment!
We set out to build a kitchen and knife brand that was on par with the refined grocery partners we’re aiming to partner with. More on that soon (know someone we should talk too, please let us know). It’s great to know we’re getting closer to our goal when customers describe us with like kind descriptions.
I’ve heard customers ask “Is this a franchise?” as many as three times in a single day more than once. It’s being asked more often as the space is becoming more finished. The countertops are missing but sweet bronze handles don the cabinets now and more products fill the shelves every day. Oh, and we’re going to have a new water heater to boot! :)
And, for fun, we’ve added a franchise page to the webpage footer and started the process. I’ve been told they are tricky to do. I’ve been told they are especially tricky in MN. But, hey, why not, right? It’s doable.
Bit #3 • Welcome to the neighborhood
This was an exercise in priming the audience. Language used in marketing can and does get mirrored by customers. In this case it’s the small phrase “limited to the first 100 curious neighbors” printed on the front of the card. Here is what we’re hearing back as people walk in the door.
“We’re so glad you’re in the neighborhood”
“Welcome to the neighborhood.”
“I got this card and I’m here because I’m curious.”
That last one is money. I smile each time. It’s a fantastic way to start a conversation. Customers, whom are not yet 10 seconds in the door, tee up the mini pitch about what we do here. I reply:
“Great. We know what to do with those cards. I’ll swap you for a knife. Here you go.
I then give an intro like this.
“We have commercial sharpening in the back. Japanese knives on the far wall and we use those knives as demos in skills classes down the middle. Think, you and 7 of your friends spending 90 mins learning stuff you wish you’d learned from your parents about knife skills. I’ll get you a carrot. Go pick an interesting knife to start out with.”
What better way of being neighborly than to invite neighbors into the kitchen?
Sum
Things are going well. It’s all slower than I’d like. However, it’s building. We have momentum - and that’s a gift. The initial offer of an orange knife is done. We’ll have to think of something else. We’re a franchise. And, we’re so glad to be in a neighborhood.
It’s too early to conclude but the thesis about a physical store driving online order growth appears to be true in our case too. Standby on data but it’s looking promising.
On Your Way
We have meaningful snow in MN now. All the dull tires are in need of replacement. All the bald knives can be sharpened. 👍
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Man this is stellar. Great to see feet in the store!
👏👏👏 just wonderful. Fly wheel spinning.