Budgeting for Your Pop-Up Shop: 3 Major Biz Hacks to Consider
To all the businesses that have never had a brick-and-mortar space or physically sold their products, this ones for you! Congratulations, you have decided venturing a pop-up shop taking your brand to new levels. This is the perfect route to go for testing your product in the market place, building brand awareness and giving your customers an experience they will not forget.
You have mapped out the area, knowing the perfect neighborhood that will attract your target demographic, and even have a design in mind of how you want your store to look. But what about budgeting? This is one of the most important factors in deciding to have a pop-up shop.The opportunity is huge for a burst of exposure from foot traffic but time is always against us and if we are going to maximize our investment there are some key biz hacks to jump into.
#1 Money Talks
Figuring out the maximum amount of money you are willing to spend will direct your selection for a Pop. There are 4 different styles of Pop-ups to consider:
Classic Pop which tends to be the largest investment as you rent an entire space for your disposal. Average Avg. Rental Time: 6 - 8 weeks Cost: $$$-$$$$
Share Pop - Get the same great exposure of a Classic Pop without the price tag. Rent a space with a complimentary existing business. This is an excellent way to attract an existing customer base to your new products & services. Clare Tattersall, of Prim and Wilde (@primandwilde) is using salons to host trunk shows. Rental Time: 4 Hours - 30 Days Cost: $-$$
Flash Pop - Have a flashy product? Consider renting an entire event space. An excellent opportunity to not only display your products over a weekend but its a smart way to pop if you allow complimentary businesses rent tables in your space, giving you a big bang for your buck. Avg. Rental Time: 4 Hours-7 Days Cost: $$-$$$
Spot Pop - Limited on cash but want massive exposure? Consider renting a space from a Flash Pop. It's a great way to get your new clothing design, tech invention, or unique yoga service some purchases or sign-ups on a smaller budget. Avg. Rental Time: 4 Hours-7 Days Cost: $-$$
The price will determine whether you can afford a stand alone space for your pop-up shop, a kiosk or you may want to partner with another business and share a space with them.
#2 Staging
Assuming you selected an ideal neighborhood to promote in, we are facing tons of competition. What will draw your customers in? Appearances are key for a Pop-up's success as they are known for their eye-catching, unique designs. Depending on the budget, you can hire an interior designer and voice your vision or route to D-I-Y. At early stages, it will make sense to get a little crafty, invite some friends and team members create the ambiance needed in telling your story.
Start with some research to find where you can get discounted furniture or gently used furniture (ideally to rent, but craigslist has some cash steals). Collaborating with other artists is also an excellent suggestion that adds amazing color to your space and doubles to help artists looking to advertise their work. Use social outlets such as Poppir's Artist Connect, a Facebook group. As long as there is an directive focal point that articulates what you are displaying, working with complimentary business is an excellent source.
#3 Promote! Promote! Promote!
Great! You have figured out what format you want your pop-up shop to be in. Time to promote! It is VITAL to create buzz before the shop even opens. There are some amazing options for online promotion that will drive traffic to your company website and event page. Established companies will already have a definitive budget for marketing; for the newbies (which is most of us), we are still treading water on the best options and price model.
Beginner Hack: Use Buffer to create scheduled tweets/posts about your Pop. It has a great scheduling tool allowing you to Power Schedule the same post multiple times across Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Pinterest, and Linkedin and it will re-post at time intervals you select. Currently default time intervals are Now, 8 Hours, 1 day, and 7 days. (10 Minutes)
Intermediate Hack: If you are a social media regular and enjoy content curation, try this mobile biz hack. Use a content curation tool like Apple News, Scoop.it, Juice, or Hootsuite Suggestions to pull content based on keywords that compliment your business. Once you find a piece of content to share, grab the link and head over to Snip.ly to add an amazing re-targeting feature. Snip.ly allows you to brand a Call To Action at the bottom left corner of any piece of content you share. Display your logo, and a message like "Find More Interesting Pop-Up Stories Here" with a CTA to subscribe OR Mention your upcoming Pop-Up with a CTA that links them to your event page. (35 Minutes)
Advanced Hack: If the first two tips are child's play for you, lets consider this awesome hack. Pop-Ups are all about spontaneity. Consumers love pop-ups because its like an unexpected surprise. So why not treat your marketing that way! If you chose a Flash Pop, Spot Pop, or Share Pop, and already have a small following, play the smart card and continuously market a page on your site that will show locals your next popup masterpiece 24 to 48 hours before it opens. Create a sense of urgency by letting your customers know its a flash sale or to HURRY, this popup location is ONLY available for the next 12 hours! This excites people, its like Black Friday every time your company hosts a Pop. Granted this is the most risky and why I've selected this as an advanced tactic, but doing so will create a viral effect with people as they all question, what and when will be the next one?