Stationery Trends Magazine

Style at Any Price

Customer satisfaction derives from a balance of selection and service
By Sarah Schwartz, Editor


When a customer enters your store seeking the perfect invitation for their upcoming event, not only do they have an idea of how they'd like the finished product to look, but they most likely have an idea of how much they want to spend. It's your job as the retailer to ascertain their taste and budget and present them with several options from which to choose.

“Invitation design is creative problem solving,” explained Deborah Hefter, founding designer of Envelopments. “We are constantly puzzling together a client's tastes, desires, colors, quantities, timeframe and budget and delivering back to them a finished product that represents and intimately communicates their event. (Our most successful customers) are masters at this dance. They are quick studies of human behavior and can triage the many needs of their customers. At a time when retailers are scrambling to individuate themselves from all the competition, stores that cater to the custom client have a terrific opportunity to distinguish themselves.”


Price, Design & Customer Consciousness

It's safe to say that a certain thriftiness is a big trend in some circles, while money remains no object in others. If you have been in business for years and know what your customers will pay for invitations and so on, it's best to limit your retail price range. If your customers provide a wider variety of price ranges, then you can go broader.

Either way, it's necessary to maintain a certain unity in the lines you carry — that is, create a certain signature look of your store, while still speaking to the aesthetics of your customers. “We have found it very challenging to make stationery that has a sense of personality, but is at the same time simple,” said Anne Dewberry, president of PrintsWell Inc., and the same could be said of any retail venue.

Therefore, when you do commit to a look, really commit to it, noted Jane Boatman Geller, CEO and creative director of Boatman Geller. “Carry a large grouping of any one trend or colorway, allowing the maximum impact for that experience.”

Some vendors recommend paring down the quantity of lines carried to create the most impact. “Find a few great lines that offer the type of designs specific to (your) target market and then invest heavily into those brands,” commented Whitney English Kolb of Whitney English Designs. “By carrying small amounts of inventory from many different companies, the retailer can overwhelm their customers. Purchasing 'deep' into a few companies allows retailers to offer a manageable amount of variety, ensure consistent quality of product and enjoy the incentives that often accompany larger purchases.”

No matter the variety of vendors offered, it's necessary to know and love thy product, Hefter emphasized. “Our most successful retailers are passionate about invitation design; they swoon over colors and textures the way some women swoon over handbags and shoes.”

Once you have found the best product for your shop, then you've got to apply it to your customers' lives. “The best approach is to understand that the goal is really to support the customer and the success of their occasion,” explained Dewberry. “When a retailer takes time to engage the customer in conversation in order to make appropriate product suggestions, they are bringing value to walking into the store.”

Megan Kuntze, brand director, Crane & Co. said that to really excel in this regard, salespeople must become more than salespeople. “They are not just order-takers, they are stationery design experts; they are etiquette experts; and they are dedicated to the finest personal service.”

When a professional helps create a unique finished piece to reflect an event, it's truly a service worth paying a little extra for. “Much like purchasing blank canvas and paint,” Hefter noted, “the price of finished artwork is not solely based on the cost of its materials; someone's hands took it to a new place.”


The Invitation Climate

While many vendors offer marketing and merchandising materials, any venue should display examples of invitations that have been created in their stores. Shana Breedon, owner of the Paper Boutique, also recommends displaying a matching notecard to show the scope of what you can create.

“I would treat the finished samples from my design portfolio like a ring in Tiffany's showcase,” Hefter commented. “I'd display as many finished samples as my environment will allow. A glass case or a shadow box works well. (I would display them) somewhere highly visible and protected, but still accessible to clients if they want a closer look.”

“When you load in a great color story, coupled with fantastic samples of what you can do with it,” she concluded, “the inspiration is amplified as sales volume.”

Manufacturers weighed in on the current state of the market. “One of the things we've noticed in the marketplace is a busy-ness in design,” described Dewberry. “The trend in the last few years is to have more and more elements on a product — lines, borders, motifs, colors, layers, graphics. The customer is really interested in their message standing out on their stationery, and at the same time getting a unique look for their occasion.”

Whitney English Designs is taking an approach that's elegant, yet economical. “New for 2008 is our 5-by-7-inch stationery,” stated Kolb. “With the rising cost of paper, this new size offers the same quality and innovative design as larger invitations, but for less money. The 5-by-7-inch size is versatile; perfect for personal stationery, invites and announcements.”

“For 2008, we've also been heavily inspired by 'everything old is new again,'” Kolb added. “Our vintage-inspired, initialed note cards combine the convenience of a pre-printed product with the latest trends of mid-century modern patterns. (They're) a great point of purchase item for customers needing a quick gift for a friend or for personal use.”

For a line like Envelopments, where each unique creation is constructed layer by layer, attention has been given to new product, but also to simplifying the custom order process. Emphasized Hefter, “Then the designer's energy is spent doing what he or she does best, which is designing.”

In the end, thriving in the invitation market is a matter of juggling many balls, Dewberry concluded. “We really believe that service goes hand-in-hand with style. You can have a beautiful design but poor service, and customers will shy away. Likewise, you can have expedient or even self-service, but unremarkable style, and also fail to capture the customer's attention. It's the combination of both — a tremendous sense of style and an uncompromised commitment to service — that will win the fine stationery customer.”

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Originally posted Wednesday, Apr. 21, 2010