I am creative, witty, and particular. I love adventures, even if that just means going to Walmart at 2:00am or singing to Ben Rector in the car with my friends. I love things that are precious and thought provoking. Meaningful conversations are my favorite. Reading a Southern Living magazine with coffee in hand is simply the best. I love things that are beautiful, even if they don't have much of a purpose. I also love brownies and swing dancing. I love twirling in the kitchen, and the feeling you get when you catch someone's gaze on you. It really doesn't take much y'all. All that being said, I want to create a store (and mostly an environment) that encompasses these things, at least indirectly. I want people to feel welcomed and girly while shopping at Sweet Caroline's. I want them to find things they love and things that are beautiful, even if it doesn't have much of a purpose. This store has the potential to house all the things I love. I want to invest a lot of time, creativity, and energy into it. I am very passionate about this endeavor, and I am very willing to put in the effort to make this dream a reality.
I want customers to love to shop here. A fun, engaging store in hard to come by, and I think it is because ambiance and customer service don't always equal profit. But I don't care. I want my shoppers to get the feeling they get when reading their favorite magazine when they walk through my door. Just as if they were transported to their favorite place. This is an unmet need to shoppers. Shopping can often be draining and frustrating when you can't find what you want and things don't fit. I want to leave everyone better off after leaving the store than when they came in. What will set Sweet Caroline's apart from other stores will be the makeup counters combined with clothing and potentially a tea room and floral department. This will for sure differentiate us from the competition.
My customers will be people just like me. They will be 14-45ish year old women who are looking for beautiful things and who want an experience while shopping. They will also be a little bit more price conscious than the average boutique shopper.
Customers are going to love this store because it is a completely untapped group and idea combination. A few stores offer a few of the things we will to a similar group, but none of them do it all. We will combine the boutique style of store, with lower prices, a very uncommon concept. We will also sell make-up, clothes, seasonal items, accessories, and home items which is also an uncommon array of products in a boutique. It is rare that makeup is sold in clothing stores, but it is something that our buyers will love, and will therefore purchase more because of convenience. Something else that will set our store apart and will benefit our customers will be our customer service. I plan to work in the shop most days, as well as my mother (who is extremely excited about this idea as well).
I feel that my store will be a success because I am the customer. I have found this lack in the market, and I know what I want. People like me are our target market, so who better to cater to you than you right? Most stores for women are run by men, so how can they know exactly what we want? I am also a member of the community I want to put my store in, so I know what this community is needing.
I believe that these elements fit together perfectly. Sweet Caroline's plays to my strengths and the things that I find joy from. I believe that this passion will help the success of the store. I know what people want and I have the drive to make this dream happen.
One of the main points I received was that people apperceived my passion about the store. I tried to convey that more in my first couple of points. One thing I received concern on the differentiability between my store and other boutiques. To make the difference clear I included information about our customer service, different product options, tea room option, and floral section option. These are five things I changed to answer all of the concern or compliments in my original napkin idea.
This is such a great idea. First of all, your opening paragraph really reeled me in. You did an amazing job of capturing the happiest moments of life where I related to you and got excited about the idea of a shop aiming to capture the finest little moments in life. I think your potential customers will also be attracted to the idea of a more affordable price so that they can actually purchase the items that they are falling in love with. I definitely think incorporating a tea and floral section would differentiate your shop. There's a tea room where I'm from called "Lady Ann's Tea Room" that you should look up and try to find some inspiration from, because I think it sounds similar to what you might be wanting to incorporate. Here's my post: http://isabellaruggeri.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your idea! From the adorable name that captures the essence of what you provide to the evident passion you seem to have for this idea, this is one of the few ideas I've seen that has a real potential. I also love cute little things, but so often places like Francesca's that have the perfect things for me are way too expensive. I'm glad you took notice that price is a major issue for boutiques that your target market is attracted to. Here is a link to my blog if you are interested. http://kwandersen.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html
ReplyDeleteCaroline,
ReplyDeleteFirst, you are a really enthralling writer! I loved reading your post because of how passionate you are about this idea and how much faith you have in it! It is really refreshing. I agree with what Kate said about finding the perfect thing, but it being too pricey! Your store sounds like a place I would love to shop at! Love this idea and great post! Take a look at my post if you want! http://ffavorule.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html
Hey there Caroline! I appreciate how much effort you put into this assignment. The long paragraphs are a lovely contrast to some of the three sentence responses which I have come across. I also agree with your assessment that stores focusing on ambiance and engagement are wrongly not always the most profitable. Your personal investment in this idea is great as well as it may do a great job of driving this endeavor.
ReplyDeleteIf you’re interested, here’s a link to my second idea napkin: http://madiganent.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html