Unlocking the Potential of Pop-Ups: Drive Sales & Amplify Brand Awareness

By Sarah Brithnee

If you’re new to the permanent jewelry world, you may be wondering what a pop-up is and why you need to know about them. A pop-up is a temporary setup at a physical location such as a boutique, market, or other public space. Some businesses are solely pop-up businesses like food trucks who travel to different locations to operate daily.
There’s nothing new about pop-ups. Businesses have been doing them for years for a variety of reasons like testing the market, brand awareness, and generating sales. When it comes to permanent jewelry, there are a lot of reasons to consider doing pop-ups for your business.
Why Permanent Jewelry Brands Should Consider Pop-Ups
Pop-ups are a great way to test out permanent jewelry in your area. It’s easier to figure out if your brand will succeed in your area and market without the financial commit- ment of signing a lease and having a physical location right away. Business owners are able to run their busi- nesses to see how it goes and then decide later what the best direction is for the long run.
Generating buzz around your brand is also a great reason to do pop-ups. When Essbe does pop-ups, we create social media posts about the pop-up and hope that the location will do the same. We’re able to cross-promote to both of our audiences creating a bigger buzz around the event than if just one of us was posting.
Being set up for a finite amount of time creates a sense of urgency in customers to get permanent jewelry in the moment when they have the chance. This means an increase in sales volume for that short spurt.
Pop-ups can be mutually beneficial for both the business and the host. This is a fine line. If a business is willing to let a permanent jewelry business set up shop in their physical location then it needs to make sense for them as well. After all, they are the ones who are paying rent, util- ities, and staffing their location. There are a variety of ways to make sure everyone benefits. Some of these include popping up at businesses with the same target market, promoting the event on social media, and encouraging customers to shop at both brands during the event.
How to Have a Successful Pop-Up
It seems pretty easy to just show up at a boutique and set up shop, but there’s actually quite a bit that goes into pulling off the perfect pop-up. 
Location
Choosing the right businesses to reach out to is key. If the businesses don’t align, the pop-up will not be successful. Permanent jewelry brands should identify their target market and then make a list of businesses with similar or overlap- ping markets. This gives the best chances that customers who come to the host business will be interested in permanent jewelry and the jewelry customers will be excited to shop at the host store.
Display
It’s important to have a display that shows off the branding of your business. That’s why we have two different setups for our permanent jewelry pop-ups — one for markets where we have a 10’x10’ tent and one for businesses that we will only have a table. A pop-up space should be eye-catching to capture the attention of anyone who walks by. This can be accomplished with a variety of items including your chain and charm displays, signage, table cloth, and branded items.
Prepare Supplies
Projecting needed inventory is hard for all business owners, but can be particularly hard for pop-up businesses. The easiest way to calculate the amount of supplies needed is:
AVERAGE TIME TO APPLY PJ x LENGTH OF EVENT = TOTAL NUMBER OF PIECES
TOTAL NUMBER OF PIECES x AVERAGE LENGTH OF PIECE = TOTAL CHAIN FOOTAGE NEEDED
Having extra chain on hand is always a great idea to give customers options and to ensure there’s enough for all of the customers at the event.
Tips and Tricks
Essbe has done countless pop-ups and markets and we’ve learned quite a few things along the way. There’s always a learning curve and although we have a system down at this point, we’re always evolving as we learn more and up our offerings!
Create a Unique Experience for Customers
Permanent jewelry is a unique experience in and of itself, but there are ways to really stand out and make it memorable for customers. This could be anything from unique offerings like custom charms to the way each customer is interacted with. A great customer experience fosters brand loyalty and referrals which is really helpful for long term success in this industry.
Offer an Exclusive Discount or Product
Creating a sense of urgency to close the sale is a tactic that’s been used for decades. This could mean offering a discount if a customer purchases more than 1 piece, a limited edition charm that can only be purchased while supplies last, or a contest to win a prize.
Focus on Building Relationships
A pop-up isn’t only about one business — it’s a collaboration between two brands. Showing gratitude to the host business will go miles in building a long term relationship with them that will help both businesses thrive.
Every customer knows someone else who would probably want permanent jewelry. The person buying a bracelet might own a business that would want to host a pop-up or they might want to host a private party for their friends.
One of the biggest keys to success in business is to build a network and always give more than you take.
And you’ll be surprised by the numbers. It truly pays for itself from day one. 

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