Color Consultations are a great way to build strong customer relationships, increase buyer confidence at the point of sale and offer a fun and memorable way to interact with clientele. The idea is to open up Quiltster, find a pattern and add fabric (from your shop) into the pattern to show your customer how the finished quilt will look, before they commit to purchasing fabric.
You can also let them play with Quiltster, trying out different options from your shop until they find the one they love the most. Offer your expertise as they play by consulting on color theory, color value, etc. Once finalized, use the auto-generated yardage chart to cut the fabric they need. Your customer will walk away from this experience excited and happy knowing they will love the look of their finished quilt. Working with quilters in this way is a sure way lays the foundation for strong customer relationships with your business.
Pro tip: Every shop is different so you can customize this experience to fit the needs of your business. You might consider charging a fee for the consultation which can then be put towards the fabric purchase of the kit.
What You Need
- One Quiltster subscription for your shop which is $9.99 per month or $99.00 per year.
2. A computer on which to use Quiltster. A mobile device such as a tablet is ideal if you are walking the shop taking pictures of fabric and loading them along the way.
3. A strong internet connection. Please close out of all other programs, tabs, windows while using Quiltster.
The Quiltster Corner
Don’t stop there! Make this an exquisite experience by offering refreshments and a comfortable place to sit in the Quiltster Corner of your shop. Create a space to display patterns you carry that you know are in Quiltster to make it easy to shop. Take photos of a Color Consultation in action to post on social media or in a private group. What a great excuse to pamper your customers!
Advertise!
Advertise this service on your website, social media platforms and in your store to let customers how you can help build the quilt of their dreams! Here are some tools to get you started promoting this service in-store and online.
Social Media Post Template
Copy and edit this text to fit your needs:
Have you ever wondered how your fabric choices will look when your quilt is finished? Come in for a Color Consultation to make sure you love the look of your finished quilt before buying supplies! There’s no guessing when you customize your dream quilt with SHOP NAME.
Social Media Post Image
Create beautiful images to post on social media (schedule posts in advance so you don’t forget to publish them!). If you need assistance creating images, please contact Deborah at customer support and she will help you create one image to use.
Website Page Text Template
Copy and edit this text to fit your needs:
Color Consultations
Love the look of your finished quilt before buying supplies!
Have you ever wondered how your fabric choices will look when your quilt is finished? Come in for a Color Consultation to make sure you love the look of your finished quilt before buying supplies! There’s no guessing when you customize your dream quilt with SHOP NAME.
Color consultations includes:
- One-on-one consultation with a team member.
- Pattern selection assistance (if needed).
- Fabric selection assistance – choose ALL the fabrics you want to try right off the shelves.
- Compare fully colored images of the finished quilt with your fabric selections to find the colorway that works the best.
- A reliable yardage chart.
- Cost of the consultation goes towards the fabric purchase for your kit.
Make sure to include how to schedule a Color Consultation whether it’s by phone, by form, or walk-in’s. Since this is your website, you may also want to include an image of your “Quiltster Corner” or the friendly staff involved in Color Consultations, testimonial quotes from customers who’ve used this service, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What if the patterns available in Quiltster are not available in my shop?
A: Great question! If you do not carry the pattern, consider selling the fabric and special ordering the pattern from the designer. Some designers require a minimum number of patterns when you buy. You can always create custom kits for the remaining patterns and post those for sale on your site to move that inventory.
Another option is to special order a few patterns that you know are popular and offer Color Consultations for those specific patterns.
Q: What if my customer wants their own Quiltster subscription?
A: Not a problem! At your request, we will provide you with a coupon code to offer to customers. This is a great way to start building up your customer base with Quiltster subscribers. When you have a fabric sale, send a newsletter out letting your customers know what is on sale. They can create Quiltster projects with those swatches and send you the yardage chart from the print page so you can fulfill their orders. This can all be done over email or video conference which is a great option for people who are not ready to visit shops yet.
Q: What if my customer already has their own Quiltster subscription? Is the consultation still valuable?
A: Yes! Find out what they need help with the most. They can “favorite” swatches in their own account with your fabric or they can upload swatches into their own account from pictures they took from your website to use in projects.
Q: How do I send my customer the image and yardage chart for their project?
A: Open the project, go to Print view. Directly under the image of the project there are two buttons. A print button and a Link button. Click the link button then paste into an email. The recipient does not have to be a subscriber to access this page when send from this link.
Q: Can I get a Quiltster refresher demonstration for me and/or my staff?
A: Yes! Contact customer support to schedule an online demonstration for one or more of your staff members.
Q: How do I keep track of which swatches are for which customers?
A: When you upload a swatch into your account, you can add an identifier to the name of the swatch.
Q: What if the swatch is already in Quiltster?
A: Simply click the heart in the bottom left corner of the swatch to save it to your favorites. This will make it easily accessible when you color the quilt.
Q: How do I keep track of which project is for which customer?
A: Use the customers name or customer ID as the name of the project.
Q: Do I need a Quiltster account for my shop to do this?
A: Yes. Only one consumer level subscription is necessary, however, your staff members are welcome to each have their own accounts.
Q: Can I transfer a project from my Quiltster account to my customers Quiltster account?
A: Send the Project ID number along with the recipients email address that they use to log into Quiltster and we can move the project for you.