Question

Topic: Strategy

Hotel Concierges

Posted by abarsky on 12/9/2011 at 10:29 PM ET 250 Points
I just opened an art gallery and part of my marketing strategy is to befriend some hotel concierges in the surrounding hotels to get the tourist crowd in the door.

My questions are:
How do I make the concierge's recommendation worth their while? What's in it for them? What can I possibly offer them other than a commission on sales?

Thanks!
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 12/9/2011 at 11:02 PM Accepted
    Are the people staying at these hotels art buyers? If they are, what kind of art do they buy and are you selling that kind of art?

    What else are you doing to drive traffic into your gallery and where are you advertising?

    Before you get too bent out of shape about relationships and payments to concierges, you might want to figure out who's buying the kind of art you're selling and where you might advertise in order to get your message in front of those kinds of buyers and collectors.

    If you're selling paintings, prints, photographs, and contemporary sculpture, why not partner with local or regional auction houses and advertise in their fine art sale catalogues. Likewise, why not sponsor a few museum exhibitions in exchange for name and logo placement.

    Also consider direct mail shots to major donors of museums in your area (you can find out names by trawling through the museum's annual reports or through their newsletters, many of which list the names of major donors).

    The whole point here is to get your name in front of the people who are most likely to buy the kind of art you're selling. This way, donors and collectors know that they're dealing directly with a gallery owner who's in touch with the art scene and who's also supporting the kinds of artists that they, as donors and collectors, like to support.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 12/10/2011 at 8:37 AM Accepted
    The concierge's loyalty is to their guests. They want to take care of their guests' needs and ensure that their guests have fantastic experiences.

    If a guest is looking to visit a nearby art gallery then it makes good sense to make the local concierges aware of your place. But also think of your gallery as more than a place to sell art - perhaps it's a great performance venue, has wonderful acoustics for evening talks/seminars, or ideal for special private parties. These additional benefits to your gallery are what the concierge is looking to add to their stable of offerings for their guests.

    Also - since the concierges are extremely busy and have lots of competition for their time, consider teaming up with a local business or two (a caterer, an entertainer, etc.) to have them come to your space, and meet a number of new local business owners whose work might be of great interest to the hotel visitors.
  • Posted by abarsky on 12/10/2011 at 6:16 PM Author
    Gary:
    The gallery is in one of the most densely populated cities in the US. Since this is a new gallery and the art is very varied, my goal right now is to simply get people into the door. I'm not in a position to pick and choose my buyers quite yet. It's a small town with several surrounding hotels, so I figured this would be a destination a concierge would recommend. Even though they may not be a buyer I would want, it would get people talking about the great art I have hanging on the walls.

    I'm also starting to work with real estate agents. Who better to acquire art for their walls than a new home owner or renter?

    Jay: Yes, this would be a great event place and I'm trying to figure out how to use this to my advantage.

    Thanks to you both for the good ideas.
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Strategy)