Holiday kickstart: your studio's priority action plan

Note from Hillary: you'll likely see some repeated themes paralleling several recent posts including pricing, collaborating, creating collections, emails, embracing your customer base, growing their repeat visits and inviting those customers to bring friends. All of this bears repeating.

If you're feeling the squeeze right now, you're not alone. Your business expenses are going up across the board, while your customers are being more selective about where they spend their entertainment dollars. It's easy to feel caught in the middle—but this challenging moment presents opportunities.

While some studios may be struggling or cutting back, the ones that take strategic action now will emerge stronger. Your customers still want meaningful experiences; they're just being more intentional about where they spend their money.

Priority #1: Know your true numbers

Before you make any business decisions, you need crystal-clear visibility into your actual costs. Underestimating your true expenses leads to pricing that feels competitive but kills profitability.

Start with this simple cost analysis:

Direct costs per piece:

• Bisque pottery wholesale cost

• Glaze and supplies used

• Firing costs (electricity, kiln maintenance divided by pieces fired)

Hidden costs many studios miss:

• Staff time for glazing and firing

• Studio space overhead allocated to each piece

• Credit card processing fees

• Insurance and utilities

The minimum viable margin calculation: Take your total cost per piece and multiply by 3.5. This gives you the minimum price needed to cover costs, pay yourself, and have money left for marketing and growth. If your current pricing is below this, you're essentially paying customers to shop with you.

Action step: Calculate your true cost for your three most popular pottery pieces this week. You might be surprised by what you discover.

Priority #2: Optimize your current customer base

Your existing customers are your most valuable asset—they already know and trust your studio. Instead of spending money to attract new customers, focus on getting more value from the relationships you've already built.

Birthday club activation (start this immediately): If you're not collecting customer birthdays and sending monthly birthday offers, you're leaving money on the table. Birthday celebrations happen regardless of economic conditions. A simple "Paint a special birthday piece this month—20% off when you mention this email" can generate immediate revenue.

Referral incentives that work: Offer existing customers $5 off their next visit when they bring a friend who completes a project. This costs you nothing upfront and turns your loyal customers into your sales team. The referred customer often becomes a regular, making this one of the highest ROI marketing strategies available.

"Bring a Friend" events: Host monthly events where customers can bring a friend for a special rate—like "Two people paint for $35 total" instead of your regular per-person pricing. This increases your average transaction while introducing new people to your studio in a low-pressure way.

Action step: Implement birthday collection at checkout this week. Even if you only collect 10 birthdays, that's 10 potential sales next month that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

- - - - > Read more about Quarterly Marketing Strategies

Priority #3: Strategic price positioning

When costs rise, many studio owners panic and either absorb all the increases (killing profit) or raise prices sporadically or without a plan.

How to communicate value when raising prices: "We're excited to offer even more premium pottery pieces and expanded color selections" sounds much better than "Due to rising costs, we're increasing prices."

Bundling strategies that increase perceived value: Instead of charging $15 for a mug, offer a "Coffee Lover's Experience" for $22 that includes the mug, specialty glaze options, and a small bag of local coffee beans. Customers feel like they're getting more, and your profit margin improves.

The anchor pricing method: Display your highest-priced items prominently. When customers see a $45 large platter option first, your $18 bowls suddenly feel very reasonable. This psychological principle works especially well in pottery studios where piece sizes vary dramatically.

Action step: Create one new "experience bundle" this month that combines pottery painting with something else of value (local treats, take-home supplies, or premium glazes).

Priority #4: Low-cost, high-impact marketing

When budgets are tight, creativity becomes your best marketing tool. The good news? Some of the most effective pottery studio marketing is low-cost, high visibility.

Social media content that converts:

• Behind-the-scenes videos of the glazing process (people love seeing the "magic")

• Before-and-after transformation posts showing pieces at different stages

• Customer spotlight stories featuring their finished pieces and their inspiration

• Quick technique videos showing simple painting tips

Email campaigns that work: Send monthly emails highlighting seasonal pottery ideas. "5 Fall Pottery Projects Perfect for Gift-Giving" performs much better than generic "Come paint with us!" messages. Include one customer photo in every email—people love seeing their work featured.

Community partnerships that bring customers: Reach out to local businesses for cross-promotion. Partner with coffee shops to display customer mugs, or work with bookstores to host "Paint & Poetry" nights. These partnerships cost nothing but expand your reach significantly.

Action step: Identify three local businesses that serve your ideal customers and propose one specific partnership idea to each of them this month.

- - - - > Read more about Collaboration

What NOT to do right now

Don't cut marketing: When money gets tight, marketing is often the first expense to go. This is backwards thinking. During challenging times, you need marketing more than ever to maintain visibility and attract customers who are still spending.

Don't race to the bottom on pricing: Competing purely on price is a losing strategy for pottery studios. Your value proposition is the experience, creativity, and personal connection—not being the cheapest option in town.

Don't assume all customers are struggling: While some customers may be more budget-conscious, others are still looking for quality experiences. Don't make decisions based on the most price-sensitive customers at the expense of those willing to pay for value.

Don't try to do everything at once: Focus on the priorities above in order. Many studio owners get overwhelmed trying to implement every good idea simultaneously. Pick one priority, execute it well, then move to the next.

Your Week 1-4 Action Plan

Week 1:

• Calculate true costs for top 3 pottery pieces

• Set up birthday collection system at checkout

• Plan one "Bring a Friend" event for next month

Week 2:

• Create one new experience bundle

• Design birthday club email template

• Identify three potential local business partners

Week 3:

• Launch birthday club with collected emails

• Reach out to potential partners with specific proposals

• Plan social media content for next month

Week 4:

• Host your first "Bring a Friend" event

• Analyze results from birthday club emails

• Evaluate pricing based on cost analysis from Week 1

Remember: Challenging times separate studios that react from those that respond strategically. While external factors like wholesale prices and consumer spending are beyond your control, how you respond to these challenges will determine your studio's success.

The studios that emerge stronger from this period will be those that focused on fundamentals: knowing their numbers, taking care of existing customers, pricing strategically, and marketing creatively. Start with Priority #1 this week—everything else builds from there.

Your studio provides something people genuinely value: creativity, connection, and the satisfaction of making something beautiful with their hands. That need doesn't disappear during tough times; it just requires a more thoughtful approach to reach and serve your customers. You've got this.

-`♡´- Hillary