FrameWorks is a diversified, woman-owned commercial framing company and art gallery with a longtime retail presence in Miami and a national footprint in the commercial contract framing industry. FrameWorks was launched in 1989, when Christine Sweeny moved to Miami and opened a frame shop in the heart of Coconut Grove called Kennedy Studios. In1995, Sweeny rebranded the business as FrameWorks,…
Marketing framing services through daily-deal companies is not for every business, but for those that are thinking about giving it a try, here are a few suggestions. Over the last several years, my shops have used daily-deal marketing to great advantage, and the following list contains some of my company’s success strategies. Daily-deal websites include Groupon, Amazon Local, and Living…
Framers are always looking for ways to increase profits. They’ll try just about any advertising idea, even having their logo emblazoned on placemats at the local diner, cash-register tapes and bowling score sheets. They’ll squeeze suppliers for discounts; I’m guilty of this one. They’ll walk around their shops switching off lights to save a few pennies. However, one of the…
By Paul Cascio Business owners in the framing industry use a variety of creative methods and expend a considerable amount of time, money and attention to generate sales leads. In addition to traditional advertising media, today’s businesses introduce themselves to prospective customers through websites, email and social networking. And well they should, because creating awareness for your brand lies at…
By Paul Cascio,The Guerrilla Framer When I first joined the framing business more than 25 years ago, I had to advertise in the Yellow Pages directory. It was a necessary evil for anyone in a service business. The Yellow Pages directory was the Google of its day. There, consumers searched for services, such as plumbing, transmission repair and, yes, picture…
By Eric Jarmann As framers, our framing design habits tend to be influenced by various trends that crop up in the world of art and decor. Sometimes you have a favorite frame profile for a long time, but then eventually you eventually drop it from your repertoire. We all have that group of corner samples that’s worn from constant use…
Wanted: A marketing event that pays for itself, generates positive, free publicity for a business, and builds name recognition, all while supporting the local arts community. Great news – I’ve found it! Each year, Finer Frames hosts a juried art competition in the spring to build name recognition and highlight the work of many talented local artists. Fifty area artists…
Ordering my usual grande non-fat, no whip mocha at Starbucks this morning got me thinking. Starbucks has built a powerful brand selling a very familiar product, not too far removed from framers selling picture frames. If framing entrepreneurs can model themselves after one of the most successful brands in business, we could strengthen our own companies in the toughest marketplace…
How many times have we heard the most famous phrase in business “The customer is always right”? Knowing it is one thing, but believing it is much more difficult when the customer is (dare I say it?) is actually wrong. Recently, I had an unhappy customer that tested my beliefs. Fortunately this doesn’t happen often, but being properly prepared to…
