Time and Money: Meeting the Customers’ Needs

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By Marta K. Dodd

Jennifer Lindahl and AnnMarie Raehtz are both “transplants” to Jackson; Lindahl hails from Ohio, and Raehtz was from Royal Oak, Mich., but they both have settled into Jackson. They run very different businesses, but during their years of work in Jackson, they both have noticed their customers operate within a tighter timeframe than did customers in the past, and their customers are very aware of the money they are spending. 

 

“They want to know right off the bat, ‘What is this going to cost me,’ even more than they used to,” Lindahl said of people planning events at the Commonwealth Commerce Center.  “They don’t have extra money to spend. So, instead of them worrying about that I ask them what they want to spend on the event, and we use that as a guide in making their plan.” She also said that many people do not to plan as much as previously; in August of this year she was still booking 2017 weddings.  

 

“It used to be unusual for someone to come in with only three months before their wedding,” said Raehtz, the owner of AnnMarie’s Brides Beautiful & Tuxedo Shoppe.  “Now many people come in and want an outfit yesterday or they want to take it home now. I also ask about their budget; I don’t want to sell anyone something they can’t afford.  Interestingly, more people get dressed up for a wedding now, even if they are not in the ceremony, themselves. And what I love about my business is that when people come in through the door, they are customers, but when they leave, they are my friends.”