R Retail Excellence Awards
JIM’S MUSIC Green Bay, Wisconsin
Founded: 1986 Principals: Jim Dombrowski, founder Locations: 4 Employees: 50
walks through the door. Whether it’s helping a beginner pick their first guitar, guiding a drummer through a tricky rhythm, or connect- ing seasoned players with the right gear, the goal is always the same: to inspire, educate and nurture the musician inside each customer. Equally important to Jim’s Music’s success is the personal connection staff make with customers. “Treating every new customer as a potential friend creates a connection to these customers so that we want to help them to have the best possible ex- perience,” Dombrowski said. “We can all appreciate customers coming in and they’re wanting to create music, and so having that common thing be the focus, I think it really helps the staff. I want to encourage them to give them a really good experience at our store and in mu- sic in general.” Creating and sustaining relationships with customers has always been at the heart of Jim’s Music’s success. “Everyone wants a friend, so we want our customer base to find a friend here,” Dombrowski said. “We want to listen more than we speak, and we do not give solutions before we’ve heard what the customer is looking for. Being there for the customer to enhance their experience — we do that mainly through listening before we create suggestions, give them suggestions, and then just having that fo- cus on the customer having the best pos- sible experience.” To keep those relationships strong and continue serving the next generation of players, Jim’s Music is constantly finding new ways to innovate. “We try hard to innovate with our les- son program and just be aware that peo- ple are learning differently as it just gets easier to play instruments,” Dombrowski said. “We create programs so that musi- cians can work together in the store.” MI
EJ Dombrowski
LISTENING IS KEY At Jim’s Music, building relationships is just as important as selling instruments and the store’s VP says the secret lies in listening more than you speak. — By Kimberly Kapela
A t Jim’s Music in Green Bay, Wis- consin, the mission goes far beyond selling instruments, and instead, is about creating musicians. This customer- first philosophy has earned the store high praise from Music Inc. voters this year, who recognized Jim’s for its exceptional service and commitment to inspiring cre- ativity. As one voter put it, the store stands out for “bringing in new products to their customers that inspire new ideas and [cul- tivate] strong business.” Another noted that “they truly care about music — it’s the universal language, and Jim’s speaks it.” “The standard of our job is to create musicians,” said EJ Dombrowski, vice president of Jim’s Music. “The biggest
part of the experience for the customer is really based on bringing in the right staff and trying to make sure we’ve got the best trained staff. Making sure our staff knows our job is to create musicians and to make it the best, most fun, best pos- sible experience for them is really central to us.” MAKING PERSONAL CONNECTIONS Central to achieving that mission is the people behind the counter. Dombrowski emphasizes hiring the right staff and en- suring they’re thoroughly trained, so they understand that their role goes beyond sell- ing instruments, and they are mentors and guides for every aspiring musician who
46 I MUSIC INC. I DECEMBER 2025
Powered by FlippingBook