Brick-And-Mortar Brilliance: How To Boost Foot Traffic And Thrive In The Digital Age
Contrary to popular belief, brick and mortar stores are not going extinct. While more people are choosing to do their shopping online, there’s still something an online shop can’t do, and that’s give you the experience of wandering through a store, chatting to staff members and then taking your items to the checkout.
So, whether you’re running a sports goods store, a bakery, or even a bits and bobs store, you want more foot traffic. But how do you get people in? You’ll need to apply some effective marketing strategies that attract more people in. Here’s some ideas on how to do exactly that.
Improve your curb appeal
First impressions are important. The way your store looks from the front determines if people pop in to nose around or simply walk on by. If it’s mostly the latter, you need to improve your curb appeal.
Treat your store front as an inanimate salesperson. Use it to display your products, brand, and overall vibe. Create amazing window displays and change them up regularly to keep interest piqued. Someone who may have visited your store last week will notice a new display and want to see what all the fuss is about. Trust me, it works.
Display amazing signage. Your sign should show off who you are as a brand, and there’s lots of room for creativity. Sit down and come up with some clever and quirky ideas for a great storefront sign.
Remove anything that may block visuals of your store. Perhaps there’s a dead tree outside. Not only does it block people’s view of your store it’s also unsightly. If you own the land, use a tree removal service like fasttreeremovalatlanta.com to unblock the view.
Offer in-store-only promotions and deals
Everyone loves a good promotion or deal on their goods, and no one will refuse it. While you might also have a thriving online store, creating deals for those that come and visit you in store is sure to increase your foot traffic.
It’s really easy to create promotions that won’t leave you out of pocket too. Things like buy one get one free or a free coffee on you if a customer spends a certain amount is more likely to make you money rather than cost you money. Plus, you’ll be getting more people in the door.
Provide amazing customer service
Part of the reason people go shopping is for customer service, and you need to make sure you’re the best around. If you create an amazing shopping experience, you can count on word of mouth bringing more customers into your store.
Train your staff to be attentive, helpful and polite. Have them solve problems for your customers. Create incentives by awarding employee of the month to the person with the most recommendations or thanks from customers. Healthy competition is going to do nothing but wonders for your store.
You can also offer a personalised experience to customers by tracking purchasing patterns. For example, say a customer regularly buys sweets for their children after school – when you’ve got a new line in, why not recommend it to them with a special discount?
This is just scratching the surface of the amazing things you could do to get more people in your store, but it’s certainly a good start!