There’s nothing more important than the customers that come into your retail store. Without this physical footfall, you’re going to find it hard to keep those doors open to keep providing your products and services to the local community. That’s why we’re here to help! This article is going to help you understand the top ways to attract more footfall to your store and get more customers through those doors. Which of these strategies are you already using and which do you need to work a bit on?
1. Tidy and Improve the Front of Your Store
First up, you’ve got to check out the front of your store. Do things look a little messier than they should? Does the name of your store stand out from the surrounding environment or does it blend in too much? These are some things that you should definitely work on if you want more customers to come through the door. They say that first impressions matter and this definitely is the case when it comes to your storefront.
Think about it. The front of your store is what will actually draw your customers in. If it’s looking too messy, they may be turned away and go to a store that looks more clean and sleek. Or if they can’t even see the name of your store, they may not be able to find it and give up. Make sure that your storefront looks unique and clean to bring in the most customers possible. Add a cool sign board with the name of your store as a good company sign creates a brand in itself. Also, consider updating the inside areas of the store that’s visible to the outside by getting new fixtures or cardboard displays.
2. Partner with Some Local Businesses
A fantastic way to get the word out about your business is by partnering with some other local businesses. Sure, you might want to keep some businesses as competitors, but there are plenty of other businesses you can work together with. For example, if there are any nonprofits in the area that are popular, you can work with them on an event for an issue that is central to both of your organizations. This is a great way to show the community that you care about them and want to help do more than just make a profit.
When you do stuff like this, more customers will hear about your business and trust you more because you have shown that you care.
3. Move to The Street
When it comes to your customers, most businesses think that they are confined to their physical store to bring people inside. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s no reason why you can’t leave your store to get into contact with customers out there on the street, and conduct surveys to know what the customers want before they do! You can easily get some of your employees to hand out flyers on the street or speak to people around the facility where your store is. Getting directly to the customer is a great way to bring them into your store.
4. Work Hard on Customer Loyalty
Now, there’s much more to this topic than just bringing in new customers every day. You’ve also got to increase the footfall from your existing customer base. Because why would you want that great customer to just buy your products that one time and never come back? By developing a high-quality customer loyalty strategy, you can keep them coming back for more and more. For example, returning customers can get a text as soon as they enter the store for a discount on their entire purchase. Or they can get prizes in the mail every so often to get them to come back to buy something.
5. Consider What You’re Offering
You should take a hard look at what you’re offering to customers if you want to get more of them to come through the door. For example, if you’ve been offering the same old products for a long time, maybe it’s about time to add something new to the bunch to bring new customers in. Consumers are constantly looking for new and exciting things to buy, so do some brainstorming about what new products or services you can start selling to them. Plus, promotional products too can turn out to be great success in attracting customers.
6. Boost Up Your Physical Marketing Strategies
Of course, one of the top ways that you’re going to bring in new footfall is through your physical marketing strategies. We’ll talk about digital marketing next, but physical marketing is crucial to your overall advertising strategy. From business signs to billboards, you’ve got to get out there and ensure people are seeing your business’s name everywhere. This will ensure that they are getting curious about your company, the products you are offering, and come to your store to check what it’s all about.
7. Use the Power of Technology
Along with physical marketing, you should leverage the power of technology to get word out about your company. If you haven’t already developed a digital marketing strategy, it’s about time that you did so! Digital marketing is all about reaching out through the Internet to get new customers to your website and door. You can start working on your social media accounts to show off your company’s personality and reach out to people that way. Or you can do some email marketing for those people already on your marketing list.
8. Provide Plenty of Discounts and Coupons
One of the top things that consumers are looking for when choosing a business is whether or not they can save some money. Not many people want to spend the full price on items, so a big discount or coupon program is going to ensure more people come running through the door. This is especially true if you have some interesting business signs outside the storefront showing off the discount and how they can take part in it.
9. Use A Customer Referral Program
What better way to get new customers than having your existing customers speak to their friends and family members about your company? A customer referral program is another fantastic way to increase footfall by leveraging your existing customers. For example, for every person that someone refers, they may get 5% off of their next purchase.
10.Work on Your Website
And lastly, something that you’ve got to do in order to get new customers through the door is to work on your website, if you already have one. If you don’t already have a website, then it’s about time to make one! A website is going to seriously increase the access that people have to what you’re offering. Even if you don’t sell anything on your site, you can provide information about your store and where they can find your physical location.
These are all of the top ways that you’ve got to try out if you want more people to come through your store’s doors. Which ones have you already tried out?