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If your business relies on foot traffic, you might have noticed that the times they are a-changin’ (again). Massive inflation and record gas prices keep people from enjoying your brick-and-mortar business. But we are battle-ready in 2022, aren’t we? We have been through two years of pandemic-induced shenanigans, and we’ve all learned to pivot like Olympic judo medalists. Let's look at some ideas to increase foot traffic to your store.
When the door buzzer isn’t buzzing, we take to the digital realm to make sure payroll, taxes, and rent are in the hopper. Duh. Everyone should be focused on their digital marketing strategy right now.
The difference this year is that people aren’t mandated to stay home. Instead, they don’t want to pay excessively to spend their hard-earned cash on products and services (many of which have had price hikes, too).
So what can you do to entice customers to get up and get down to your place of business? Here are four marketing strategies to motivate customers and clients to visit you:
Tap Into Your Creativity.
Take An Honest Look At Your Value Proposition.
Go Data Diving.
Leverage Social Media To Drive In-Store Traffic.
Tap Into Your Creativity.
Most entrepreneurs are naturally creative. But years of doing the same things the same way will land many of us in a rut. So dust off that ole hamster wheel and get it spinning! Here are some refreshers meant to inspire:
Create an in-store pull. Like a book signing, a local band performance, a drum circle, or jam night. Heck, a pie-eating contest this week to be followed up with a health expo next weekend! People love events, but you have to be consistent about them if you want them to succeed.
It might be hard to think about updating the aesthetics right now, but downtime is the best time to check your signage, window displays, and entrance area. Change it up, make it inviting, and remember: Eye Level Is Buy Level!
It’s time to consider BOPIS. Buy Online Pickup In-Store has become normative in the post-pandemic shopping scene, and customers love it. It isn’t hard to implement and gives room for you to up-sell when the pickup takes place. Just do it.
Take An Honest Look At Your Value Proposition.
Remember your value proposition? You probably thought about this some years ago when you came up with your marketing strategy and have not thought about it since. What is the thing that makes your store or office special and unique? What is that thing that draws your customers to you instead of your competitors?
Your value prop combines the product or service you offer, your brand, and your customers’ experience.
You might offer the same product as your competitor, so your brand and their experience need to be something special. It might mean taking your customer experience to a whole new level. Or it might be time to rebrand.
Perhaps you cannot carry the variety of products that a big box competitor can. But you can make the shopping experience something special. And you can build a mighty brand that your customers and clients love and trust.
Go Data Diving.
I hear brick-and-mortar store owners tell me that they just can’t compete with online shopping. Of course, I understand this sentiment, and I know that research shows today’s consumers prefer businesses that have both an online experience and a physical location. But it’s too easy to give up the ghost, isn’t it?
Since the pandemic, most of us have had to move online, and we have that experience in our arsenal now. And one of the best things about online business is the readily available data that we can collect about our people (our customers). So we need to be this savvy in-store as well.
One way to do this is to start a loyalty program for your customers. Then, use that program to collect data. Put that old dusty CRM to work, and start taking notes on which customers buy which products. Then when you have a promotion or product launch, you can target an email blast to specific customers you know will be excited to hear the news.
Data isn’t just for the tech-heads. It’s for every business, and it’s the best way to gain a competitive edge in today’s market.
Leverage Social Media To Drive In-Store Traffic.
Social media is how we tie all the pieces together. Social media has become an incredible tool for getting the word out about retail sales and a retailer’s overall brand presence.
In a recent article, I mentioned the big seven social media platforms and the strengths of each one. Pick a few that work for your demographic. Facebook and Instagram are the most common and work for various businesses. But there are edgier places to be if they’re a better fit for your younger audience.
Put together a thoughtful promotion or sale or in-store event (as mentioned above), then be sure to leverage social media to get the word out and boost store traffic. Doing so might require hiring a third-party social media management company (ahem) to assist in reaching your ideal audience and developing a consistent strategy across platforms.
Retailers can also leverage social media influencers to help market products more organically. Influencers have become a significant part of modern marketing strategies and can be extremely useful in framing a brand to a specific target market. In addition, 71% of consumers prefer to make informed choices through recommendations, reviews, social media, and online search.
Social media can also provide an additional channel to sell goods. Retailers should ensure that social media advertisements inform consumers about other sales channels and allow loyal customers to easily make purchases directly through the social media channel or an online store. Giving customers the option to use a BOPIS program and the convenience of social shopping can help provide a seamless customer experience and improve customer engagement.
In the end, every product and service-based business should have embraced a robust online presence by now. It is time, and it’s what customers want. But if you aren’t ready to give up the brick-and-mortar piece of your business, don’t! Instead, employ some creative strategies to draw people back.
Take stock, re-evaluate, and do some soul searching to make the necessary improvements to make the customer experience outrageously good. Of course, you might need to collect data to do it. And, when you’re ready, tell the world! Email, social media, new signage, and a new commitment to do what it takes.
When you need help with your digital strategy, value proposition discovery, social media management, or web presence, we’re here to help!
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