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When people talk about stores, they often refer to the two main ones: E-commerce and retail. The big question is which is better? To be honest there is no definite answer to that question. They both serve the interest of consumers at different platforms to buy goods and access services depending on the convenience of the customer.
Let’s face it, eCommerce has gained more popularity with the great shift of digitalization but according to Entrepreneur.com offline sales are ten times bigger than online sales. Retail stores provide customers with a physical experience like no other. If you are looking to attract new customers to your retail store then you are at the right place, here are a few tips to get you on the right track: relax, get your notebook, and read through to the end.
Improve Curb Appeal
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According to a 2017 survey, 8.4% of people find a store by walking in. customers will only proceed to enter your store if it has impressive visual merchandise, feels friendly, and is easy to find.
Here are some tips to implement to improve the curb appeal of your store;
- Install adequate signage that will make it easier to locate your store
- Set up a window display that shows what you sell (remember to put your most purchased or most attractive items first so that they are the first to be seen)
- Ensure that your store is clean inside and outside, is well-lit, well arranged, and generally has an enticing aesthetic appeal.
- Fit a media facade on the exterior of the building because of its chic and outstanding way of making your store easy to spot. This way it is easier to locate your store during the day or at night.
Match Online Value and Prices
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Most customers research online prices of items before walking into any store. This means that if the prices of your product or service are higher than that online chances are that the customer will walk out without making any purchase. It is therefore important to match your prices to those of similar products online.
At times it’s unreasonable to match online prices from stores such as Amazon, without cutting too deep into your profits. The smartest way to counter this is to provide incentives instead. Which can be: offering free warrant, customer support, or 3 months money-back guarantee for the products. Whichever option you opt to go with ensures that it provides more value than the money they would have saved by buying the product online.
Introduce a Lounge with WIFI
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Take a minute to consider how efficient family and customer business referrals are usually reliable. Can you imagine when people don’t just refer people to your business, but bring them along during their shopping spree because of the extra set of sofas in your lounge with fast WIFI?
Making good use of the extra space in your store by fitting in a comfortable sofa and installing WIFI can be the easiest hack to make your store the ultimate shopping store in the block. This way you will be sure to lure potential customers into your store. This spot can easily serve the coffee shop tactic, where non-shoppers walk in for the free WIFI and working space but purchase something while they are there.
Introduce Loyalty Cards
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The primary motive behind introducing loyalty programs is to retain and reward customers for their repeated purchasing behavior. Loyalty programs provide incentives to regular customers for patronizing your brand to have a solid motive to make frequent purchases from your store and establish a habit. While walk-in business is always great, a steady flow of a loyal base of customers can really hold your business down.
It is important to identify and reward regular customers at your store. Through the loyalty program concept, loyal customers are highly likely to refer family and friends to their favorite store, hence improving sales and profits at your store. It is also one of the most successful customer retention hacks used by the most successful businesses today.
Conduct Sms Marketing
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Sms remarketing and social media advertisements have become increasingly popular. However, users are starting to scroll right past these ads. therefore creating the need to get more creative. consider using these hacks for your business;
- Allow customers to pre-order via text messages and avoid long queues while also allowing you to explore business texting
- To share the WIFI password of your store to your customers tell them to SMS a keyword a receive an automated message with all the business details and password
- Allow your customers to select deals and daily specials via text to poll features.
Conclusion
Every business owner’s dream is to see their business grow and flourish. The only way for a business to grow is to have increased customer walk-in to make a purchase or order. Once customers are in your store it is easier for you to entice them into making a purchase. it’s not as easy as it sounds but it’s doable. But when the most of the hard task to attract the customers into your store is done the rest will be a walkover. Incorporating the above five tips into your marketing strategy will go a long way in attracting new customers as well as creating loyal customers for your brand.
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