Looking for the best ways to attract customers into your store? It doesn’t matter if the economy is in the depths of a recession or booming; it doesn’t matter if you’re a big or small business: there are always ways to lure more customers, and everyone wants to do so. However, small businesses are usually the ones which tend to be in greater need of charming new clients. So, if you’d like to make it in a list such as ours of The 12 Most Profitable Small Businesses, you’d better buckle down and get to work figuring out the best ways to attract customers into your store.
Naturally, business conditions, the country’s economy and the fluctuation of fashion and trends cannot be controlled. Yet, what you can control is your approach to business; blaming everything on external factors won’t get you more foot traffic. There’s no need to increase your budget and make bigger investments, sometimes it’s just a case of making the most of what you already have, making lemonade with the lemons you already have lying around.
It doesn’t matter how many prayers you offer your God, business won’t just soar magically, you need to do your best to appeal to your customers and capture their attention. Put your mind to work, get creative and follow our tips of the best ways to attract customers into your store to get started.
8. Holding big promotional events or contests
Promotions, sales, discounts, samples: all of these are great ways of attracting new customers. Whether you have a physical store, an online one, or both mediums merged in one business, hosting events and contests is an awesome technique to get noticed. With proper advertising in advance, a holiday party, an open house, or a raffle might get you those clients you were looking for.
7. Training your staff on a regular basis
Training your staff should not be a once-in-a-life-time thing, but an ongoing action to take as a business owner or manager. Employees are a crucial element of your store’s image. In fact, they are the ones who usually interact with the customers, so you should train them to be professional, dedicated and polite. In order to achieve this you might want to refine the connection you have with your employees, bond with them, listen to their suggestions or maybe even implement a reward program for extra effort and creative proposals. Concluding, a satisfied employee is a better worker and a better customer service representative for your company.
Swarms of customers await on the following pages with the six best ways to attract customers into your store.
6. Acknowledging your mistakes and taking action
A great businessperson is honest with him or herself and capable of reviewing their actions. You should evaluate the different business decisions you’ve taken and be open to the complaints your customers and employees might make. It is important to try and analyze things from the client’s perspective, thus changing or improving what you can and preventing recurrence. If customers appreciate your improvements, they will spread the word and recommend your services.
5. Enhancing window display
Regardless of whether your budget is big or small, you should work on your window display. After all, it is usually the first contact customers have with your store. The same principle applies to online stores: their window being their website. In either case, you should make sure to appeal to your target demographic with an attractive and modern display. If you catch the passerby’s eye, he or she will probably turn into a customer.
4. Participating actively in your community
Sponsoring a local sports team, hosting charity events or supporting a local charity are great ways of achieving word-of-mouth marketing, attracting new customers and boosting your business. Moreover, if you become an active member of your community and get involved with the activities of your town, people will get to know you and your business; it’s just another way of inexpensive advertising.
3. Staying up-to-date
What’s new today will be old tomorrow, so you need to update your business constantly. Renovations may include altering the design and furniture following current trends, reinventing your advertising campaigns and methods or updating the techniques and technology in order to keep up to your competitors.
2. Improving and reinforcing customer service
One of the top advices we have for you is this: if you want to get more foot traffic in your store, you have to focus on the customers. The first thing you should do is get to know them by finding out what they want, like and expect from you. Once you know who you’re marketing to, you may take an extra step and expand your market. Moreover, you should treat your clients as royalty: you address them politely, attend their needs and go the extra mile for them. Remember: the customer is always right. Furthermore, you should try to keep in touch with them, show them that you’re still there offering your service and that you appreciate their loyalty. When clients choose a small business over a large one it is usually because of their great service; a smile, enthusiasm and product knowledge make a greater difference than you might think and should be the hallmarks of your business.
1. Investing in web marketing
Finally, living in the 21st century, web marketing has become a matter of the utmost importance for businesses. In recent years social networking has taken over the internet, so an inexpensive and effective way of connecting to customers instantly is within the reach of any small business. If you already have social media accounts, they should be updated on a regular basis; if you still haven’t experimented with these it is about time. Another great way of taking advantage of online opportunities is offering an e-newsletter. Finally, you must keep your website fresh and updated and you may advertise online in well-known sites.