How Brick and Mortar Stores Can Help You Get More Customers
- How Brick and Mortar Stores Can Help You Get More Customers
- Team up with local businesses
- Show your return policies
- Happy hours and store events
- Use store guides and print catalogs
- Track your marketing campaigns
- Bottom line
Bricks and mortar store: Brick-and-mortar retail stores are becoming a thing of the past. With e-commerce taking over and more people shopping online, retailers have been under pressure to find new ways to stay relevant and get their products in front of customers.
While online sales continue to grow, there’s still a large percentage of consumers who prefer to shop in physical stores.
Using a combination of modern technology and offline marketing strategies, these businesses are finding new ways to draw customers through the front door.
Here we will explore how brick-and-mortar stores can help you get more customers.
Read on to learn about the pros and cons of these types of retail outlets, as well as some examples from other brands that have successfully implemented both digital and offline marketing strategies.
How Brick and Mortar Stores Can Help You Get More Customers
The world has shifted from physical stores to online shopping. Brick-and-mortar retailers are feeling the pressure of eCommerce and digital marketing. Many people don’t have time to search through hundreds of websites to find the best deals on the things they need every week or month, let alone every day. Shopping in brick-and-mortar stores can help you get more customers. Here are some strategies that brick-and-mortar retailers use to optimize their locations and drive more customers through their doors.
Team up with local businesses
If you’re in a city like San Francisco, where there are so many great retailers, it can be tempting to try to go it alone. But in a city the size of San Francisco, you’re going to have a hard time finding enough customers to make it worth your time. You can greatly increase your chances of success by partnering with like-minded local businesses. Brick-and-mortar stores have a lot to offer in terms of reaching local customers. First, your store location gives you a great opportunity to introduce your brand to nearby businesses. Most brick-and-mortar stores have high visibility and location is often an important part of choosing a retailer. You can also offer local businesses a variety of marketing options, like print marketing, in-store marketing, and merchandising options.
Show your return policies
No one enjoys the headache of returning an item, but it’s a good idea to have a policy in place. That way, you can avoid headaches and get your item back to the store’s owner quickly. You may want to start with a low threshold, but involve your employees so they can help you figure out what’s appropriate. With return policies in place, you can cut down the number of returns you receive. If you decide to keep a low threshold or waive the policy altogether for certain events, like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, return rates will drop even more.
Happy hours and store events
Some of your customers are probably out enjoying a drink or spending time with family after work. An easy way to attract them is to host a happy hour or store event. You can tie your happy hours to seasonal events, like the summer barbecue, or to special events occurring at your store. You can host an in-store concert, a self-defense class, or a meeting room rental for a local organization. Happy hours can also be tied to special promotions or deals. For example, if you have reusable tote bags in stock, you can offer a happy hour that includes a free bag to anyone who brings a new item to the store. These events need to be timed well. If they’re too close to a full day of classes at a nearby university, for example, they may not draw many people. With events, you can also test different food and drink options. If you’re serving an alcoholic beverage, you can offer beer and wine or a specialty drink. If you’re offering snacks, you can offer both traditional and healthier options.
Use store guides and print catalogs
Visitors to a store are often asking for directions or trying to find their way around. To help your customers avoid these issues, put together a store guide. A store guide can include maps of your store, a store locator, store hours, product information, and more. You can also create store guides for online or mobile experiences. You can also include store locator tags in your printed catalogs. That way, you can include a store locator tag with every catalog you send out. You’ll be able to track where your catalogs are and which products they’re showing customers. A store locator tag can also help you track return customers. If someone’s having trouble finding your store again, you can send them a reminder.
Track your marketing campaigns
If you’re running digital marketing campaigns, you may want to track how many new customers you bring in. The easiest way to do this is with a digital marketing software. Many digital marketing software services, like GetResponse and HubSpot, let you track how many new customers you bring in through your digital marketing channels. By tracking your marketing channels, you can keep tabs on the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website or newsletter signup. You can also discover which channels are driving the most traffic but not delivering new customers. If you’re not using digital marketing tools or you don’t know where to start, that can be a great way to discover what works.
Bottom line
When it comes to getting more customers, brick-and-mortar retailers have plenty of strategies to choose from. Team up with local businesses, show your return policies, happy hours and store events, use store guides and print catalogs, track your marketing campaigns, and more. With these strategies, you can maximize the potential of your store location and drive more customers through the doors.