Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If own a ‘brick and mortar’ business, it’s important to get as much traffic into your establishment as possible. As such you must figure out how to get potential customers to want to come in and do business. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Getting More Feet Through Your Business’s Front Door.
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Brick and mortar businesses are finding it difficult in a world of business that’s growing increasingly digital. Even if your business has no online equivalents, you’re still working against the fact that fewer people are out-and-about since they can have most of their needs fulfilled online. So, you need to make sure you can get as many people in off the street as possible. Here’s how you can ensure your business gets more feet through that front door.
Make a big deal of it
If you’re looking to draw customers, then few things work than making an occasion of it. While throwing a launch event is usually saved for the opening of a business, it doesn’t necessarily have to be. A launch event can also be used to celebrate the unveiling of a new product or service. Marketing and spreading the word of the launch event in advance is crucial and using your industry contacts can help build the buzz around it if they’re willing to give it a shout-out on their own platforms. The launch event gets people in through the door, helping them become familiar with premises and giving you the perfect opportunity to sell them on the products and services that can see them coming back soon, too.
Choose the right place
If you’re just starting your brick and mortar business, then you should pause to ensure you’re choosing the best potential property for it. Location is key and using online tools like dental listings can help you find the properties best suited to the kind of business you need to run. However, the most important part of the location is the fact that it’s highly visible and accessible to customers. If it’s tucked away and hard to find, then you might have more trouble getting people through the door organically, as they’re not as likely to see it and be reminded that they need or were thinking about whatever service you provide.
Picture sourced by John-Mark Smith
Say hi to the neighbors
Many businesses that don’t sell goods that are immediately attractive might not rely as much on the storefront as others. Important service providers, such as dental practices, law firms, and property agents need to find other ways to inform their local community about the fact that they are there. The online world can help, as we will explore further, but don’t underestimate the power of old marketing methods, either. Physical mail marketing is still one of the most cost-effective tricks in the book, and leaflet distribution is one of the most effective methods of it. It gives you the opportunity to share all the necessary details of the business at a glance and gives your future customers and clients an easy-to-keep remind of your location and contact details that can help drive further into the marketing pipeline.
Make sure that it sticks out
The aesthetic of the business has a huge role to play in both how appealing it is but also how noticeable it is. Improving the aesthetic of the business is all about having the brand on display. Having the right signage, planning your visual merchandising so that your best goods show in the window, and making the surroundings presentable through landscaping and general maintenance can all make it more appealing to the eye and noticeable. Even if your business isn’t in the most visible or accessible area, you can still invest in signage that can help direct customers your way.
Don’t forget to list it online
Even though we’re looking at brick and mortar businesses, the online world still has a large role to play in driving customers in your direction. A growing percentage of your customer base is going to turn to the internet when looking for businesses and researching them, even local businesses they plan on visiting in person. Improving your local search optimization can help you gain a place of prominence when potential customers search for terms relevant to the business. Creating a Google listings profile can help them immediately learn your location and how to get in touch with you. A good website with information on your services and social media presence can make your business seem all the more approachable and with-the-times, as well. If you neglect the online world, your business is going to feel the impact of it.
Hopefully, the tips above give you some inspiration on how to draw more customers inside if your employees are feeling a little lonely and your cash flow is starting to feel the effects.
