If you’re a business owner with a storefront-type business you will want to do your best to attract customers to drop in and shop, right? If you understand your customers you will probably know how to lure them into your store. But if you find that your store front is empty, perhaps you can find a new way to draw in customers and make your business more attractive.
Online advertising with a vibrant website that offers sales or your social media platform on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, or even the Yellow Pages or newspaper advertising can reach a wide range of people. In order for your marketing to be effective you first need to know the demographics of your customers and the way they shop and look for business with whom to interact.
If your clientele is older, newspapers, television or radio advertising may be the best; for the younger generation, you will want to catch them where they live – online and in social media platforms. If your store is a “destination site” such as a coffee shop or gift shop or vehicle repair shop, consider using FourSquare or Facebook Places to reward customers for frequent visits. Also, consider offering a money-off coupon or a buy one get one, as an incentive to have them check in. To be a savvy business owner means you need to know where your customers “shop” before they set foot in your store.
Another way to interact with your clients is to collect names and addresses or email addresses and send them an e-newsletter. Also, consider sending postcards to your clients at times of the year they aren’t expecting one – Thanksgiving, Labor Day, etc.
To thrive in today’s economy, it is all about getting customers in the door, and once you get them there, keeping them there and making certain they are interested in the goods and services that you have to offer.