Everything You Need to Know to Improve Your In-Store Marketing Strategy

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Omni-channel Retail Strategy (44-slide PowerPoint presentation). The e-commerce market continues to grow exponentially. More consumers are opting for the convenience of online shopping. This trend has been accelerated by COVID-19. The future of e-commerce is Omni-channel Retailing. A single channel is no longer enough. The challenge is to find a seamless [read more]

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Getting patrons into your store is becoming increasingly difficult with today’s digital conveniences. People can easily just go online and select from a variety of sellers which products they want and have them delivered to their door. They can have their groceries delivered, clothes delivered, and even big ticket items like furniture delivered. This convenience can make it difficult for brick and mortar stores to thrive, but by following this guide, you can become the place to be no matter what your industry:

Minimalist Principles to Adopt

The first way to improve your in-store marketing is to improve the overall flow and design of your products themselves. Customers need to be able to easily get to all the items in your store – ideally in some sort of flow or pathway. They shouldn’t have trouble getting maneuvering between your other customers and products. They should also not have an issue when it comes to seeing your whole store. Work on creating a smart layout of your products, and don’t overladen your shelves and racks with items. Have three of each size in store, and the rest in an easy system in the back. That way you can allow customers to clearly see their options and reduce the look of clutter in your store.

Art and Design Must Be a Factor

A great layout is not enough today. You want your store to be designed so well that customers enter it out of curiosity. Part of this design also needs to be welcoming. There are far too many instances of a great store being ignored because it simply doesn’t look like it is something that is open to the public. You don’t want to keep your doors open at all times of the year, but simply having a window front and elements of interest throughout the store can entice new foot traffic in and through your store where they will hopefully find something they like.

Make the Checkout Process Smooth

By focusing on improving the checkout process in your store, you can minimize the time it takes to process any one payment and, of course, speed up any lines. This will be critical during busy periods like Christmas or even Valentines Day. To provide this fast service, you will need a great EMV card reader that can process contactless payments quickly. Combine this fast payment system with other time-saving tactics, such as having paper bags lined up behind your counter with additional marketing flyers for future sales already put inside. The cashier then only needs to take one, fold the clothes inside, and hand it to the customer.

It is these small strategies that will make all the difference. You want to get through your checkout line fast so that you can reap the rewards of bulk payments.

Further Marketing Opportunities

There are so many ways you can further your marketing opportunities through your customer. If your social media platforms share user-generated content, you could entice your customers to share photos of themselves and your products to their friends. If you have a great tote bag design that you give free of charge for purchases over, say $50, then you will benefit from free billboard advertising wherever your customers go.

There are so many ways you can make customers feel great about advertising your business for you, free of charge. All you need to do is put those systems in place and provide them such great customer experience that they feel good whenever they see your brand.

How to Build a Loyalty Program

A loyalty program can do the trick to enticing customers back again and again. It doesn’t even necessarily have to offer discounts. Suggest customers sign up to your newsletter for great, industry-related articles, news on sales and events in-store, and perhaps a birthday discount or two. Even if you just get their name and an email you can work on creating a long-lasting bond between your brand and the customer that will have them return and buy from you again and again.

When people go to physical stores, it is because they want the experience of shopping. Very rarely will people waste their time nowadays to search through different stores for something mundane that they need. Shops, therefore, need to offer a fun way to get out of the house and enjoy themselves. Whether you sell clothes or kitchen supplies, by following this guide you can improve your in-store marketing strategy and help encourage more sales than ever before.

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