5 Ways Small Businesses Can Increase Foot Traffic
Because more people than ever are shopping online today, it’s getting more difficult for small businesses to consistently drive traffic to their venues. Couple that with vying for the remaining dollars at the local level, and you’ve got one heck of a challenge. Fortunately, there are still many creative ways you can spur more visits to your retail store or restaurant. Following are five of them.
1- Target the Right Customers
Your target consumers are the ones who are most likely to buy your products or services. The best way to determine who these people are is to conduct in-store surveys. You can also offer incentives, such as coupons, to entice people to participate in your research. Target audiences are often defined by various demographics, including age, income, gender, marital status and occupation, according to Inc. You may also probe consumers’ for personal attributes to better define you target market. Examples include attitudes, values, hobbies and lifestyles. Structure your survey questions in a way you can procure these variables to get a better understanding of whom you’re actually targeting.
2- Increase Local Advertising
Businesses which generate the most traffic are the ones that market on a consistent basis. There are many local advertising vehicles you can use to reach your customers, such as local advertising magazines, cooperative direct mailings and the online yellow pages. Test specific ad sources and increase the circulation and frequency of those that generate the most leads.
3- Use Social Media
Social media is a highly effective and inexpensive tool for getting more people in your store. Start by using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr to build awareness of your store. Twitter has an advanced feature than allows you to determine what’s being tweeted near you with certain key words. Subsequent tweets regarding these searches can then enable you to build brand awareness and a positive perception in the eyes of potential customers. You can also use Instagram Stories to generate interest in your products, prompting people to take a snapshot of your story to enjoy a discount. Another social media tool is Meetup.com where you can meet interested consumers when discussing a topic germane to your business.
4- Maximize In and Out-of-Store Marketing
The precursor for any local store marketing is to enhance the aesthetics of your unit. This is best accomplished by organizing your aisles so that it’s easy to find merchandise. Your signage must also be neat and readable throughout your store. Once you have your store organized, erect displays to highlight items you want to push. To draw customers in, hold seminars or workshops that education customers about products and how to assemble them. Hold a sidewalk sale if you’re in a shopping center. You can also designate someone to hold a sign outside your business to attract passersby. An effective tactic to pull in new customers is to distribute flyers offsite in high-traffic areas, inviting people to try your products at a discount.
5- Start a Loyalty Program
Some of the larger more successful chains use loyalty magnetic stripe cards to keep track of customers’ purchases and interests. They then offer occasional coupons on the more frequently purchased goods to entice customers to keep coming back. You’ll need to integrate the cards with your POS system to implement this type of loyalty program. Once this system is fully implemented, you can email or mail customers information about new products because everyone will be in your database. The tool also enables you to see the types of customers who are ordering certain products. Frequency cards or incentives are another way to spur more foot traffic. The key is to gradually offer rewards of higher value the more your customers spend or visit. Whatever promotions you offer, go out of your way to reward your older customers and thank them for their patronage, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
This can include exclusive deals for customers who haven’t been in your store or restaurant in a while, or incentivizing them for providing you with referrals.
Set specific goals as to what percentage you want to increase foot traffic each month and be enthusiastic and positive about your efforts. If you stay consistent with some of these initiatives, you’ll be surprised how well they increase visits.
