With so much competition out there it seems to be getting harder and harder to get more customers to actually come into your store, especially when people prefer to do all of their shopping online. The solution becomes to see just how creative you can be in order to draw in the crowds. Whatever tactics you use to draw people in should leave a lasting impression to keep them coming back for more. Put in some time and effort to develop these creative strategies and you’ll be rewarded with some loyal customers who recommend your business to their friends and fami ly.
1. Start a loyalty program.
Many stores today offer their own special loyalty or rewards program to offer their customers value in order to keep them coming back and making more purchases. With a loyalty program using key tags and plastic cards you give your customers points every time they make a purchase and they can use those points to redeem rewards like coupons and discounts. Give them their very own key tag to keep on their keychain which will keep track of their purchases and the amount of points they have.
2. Offer gift cards.
Custom printed gift cards are a great option to offer your customers because they make easy gifts for all occasions. When you don’t know what to get someone for a birthday or other holiday you can just purchase a gift card and the person will definitely appreciate the gesture. Someone who may not have considered entering your store in the past may now try it because they just received a gift card to your store so now you also have a new customer thanks to your gift card.
3. Create specials on certain days of the week.
Offering special promotions in-store on certain days of the week is something fun to do for your customers and it’s something they’ll look forward to during their week. Word will spread that on certain days it’s good to stop by your store and take advantage of the specials and you’ll find that more people are stopping by to ask what the special of the day is. If you make signs advertising your specials and hang them on the store window, this will also attract more people to come inside.
4. Host an event at your location.
Just like having a grand opening celebration or holiday celebration, hosting some sort of party or in-store event at your office, store, restaurant, etc. will excite people and get them to stop by. You can serve free finger foods and even champagne or juice depending on your audience and also give away freebies and have raffle prizes. Invite people to get to know you and your team and see what goes into running the business.
5. Get active in the community.
The best way for a small, local store to grow their customers is to get their name out there in the community and show that you are active and involved. You can do this by donating to a local charity, sponsoring a local sports team, helping out a school or church, handing out flyers, etc. Have a bulletin board in your store that advertises all sorts of local events and encourage people to put up their personal flyers and your store will become a go-to spot for community news.
6. Decorate your windows.
A window display does not have to be fancy or have a lot going on to attract peoples’ attention. You can just go with a theme for the holidays or to show school spirit, and put up some decorations and signs announcing sales. The more colorful and artsy the display, the more likely it will draw the eye and entice people to come into your store. People will also like that you are getting into the holiday spirit by celebrating, whether for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, etc.
7. Host a contest.
People love entering contests if they know they have a shot at winning a cool prize and the more prizes you can offer, the better their chances are of winning so they will be even more excited to participate. Customers can earn an immediate entry into the contest with a qualifying purchase or you can make it a little more difficult by asking customers to do something special to enter the contest. This could be creating a poster for your store, a video commercial, submitting a new flavor of ice cream (if you own an ice cream shop), or putting together the best outfit using clothes from your store. The more creative the contest the more fun people will have spending time on their entries.
8. Get to know your customers.
You’ll learn a lot about what customers like and don’t like when you get on their level and spend time actually interacting with them and getting to know who they are. You want to know who are the kinds of people frequenting your store and use this information to your advantage. Be friendly to your customers, ask their names, ask them about their day, introduce yourself to them, etc. Friendly small-talk can go a long way and customers will appreciate that you are taking the time to get to know them on a personal level. This shows that you actually care about your customers.
To schedule an interview with Braun Barski, CEO of KeyTag1, LLC, please contact Tasha Mayberry, Director Public Relations, at pr@keytag1.com or call 207.317.6099. Visit www.keytag1.com to learn all about key tags and plastic cards as well as marketing ideas on the KeyTag1 blog.
posted by Cynthia Le
4/27/14
