Whether you run a small boutique or a growing retail store, finding new ways to bring in more customers is always at the top of your priority list. The good news? You don’t have to have a huge marketing budget to drum up interest in your brand. In fact, we’ve put together a list of six relatively simple steps you can take to drive traffic to your retail store and take your brand to the next level.
1. Focus on Your SEO
According to a Local Search study, 97% of users now search online to find local businesses. This means that if your online presence is lacking, you’re probably missing out big time on new customers.
The key to improving your online presence? Search engine optimization (SEO), a strategy that aims to improve your store website’s rankings on the search engine result pages. The higher your site ranks when potential customers search for keywords related to your products/services, the more likely they’ll be to visit your site. And of course, the more traffic you drive to your site, the more your brand recognition spreads and the more traffic you convert to your store.
So, what are some things you can do to improve your SEO? There’s a lot to it, but a few simple yet effective steps you can take include:
- Setting up a Google Business listing and filling out your business profile as much as possible.
- Updating your website content regularly.
- Creating a blog and publishing new, relevant posts regularly.
- Incorporating strategic keywords into your blog and website content.
- Diligently replying to reviews of your store on Google and other third-party sites.
2. Stay Active on Social Media
In addition to improving your SEO, having a strong social media presence can also go a long way towards boosting awareness of your brand and thus increasing foot traffic to your store. If you don’t already have profiles set up on popular social media platforms that your target audience is using, now is the time. Some common platforms to consider focusing on include:
- TikTok
Of course, having profiles on these platforms isn’t enough; the key is to get your audience interacting and engaging with you! There’s a reason companies hire full-time social media managers to handle this for them—but even without extensive social media experience, you can get people excited about your brand by running social media contests/giveaways, responding to all comments on your page, and sharing content that your audience will love.
3. Choose Your Staff Carefully
Getting people into your store isn’t going to do much good if your customers don’t have a great experience. In fact, according to a Microsoft study, 56% of people have stopped doing business with a company due to a poor customer service experience.
So, what’s the key to delivering the best experience to your customers once they’re in the store? Your staff. Not only should you choose your team carefully, but you should set aside the appropriate training hours to ensure that every member of your team knows how to wow each customer who comes through your doors. That’s the key to a great customer experience (and, of course, repeat customers!).
4. Host Special Events
Another way to bring more people into your retail store is to host an event! Special events provide a great opportunity to bring in new customers, build customer loyalty, spread awareness of your brand, and initiate sales. So, what kind of event should you host? Ultimately, this will depend on the type of products you sell, your goals for the event, and other factors.
Some businesses, for example, might host a special event based on an upcoming holiday; outdoor tent sales with live music and/or food vendors are suitable for summer holidays. Meanwhile, in-store “customer appreciation” events can be more exclusive and available by invite-only. Regardless of the exact event you host, the key is to make your attendees feel valued and special.
5. Create a Loyalty Program
Did you know that nearly 59% of global Internet users reported that earning rewards and/or loyalty points is one of the most valued aspects of a retail shopping experience? If your business doesn’t already have a loyalty program available to its customers, you could be missing out on repeat and new customers.
Setting up a loyalty program (especially a free one) is relatively easy and expensive—and these programs can be an excellent way to use incentives that will keep people coming back to your store time and time again.
The Bottom Line in Driving Traffic to Your Store
At Patrick and Company, we know a thing or two about building and growing brands because it’s such a huge part of what we do. Looking for additional help in driving traffic to your store? Reach out to one of our knowledgeable and experienced representatives to find out more about what we can do for your business!
All customers must be registered to shop. Once your application is complete, look for an email from us to create your login.