A drop in store traffic doesn't have to happen! With a little initiative and a lot of creativity, you can revitalize your store. This article presents 5 tips (plus a 6th to boost the others) that are relatively easy to activate to create traffic in your store or restaurant, whether it's new customers or building loyalty among existing ones.
Diversifying your offer is one of the most effective ways of generating point-of-sale traffic. One sure-fire way (and without straying too far from your core business) is to offer evening classes or workshops related to your offering. This type of initiative is increasingly common in city centers where young urbanites reside, particularly in DIY, cooking or recycling. That said, all sectors are potentially concerned!
Free or paid, in-store courses have a number of advantages, in addition to driving traffic into the store:
- Disseminate best practices by showcasing your products
- Generate cross-selling of complementary products or accessories
- Offer your customers a complete experience that goes beyond simple purchasing
- Get to know your customers better
- Create word-of-mouth and social networking opportunities
It's a fact that the majority of satisfied customers are ready to recommend you, but few actually do. All they need is a little nudge to take action! Referral programs can turn your best customers into ambassadors. They encourage people to talk about you, thanks to a series of well-deserved rewards. Whether in the form of a free product, an exceptional service or a discount, don't forget to offer a reward for both the sponsor and the sponsored customer!
In stores too, purchasing decisions are increasingly made online. According to a study by Bazaarvoice, 39% of customers seek information online (about the item and the seller) before making an in-store purchase. For a restaurant, as for any other business, accumulating positive customer reviews on Yelp or Google will give you much more exposure on the Internet, and can ultimately generate traffic in-store. Thanks to Google My Business, you can even appear on Google Maps and local search results.
To encourage positive online reviews, feed your Yelp and Google My Business pages with as much information as possible (photos, opening hours, address, etc.) and encourage your VIP customers to leave their testimonials, possibly in exchange for a small gift. Among its tools, Pongo offers back-office monitoring of your customer reviews on the main platforms, for optimum management of your e-reputation.
Event marketing is another easy-to-activate method of bringing customers into the store. In addition to generating sales over time, organizing events helps to assert your brand image.
What kind of event can I organize in my store? The only limit here is your creativity! Many different types of event are possible, depending on your sector of activity:
- Store, product or brand launch party
- Expert opinion ;
- Exhibition;
- Featuring an artisan-creator with a day of encounters
- Store anniversary
- Targeted events to invite influencers
and much more...
No matter what type of event you're planning, it's important to get the word out beforehand, and this will determine the event's success. If the budget allows, a small buffet can do wonders for attendance! Above all, put all your channels to work to get the word out about your event: word of mouth, friends, SMS marketing, advertising, social networks, emailing, point-of-sale marketing, publications in the local press or local business newspapers, etc...
A few seconds are all it takes to decide whether your customers enter your premises... The window display is fundamental to diverting the flow of passers-by and creating in-store traffic. As well as telling the story of your store's mission, it needs to be aesthetically impactful... Both the interior and the window must have high Instagram potential: they must mix photogenic and lifestyle to make people want to spend time with you - and tell the story.
By keeping your existing customers coming back, loyalty is also a serious boost to footfall! Above all, it increases "customer lifetime value" tenfold: the average amount each customer will spend throughout their relationship with a store.
Mobile SMS marketing is the ideal way to build customer loyalty. Thanks to its practicality, this proximity channel achieves a message open rate of 98%! A well-targeted SMS campaign can do a world of good for store traffic. Text messages keep existing customers coming back for promotions, rewards and anything else related to your news.
Another advantage: with the right partner (like Pongo), SMS marketing can boost all the other initiatives described in this article! Through text messages, you can promote your courses and workshops, your events, your referral program, encourage online reviews and much more. Everything you need to create a buzz around your store with a simple-to-implement solution!
