{"id":1217,"date":"2018-12-17T13:52:31","date_gmt":"2018-12-17T18:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2018-12-17T13:53:33","modified_gmt":"2018-12-17T18:53:33","slug":"how-to-attract-customers-into-your-retail-store-in-7-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/how-to-attract-customers-into-your-retail-store-in-7-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Attract Customers into Your Retail Store in 7 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During the holiday season, retailers see steady flows of customers through their doors. But, all too often, we experience a lull in business shortly after December 25th.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>So, how do we keep patrons coming in through our not-so-busy seasons? Well, for one, it&#8217;s important we implement a series of old and new marketing tactics. We can&#8217;t just rely on the modern digital strategies we hear all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can talk all day about how great you are on social media or your website. But, you&#8217;ve got to be able to back it up. Here are 7 ways how to attract customers to your retail business through curb appeal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Creating a Window Display&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/223677\">window displays<\/a> carry just as much power as a billboard on the highway. If they&#8217;re attractive, you&#8217;re sure to draw in passersby. If they&#8217;re dull and bland, you&#8217;re missing a golden opportunity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some easy ways to  through this opening.&nbsp;For example, let&#8217;s say it&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Day. Ordinarily, you&#8217;re inclined to throw all your cutesy romantic items upfront.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, try creating a story hooked around a central theme that relates to the holiday. If you&#8217;re a hardware company, you can go with &#8220;how to mend a broken heart&#8221;. If you&#8217;re an apparel store, try &#8220;picking an outfit for the first date&#8221;.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make sure your displays are neat, yet bold and colorful. Also, you&#8217;ll want to update every month or two to keep your designs fresh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Lawn and Garden Maintenance&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re lucky enough to have green space near your storefront, you&#8217;ll want to take advantage. Flowers attract everyone and they&#8217;re great conversation pieces once someone comes inside.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, sidewalks surround many of our storefronts. But, that doesn&#8217;t mean there is little opportunity for landscaping. You should invest in large potted plants that match the season. Opt for geraniums in the summer and junipers in the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, make sure you&#8217;re taking care of your lawn space. Overgrown grass and untrimmed trees aren&#8217;t just unappealing. They could also present legal issues (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.applevalleytreeservice.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/20\/7-signs-its-time-to-hire-a-tree-trimming-service\/\">read more<\/a> about that here).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Invest in a Monument Sign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Businesses that reside in a commercialized area should make use of monument signs. These outdoor structures designate the entrance of a building. They&#8217;re also a branding opportunity, as they show customers they&#8217;re in the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are several different options you can choose from. If you share a plaza space, you and other tenants can make use of a freestanding post and panel sign. Pylon signs are also a great choice, as they&#8217;re tall and eye-catching.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Digital displays are becoming more popular because they provide flexibility. You can change your message as needed to promote sales, new arrivals, upcoming events, and more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Offer Refreshments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For many of us retailers, our level of foot traffic coincides with the weather and its conditions. Our slow days are often attributed to snowy roads or even frigid temperatures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s why you want to make the most of each customer that walks through the door. Offering refreshments, such as coffee, hot chocolate, or pastries, entice shoppers to visit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Promote through social channels to attract customers at home. Put signs out front (or edit your digital display!), for shoppers nearby to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This may not be a make-it or break-it factor for people when deciding to visit. But, it does carry a sense of goodwill, while putting you in the favorable opinion of your customers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Start Online<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of these strategies focus on how to promote to people passing by. But, in many cases, your curb appeal , not in-person. The vast majority of shoppers turn to the web to find stores near our location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to make the most of your online presence through social media and website optimization. Also, you must maintain attractive images of your store through digital platforms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can hire a photographer or stage a shoot on your own. Make sure your space is neat and tidy, and well-lit. Avoid shooting during a time of day that has too much sunlight. Also, follow the rule of thirds as a basic composition rule.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Act as a Customer&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Give your store a walk-through and pretend to be a potential customer. If you&#8217;ve never visited before, what&#8217;s drawing your attention? What areas would you improve?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s hard to be objective in this situation, as we see our store every day. So, you may want to enlist the help of another employee or even a friend or family member. It&#8217;s best to go with someone who&#8217;s had little contact with the store, if possible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask them to take notes on what looks &#8220;off&#8221;, and needs repaired, replaced, or cleaned. Also, ask if there&#8217;s anything that could enhance your store&#8217;s presentation when approaching.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Open Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If the weather won&#8217;t destroy your display, open your windows for a more inclusive look. This makes both the interior and exterior of your store more appealing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;ll brighten up the store for shoppers who are already inside. We can all appreciate some fresh air and breeze on a warm summer day. Plus, those who are outside will notice more of the store as they&#8217;re passing by.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Play fun, upbeat music and make use of the natural lighting. Also, pull your flower displays closer to the window for an even fresher scent.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For Those Learning How to Attract Customers&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No retailer looks forward to a slow business day, but you shouldn&#8217;t let them go to waste. Use this downtime to focus on duties you don&#8217;t have as much time for. Keep busy, whether that&#8217;s beautifying the store or catching up on administrative tasks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re wanting to learn more about how to attract customers, you&#8217;re in the right place. At Your Business offers advice to small business entrepreneurs across a wide variety of industries. We also have a directory to find businesses throughout your region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> to read more about marketing trends in the retail industry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the holiday season, retailers see steady flows of customers through their doors. But, all too often, we experience a lull in business shortly after December 25th.&nbsp; So, how do we keep patrons coming in through our not-so-busy seasons? Well, for one, it&#8217;s important we implement a series of old and new marketing tactics. We [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1219,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions\/1219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}