Opening your first ever store is incredibly exciting. You’ve spent months fitting out and decorating, and now it’s time to fling open the doors and invite your first potential customers over the threshold of your brick and mortar store.
Problem is, unless you’re in a really high footfall area, simply having a store with an ‘Open’ sign on the door won’t be enough to start driving sales through the til.
If you’re about to launch your own shop, or have an existing store and would like more people through the door, here are some things to consider.
Be visible online
It may seem a weird place to start when promoting your physical brick and mortar store by heading online, but one of the best ways to get people through your door is for them to know about your store before they go shopping!
When a potential customer searches for a local store, such as a bakery or DIY shop, on Google in particular, you want to make sure that your store appears as an option.
The best way to do this is by setting up a Google Business listing which will pinpoint your business on a map. You can also upload great images and start asking customers for reviews. The more great reviews you have, the more visible your Places listing will become.
Irresistible window shopping
The very best physical stores look irresistible when you walk past them. They command attention, evoke intrigue, and get a passerby to pause in front of them… and ponder going in to explore further!
If you head out onto the street where your shop is, does it stand out? Does it have amazing signage that says what you sell, or who your shop is perfect for? Does it have great displays in the window that show the best of your products? Is it well lit at night or on darker winter evenings?
You could also turn your store front into a digital campaign by making it so Instagrammable that your brick and mortar store will soon become the backdrop of many a local IG post!
Easily accessible
If they can’t get in, they can’t give you their money! One of the biggest problems for any physical shop, as well as hospitality locations, is the lack of easy access.
For highstreet stores, that could mean narrow entrances or steps and stairs. For out-of-town locations, that could mean lack of visible parking.
Parking is extremely important for many shoppers who need to know they can quickly pull in without issue, load up their boots, and drive away again. As soon as getting into or parking near your store becomes an issue, people will look for what they need elsewhere.
You can help improve your stores’ accessibility through simple things, like keeping your doors open to mark you’re open, providing a small ramp if there’s a step up to the shop, or even using line marking paint to make the parking bays in front of your brick and mortar store as clear and inviting as possible!
