What is foot traffic? Think of it as the lifeblood of a store. People flow in and out, making purchases and allowing the store to survive. You can check the statistics, use a foot traffic map and look into traffic generation marketing.
Through effective traffic advertising, store owners can get a better idea of how to increase their foot traffic. In the meantime, there are eight ways in particular that can help.
1 Don’t be afraid of investments in training
Keep an employee training record and employee training policy. Virtual employee training is helpful during times like these. Sprint employee training can accelerate the process. And small business employee training is imperative to educate the employees on how to best help the business.
Without proper training, you will have employees that are no help and while some businesses like ValueHunta can survive based on their offerings, other companies are not so lucky. Invest in training for your employees as soon as you can. You can also use Levescale to keep track of these training sessions more effectively.
2 Create photo opportunities
Learn how to post high quality photos on Instagram. Learn how to see who reposted your post on Instagram. What is social presence theory and social activity? Why should firms consider investing in a presence on larger social networks?
Like it or not, social media can play a tremendous role in the business world. Interacting with customers, gaining greater reach and bridging the distance between customer and business have never been more readily available. Social media is imperative in most successful business endeavours.
3 Make your clients bring a friend
It is important to bring people together. Attract customers now and constantly be accepting new clients. If a customer asks, ‘may I bring a friend?’ the answer should be a resounding yes. Even try running ‘bring a friend free’ programs where applicable.
The more people that are exposed to your business, the better chance you have of experiencing growth and bringing in new customers. By having programs to draw in customers, you gain better exposure and improve your chances of creating a repeat customer. That is what successful businesses are all about.
4 Have something special for each season
Seasonal trends are great for foot traffic. Having the same things year-round creates stagnation. Remember, the goal is to bring people together. ‘Please visit’ is not enough anymore. The more special events you run, the more you stand apart.
Special events centre on creating a different and welcoming experience to both new and old customers. It shows loyalty while enticing new customers to enter the store. More importantly, it gives those customers a reason to return to your store. That is the most important aspect and can go a long way towards improving foot traffic.
5 Take advantage of location data
Advanced micro targeting, combined with smart targeting and z-targeting, make location big data more important than ever. It allows customers in the area who have no idea your store exists to find it quickly, increasing foot traffic in a big way.
Most people don’t know what store they are searching for. They will search for an item in their area code and see what turns up. By focusing on location data, you can get in on those ever-important searches and garner more foot traffic as a result.
6 Encourage customers to talk up your brand
Which strategy best helps a famous brand company reach consumers? Accepting new clients and looking to attract customers now is great but you need to promote control. Advertise to business owners as much as you do individuals.
By offering rewards for promoting your brand, you have a constant stream of advertising that reaches businesses and individuals that can be beneficial for improving foot traffic into your store on a regular basis.
No matter what advertising techniques arise, word of mouth remains as strong a method and for good reason. Don’t overlook it.
7 Use retail analytics
Invest in retail analytics books. Bring in a retail analytics company and look into online retail analytics. Retail analytics trends and retail marketing analytics can go a long way towards helping you understand the foot traffic you have, especially compared to competitors.
Market analysis helps you understand the why and how to better address it. Don’t assume that consistent marketing and promotion will do the trick. Understand who is coming into your store, when and why. It will help you focus on your strengths, work on your weaknesses and improve the effectiveness of your business as a whole.
8 Keep customers coming back
One of the biggest questions that businesses have is how to keep clients coming back. Customers have the right to choose. You can make ways and learn how to get and keep good clients, tough as the task may be.
Say ‘we love our customers’ in as many ways as you can. Put a focus on driving customer satisfaction. That will, in turn, lead to word of mouth as customers tell friends and family about the positive experiences that they have had. And remember, that word of mouth can be infinitely invaluable towards not only bringing in new customers but getting those who have visited to return.
Conclusion
Getting consistent foot traffic and bringing in repeat customers is a difficult task. If it weren’t, businesses everywhere wouldn’t be looking for an edge. It takes careful analysis, a willingness to adapt and putting the customer above all else.
Foot traffic is the lifeblood of any store. Finding ways to bring those people back again takes time and consistency. But when you manage to find those methods, you can bring in repeat customers who will share what they think about your business with others.
By Peter Rossi
This article first appeared on retailbiz
