The purpose of any small business is to attract customers to make money, and if yours isn’t doing that or isn’t making as much money as you usually do, then something is wrong.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that you could be doing wrong, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to a customer flow problem.
Luckily, this also means that there are a lot of things that you can change and improve to get the cash flowing again.
Here are a few things that you can try to attract customers to your business so that you can make money and grow.
Have Attractive Window Displays
If your store resides in an area with great foot traffic, then improving and perfecting your window display is absolutely essential. Your window display has to be eye-catching and powerful enough to make someone stop dead in their tracks and take a good look.
If you’re lucky, and your display is good enough, this should encourage impulse purchases, or, at the very least, peak a potential customer’s interest.
Make sure that your best and most popular products are in the window and arrange them neatly, as no one is going stop if your window looks like a jumble sale.
Design An Eye-Catching Sign
Your sign should tell your customers something about you and your business. For example, if yours is huge black letters on an off-white background, you are telling your customers that you are boring and have no creativity whatsoever.
If you’re not particularly arty, then it might be sensible to get one designed professionally.
Greet Each Customer
Although it doesn’t happen very much these days, having someone at the door to greet each of your customers is still a great example of good customer service.
Too often nowadays you have customers wandering awkwardly around stores, wanting to ask a question, but also not wanting to because that would mean going to the counter.
Ensuring you have people on the shop floor to greet customers opens up this line of communication, so they feel more comfortable asking for help.
Avoid Sign Boys
Unfortunately, if you have a store that doesn’t get very much foot traffic, you’re going to have to figure out other ways to attract customers, because sign boys, with their sad faces, chewing gum, and headphones, usually don’t work.
In fact, in most cases, they put more customers off than they actually attract.
Rework Where They Walk
One very simple way to tell the difference between a successful and professional business, and one that just isn’t is to look down.
There is nothing more unappealing than stepping into a store and having your shoes stick to the floor because it’s covered in chewing gum, stains, and general grime.
If your store is like this, then consider pulling up the flooring and getting polished concrete flooring. It looks stylish, attractive, and is durable and easy to maintain.
Make It Fragrant
No one is going to want to spend very much time or money in your store if it doesn’t smell appealing. In fact, you probably won’t get very many customers at all.
If you make sure that your store smells attractive, such as by buying a few plugins or scented candles, customers are going to follow their nose right to you.
You can even find companies online that will design the perfect scent for your business based on what you sell, to bring in even more customers.
Be Known On Social Media
As all successful business owners should know, social media is essential these days. In fact, most customers won’t even go into a physical store unless they know that they have a strong online presence.
You can maintain this strong presence by regularly updating your social media pages with updates on your business, new products, and promotions.
Using social media also improves your customer service, as it allows you to respond to customers’ questions and resolve their issues almost immediately.
Host A Flash Sale
Customers are always on the lookout for a bargain, so a sale is a great way to attract those customers who have been on the fence about buying from you.
The limited time offer builds a sense of urgency within potential customers, so it’s a great way to make a lot of money in a short space of time.
Just make sure that you properly advertise your flash sale on social media and in your store windows, or no one will know that you’re having one, and there would be no point.
Entertain The Children
If shoppers head into town with their children, they usually want to get what they need and leave before the children get bored or tired and start complaining.
This means that, if you want to attract these types of shoppers, you need to find a way to keep the children entertained while the parents have a look at what you have on offer.
To do this, you could have an area of the store set up with books and toys, or could even enlist a member of staff to read a story or conduct a fun activity.
Offer A Loyalty Programme
New customers are important for a business to grow, but you also need to ensure that customers keep returning and remain loyal to you.
To make this more likely, you could implement a loyalty programme, where customers get a discount or something for free after they’ve shopped with you a set amount of times.
This encourages customers to keep buying from you, but also ensure that they feel valued, so relationships are formed between you and your customers. Just make sure that you advertise your loyalty programme, or customers won’t know it exists.
Making money is the job of any business owner, but to make money, you need customers. Hopefully, at least one of these tips will help you attract customers to your store, but if they don’t, there are lots of other things that you can try, so don’t give up.
