By
Bob Phibbs
Updated August 16, 2024
Graham, a friend, went to a local electronics store to buy a microphone. The young sales associate took him to the microphones and stood silently, hovering over him.
The associate wasn't helping with anything. Graham didn’t think he knew anything about microphones. Finally, my friend told him, “I’m fine.” The clerk replied, "I only get a commission if I stay here."
It so enraged my friend he said he’d never shop there again. And if he told me, as someone who lives about 2,000 miles away, I’m sure he’s also told many people who live nearby.
That leads me to the first of seven ways to bring more retail customers into your store—a strategy that many businesses underutilize. If you’re struggling to get customers in the door, both new and returning, start here.
7 Ways to Get Customers In the Door
Customers must be motivated to get up, put on a jacket, find their car keys, and travel to your store. Even deciding to stop in when they’re already in the area requires you to earn their attention. Make these seven changes to get customers in the door and keep them coming back.
1. Deliver an exceptional customer experience
It’s the old saw, but it’s true ... brick-and-mortar retail is all about the experience customers have at your store. It’s not about the products; trust me on that.
Creating that takes more than saying you provide customer service. It takes retail sales training, a relentless focus on going out of your way, and having an open heart as you engage each shopper. Engage shoppers in-store, and they’ll return and send their friends.
2. Get their contact information
A customer who buys something and leaves without any way for you to contact them leaves as a ghost. You need a system of collecting information that isn’t intrusive, robotic, or dependent on deals -- are you listening, Walgreens?
You could use a kiosk in your store, a QR code to scan at checkout, or even an old-school form. Your best marketing should be aimed at people who know you already.
3. Keep in touch
A simple set of emails for new customers or a monthly newsletter keeps your name front and center. It is irrelevant whether they need what you feature in that email, newsletter, or publication. They regularly see your brand, which keeps you top-of-mind. Without using the information you collect, you become a ghost, forgotten by those shoppers.
4. Create great window displays
If you have display windows and you’re not using them correctly, you are not taking advantage of one of the most powerful marketing pieces at your disposal. You can either capture the attention of passersby with a thoughtful, focused display, or you can load it up with lots of junk and watch those passersby ignore you.
Take the time to discover the scrumptious outfit and the tricked-out electronics package, then add a great sign, and voila. Note: Changing them twice a month is a best practice.
5. Use Facebook-sponsored posts
The numbers on Facebook are still staggering, which is why their sponsored ads and posts are so popular. Did you know you can select a competitor’s followers as a group to aim your ads at?
Yes, they cost money. You have to use money to make money. And the more keywords or emails you use to form custom audiences, the better.
Like any marketing, you can't just post an ad and do nothing else. You must monitor, track, and A/B test the heck out of it. That said, I know of nowhere else you can drive your message to shoppers within your own trading area so easily.
6. Face the reality of online pricing competition
There is a perception that a smaller store will, by nature, be overpriced. Do you want to get buzz and attack online competitors head-on? Create a policy you’re comfortable with that offers your in-store customers an opportunity to stay, buy and return. Hear me out. We all know Best Buy has about eight online retailers they will price-match … including Amazon.
Your margins won’t allow you to go there. But when price matching becomes an issue and your customer is about to walk out, offer them the difference in a gift certificate for future purchases, an upgrade, or something of equal value.
Wouldn’t it be better to save that sale by making those offers than letting them leave and buy from someone else? And won’t that buyer leave happy and most likely return? Of course, but it takes a very forward-thinking leader to make it happen.
7. Have convenient store hours
If your hours are for your convenience and not your customers’, say closing at 5 pm on weekdays and staying closed on Sundays, you are actively telling a group of customers who work, “We don’t need your business.”
Retail stores' three highest traffic times are Saturday 11-1, Saturday 2-4, and Sunday 1-3. Retail is not a hobby; you have to be open when shoppers want you to be.
The key to attracting paying customers
Getting profitable customers in the door is tough.
And it gets tough when no one is thinking and speaking out for people who are already clients. At that point, it looks as if you only care about dollar signs.
You can attract customers by hosting free events, especially those that include food or, even better, drink. You can also destroy your margins by offering a half-off sale. But getting shoppers to pay your prices and become customers requires some deep thought.
What kind of customers do we want? What is our ideal customer looking to solve when they walk in the door? How can we do things differently than our competitors?
When you answer those questions, you’ll naturally consider who your consumer is and why they won’t find anything in your store to fit their needs. And understand ... that is OK.
When you try to be everything to everyone, you often are seen as bland.
The bland retailers are on the run now. They’ve been judged, and their shoppers are sitting on the sidelines.
To get your share of customers …
Remember, you can only control things within your own four walls; you cannot control the economy, politics, Amazon, or your competitor down the street.
Ensure you are doing these seven things, claim your business name on both Google and Facebook and take charge of your business.
And you’ll never experience a guy like Graham, who walked in all excited yet walked out enraged and then told all of his friends … who will now never walk through the door.
