Retail Consultant Case Study: How to Attract A Customer to Your Store

By Bob Phibbs

Retail case studies are great ways to learn how to grow your sales.

As a retail consultant, I get a wide variety of challenges to help retailers make more sales, attract more customers, and become more profitable.

I'm sharing ten case studies from some of the largest brands to some of the smallest mom-and-pops with lessons on your physical location, merchandising, branding, marketing to your target customers, and of course, intense retail sales training - all of which you can use in your stores.

First up, leveraging your location; one of several examples of how to make your business unique featured in my book, The Retail Doctor's Guide to Growing Your Business (Wiley.)

The situation

Aron Lieberman, the owner of Rockland Window Fashions, purchased a historic home in a prime neighborhood to showcase his products.

After the purchase closed, he learned that conventional signs would not be allowed on the front lawn.

Traffic was slow even though the road in front of his business was one of the most traveled roads in the town.

He wasn't getting any bump in sales from his location choice.

The goal

Solve the question, how to attract customers into the store?

The strategy

Come up with a way shoppers could instantly understand what he offered, pique their interest and leverage his prime location. We decided to create a series of custom fake window curtains to affix to the outside of the windows with an understated banner along the front identifying the name of the business.

The implementation

Aron was excited by the project and designed the faux window coverings, selecting the right paint and shading - the works. He worked on them for several weeks in his off time in the basement and had a helper put them up on the house - even though it was winter.

The results

Traffic to his store increased by 50%. And this all happened during the middle of the recession!

Aron has put this landmark image of the house on all of his emails and invoices - wherever and whenever he can to leverage the visibility and status his house enjoys.

Lesson for you

Creativity is what is needed to look at leveraging your location. So many times, the thing that can most attract a customer - or make them drive right on by - is the exterior of your store.

What can you do to be noticed by potential customers?

1. Find a way to show what you sell from the exterior of your building.

2. Use bright colors to draw interest.

3. Surprise the passerby.

Aron could have just painted his house bright pink and been noticed but that wouldn't compliment his business, would it? If you are a window fashions store, just putting faux blinds on your building won't lift traffic if your building doesn't lend itself to the treatment.

What can you do to make your store stand out? Start by reading Visual Merchandising: 10 Insights How To Merchandise Your Store.

Could you put out a red "Welcome" mat in front of your door as a start?

If you are a florist, could you scatter flower petals on the concrete in front of your store?

If you are a motorcycle store, can you find a way to highlight your best bike so any guy cruising past will stop and look?

Of course, you can do that! But why don't you? Change can be tough - especially if you ask your employees or shoppers what you should do.

That's because they will say they don't like change until they see it completed and can see the value.

How could you modify your building to draw customers in?

See more case studies from the Retail Doctor here

About Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

Companies from some of the very largest to some of the smallest, from luxury brands to startups, franchises to regional chains, work with me because they seek results.

While every client and project is different, the ability to enlist me as a consultant who has a fresh set of eyes to look at the challenges you are facing can result in a focused, practical, and creative path to profitable sales.

Let's see how I can help you get results.