There are several ways to create a customer experience in your bricks and mortar store that will not only encourage them to buy, but will also have them coming back for more. It will of course depend on the kind of business you run and the items you sell, but there is almost always some way to connect with your target audience and help them start to view you as a business worth paying attention to and shopping at regularly.
First, we’re going to cover the seven ways you can create an enhanced customer experience in your store, or spa, or salon, etc. After that, we’re going to dive into the eight pro-level tips you can start using right now to create visually pleasing window displays to attract more foot traffic to your store.
The Customer Experience List
1. Make Them Feel Special
From the moment they walk in the door, make them feel special. Consider how you treat people when you invite them into your home, and make sure not to act like a pushy used car salesman. Everyone who works in your store should be trained well and have a good knowledge of each of the products you stock.
2. A Customer Loyalty Program
A customer loyalty program is easy to start and can pay off due to them feeling special and taking advantage of the discounts you are offering through the program. “Buy 2 and get the 3rd free” (of lesser value) works well, but you could assign it any number depending on the price points of what you are selling.
3. Make The Displays Easy To Use
Again, it depends on what you are selling, but in general, make the displays easy to use for your customers, and yourselves as well. For example, if you own a bookstore, don’t cram the books on the shelf to the point where they can’t take them out or put them back without damaging them.
In terms of clothing, make sure they can take the hangers on and off the rail without snagging other items because the racks are stuffed too tightly. If you have displays on counters or cubes, consider leaving out a couple of each size and color rather than stacking them up and have them falling all over the place, getting pulls or stains – or worst of all, getting stolen if you don’t have security tags.
4. Group Like With Like
Group things together in a way that makes sense for your products. For books, you would have a romance section, mystery, science fiction, and so on. For clothing, you might have blouses, sweaters, t-shirts, pants and so on.
5. Offer Interesting Information
One way to get people into the store is to offer interesting information. For example, you could invite local writers to talk about their work. Even top authors are willing to come to do a talk and book signing if they know you will promote the event in-store.
If any of your colleagues (or you) do things like fashion consultations or color therapy, ask them if they would be willing to give a talk.
6. Food and Drink
Who doesn’t like refreshments!?
Food and drink can be a good idea or a really bad one, depending on what you sell in your store. For example, it might be suitable if you own a kitchen supply store or café, and want to offer free samples and suggestions about what to buy.
However, you would not want people eating and drinking near the books or a pile of white cashmere sweaters.
7. Host Live Events Regularly
These kinds of live events will usually get people in to have a look around. Scheduling them regularly, such as the first Tuesday of every month, can help people look forward to it and remember to attend.
Tips on How to Create Visually Attractive Store Displays
If you have a bricks and mortar location, people will “judge a book by its cover” – or in this case, a business by its window display and in-store displays. Rotating your display regularly can make all the difference between people coming in to browse, or just passing you by.
So, what makes a successful store display? It depends on what you are selling, of course, but there are a few simple rules of thumb you can follow.
1. Rotate the Window Display Regularly
Make sure you change it regularly to show what is new in the store. Also reflect the passing seasons, holidays, interesting themes, color schemes, and more.
2. Make the Displays Easy to Use
Whatever you are selling, aim to make the displays easy to use for your customers and for yourselves.
For example, if you own a bookstore, don’t cram the books on the shelf to the point where they can’t take them out or put them back without damaging them.
Don’t lock everything behind glass if you’ll need a key to show customers every item you have in stock.
Include a sample and have everything else boxed up for them to take with them. Just be sure the boxes are clearly labelled.
3. Manage the Displays Sensibly
Again, it depends on what you are selling. For example, be careful with breakables. Use deep enough shelving to make it unlikely that people will knock things off with their elbow or bag as they walk past.
4. Group Like with Like
Group items together in a way that makes sense for what you are selling. A good example is books. Non-fiction is grouped by topic. Fiction books are grouped by genre, such as mystery and horror. If you have a women’s clothing store, group together blouses, sweaters, t-shirts, pants and so on.
5. Help Them Picture What Life Would Be Like with Your Products
There’s a reason why furniture appliance and housewares stores group items together into living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and so on. It’s to help you picture what life would be like once you purchased the items.
It can also help you sell more. A person might go in for a new coffee table, but come away with the table plus two matching end tables.
6. Include Only Items You Sell in the Store
It can be great to add little touches here and there to liven up the window display/s, but these eye-catching items can be a source of frustration if customers come in asking to buy them.
7. Use Effective Lighting
There’s nothing worse than a dark store or murky-looking display. Use lighting to call attention to the main parts of the display. Use the brightest bulbs possible if your window isn’t large compared to the standard store window you would see on Main Street.
8. Be Security Conscious but Not Extreme
Every store is at risk from thieves who might smash and grab, so security is important.
However, you still want people to be able to see what you have on display, so roller gates, for example, would be too much. Choose a style and color (such as silver) that complements your storefront and lightens things up without looking like Fort Knox or a dungeon.
Use these tips to tempt passers-by into your store.
