How to Increase Foot Traffic to Your Store
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, foot traffic is essential to your business’ operations. While most transactions are now made online, some people still prefer to go to stores physically to determine whether or not they will purchase products or services. Foot traffic is also a wonderful way to encourage walk-in customers or those who become curious about your store as they are passing by.
Remember that technology is a tool to be used and is not the be-all and end-all of your business. A physical location helps offer a certain amount of credibility to your business and allows you and your employees to interact with your customers.
This level of engagement can’t be found in a typical online location. Sometimes, a face-to-face conversation can be the deciding factor as to whether your customer will purchase a product or service from you.
Here are some strategies to consider when driving foot traffic to your store.
-
Make your store eye-catching
This might sound like common advice, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Potential customers would be more inclined to enter a shop that is eye-catching and well-maintained. Do take the time to ensure that your store’s front is clean and nice to look at.
A good tip would be to go outside of your store and look at it objectively. Does your paint still look fresh? If you have outdoor plants, do they look healthy and inviting? Are the outside decorations up to par?
-
Train your employees well
Foot traffic is not only determined by new, curious customers but by your repeat ones as well. Take the time to train your employees. Make sure that they provide excellent customer service and have an in-depth knowledge of your products and services. Where some businesses fail is in providing a good customer experience, thereby losing potential long-term clients.
The goal is not only to attract customers but to maintain them as well.
-
Improve your online map listings
A lot of people find stores after searching for them online. Usually, a person would simply type in a specific company, product or service that they need. That is why it’s essential that search engines have enough information about your company. Your brand has to be highly visible in organic searches.
For example, if you are selling shoes, you would want your brand to be recommended to your potential customers after they type in specific keywords in the search engine related to what you offer. Remember that big search engines use a specific algorithm to determine what to show and recommend.
This means that if your brand is visible in map listings or voice search recommendations, there is a higher chance for customers to become curious about your store, look at your website, and physically drop by your location.
iMapping can help you achieve this level of brand visibility by listing your business information on popular maps and voice search platforms. Take advantage of their powerful, cost-effective plans and be highly recommended by the top search engines today.