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Five
Strategies for Increasing Store Traffic
Strategy #2:
Make it easy for the customer to make a purchase in your store.
Everyone seems a little less patient these
days. One reason could be that people are busier than ever with work, family, and other responsibilities typical of modern life.
When people want something they don't want to wait for it - a fact that is particularly true in a retail store environment.
If people cannot easily find what they're looking in your store or if they have to wait in long lines to get checked out, then you risk losing them as customers.
Customers will find more efficient places to purchase what they need or want rather than waste time in your store. Store traffic in general will ultimately suffer. Simple as that.
Consider some of the ways that you can make it easier for your customers to make a purchase in your store.
Could you use some express checkout stations during peak times of the day?
If a busy customer gets the feeling that he can't risk shopping at your store during a busy time of day then he probably won't.
Your Employees Can Make the
Customer's Life Easier
Do your employees understand that helping a customer make a purchase is more important than stocking shelves, straightening inventory, talking to vendors, or hanging store signs for next weekend's special sale?
If they don't then you're probably making it harder than it should be for your customers to buy from you.
Or, if they do buy from you they may be buying unassisted and with insufficient information.
Here's a good example: Have you ever visited a computer store with the intention of buying some accessory for your PC and you had to wait on yourself?
It is amazing to see the numbers of people who blindly fumble around in such stores - hoping that what they're looking for will magically jump off the shelf and into their arms.
Lots of sales people may even be rushing around the store, but apparently not enough of them to help everyone.
Clueless customers either give up or buy what they think they need. Needless to say, the purchase was not easy and there's a good chance the customer didn't buy what he or she needed.
Your Website Can Make the
Customer's Life Easier
Your store's website can be leveraged to make it easier for your customers to make a purchase in your store.
A good example would be a store that sells contact lenses along with eyeglasses and eye examinations.
Typically, eye care stores require that contact lens wearers come to the store and place their order for a refill supply of contact lenses.
The reason for this is because the store usually does not want to bear the high cost of keeping a wide range of possible lens prescriptions in inventory.
Another reason is the limited shelf life of the lenses themselves.
So, the customer must come to the store to order and pay for the new lens supply.
In a few days, the store contacts the customer and a second visit to the store is made to pick up the new lenses. Normally, that's
two separate trips to make one purchase.
What if a contact lens wearer could go to the store's website, order and pay for the lens refill online, and then pick up the lens at the store in one visit?
And while the customer is at the store's website they could browse the site for any new eye care products that might be of interest.
What about the new lenses designed for people who are very active in sports?
Or the newest cleaning solutions that simplify the job of maintaining contact lenses.
What about an online video of the store's optometrist explaining the newest advances in eye care products for people who are in front of computer screens all day long?
(Yes!)
For more information about Online Marketing Strategies for Retail Stores (OMS/RS) services offered by MELCOOPER Consulting please call us today at 1-866-695-8669 or visit our website at
http://melcooper.com .
2007 MELCOOPER.com (866) 695-8669 All rights reserved.
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MELCOOPER Consulting,
Inc. specializes in helping mostly small, independent retailers create higher
customer loyalty, encourage more in-store traffic, and
generate higher average dollar sales per transaction.
Our clients achieve these objectives by leveraging
Online
Marketing Strategies for Retail Stores (OMS/RS)
to create a distinctive message
that deepens the customer relationship.
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