When it comes to business growth and success, there are few things as important as getting customers in front of your products or service. Regardless of whether you are running a small craft shop or a chain of restaurants, if your primary business occurs on the high street, increasing footfall should be at the heart of your business strategy.
This is becoming even more important as brick-and-mortar retail faces competition from online services, with overall retail footfall declining by 15% per year. So, what can you do to give your business’ exposure a boost and increase the number of people entering your shop? That is exactly the question we aim to answer with this article.
By the end of this post, you should have a much better idea of techniques and approaches you can invest in to increase footfall and drive business growth. Note that depending on your industry and sector, some techniques can work better than others; don’t give up because the first thing you try isn’t successful. Business is all about perseverance in the face of adversity, after all.
Let’s get into the important information though.
Local Newspapers and News Sources
Many small businesses that lack a known brand neglect the power of local newspapers and magazines. Local newspapers allow you to tap into a very specific, very engaged audience that is significantly more likely to visit your shop(s) when compared with who you would reach through blanket mass marketing.
Furthermore, adverts in local newspapers are significantly less expensive than traditional mass marketing methods, meaning that you are getting a better return on investment throughout the whole process. However, before you go headfirst into local sews advertising, consider your audience first. 30% of local newspaper readers have been doing so for more than 30 years, implying that local news sources are primarily read by the older generation. If your business is targeting a younger audience, it may be pointless to focus your efforts on local news sources.
At the heart of all marketing is understanding your audience. Whatever you do, always ensure you have done extensive research into your ideal/most profitable type of customer before moving forward.
Commercial Outdoor Furniture
Another slightly less discussed footfall boosting techniques is the inclusion of commercial outdoor furniture.
In general, the visual appeal of your storefront plays a huge part in attracting customers. This is particularly important for restaurants and cafes which have outdoor seating arrangements or something similar. Businesses like AEL Solutions specialise in producing branded furniture for this purpose, offering a bespoke solution that not only increases brand exposure but makes your shopfront look interesting and exciting too.
It’s these fine details like colour scheme, furniture quality and brand consistency which make the subliminal difference to a passer-by. Never underestimate the power of good presentation, both in business and throughout life.
Online Presence
Finally, it’s fundamental that we talk about your online presence. Regardless of whether your business can make sales online or not, ensuring that you have some form of online presence is fundamental to improving your exposure and increasing footfall.
Particularly if you run a more niche or specialised business, the individuals searching for your products or service will do research before they go and visit. This research will almost always be done online, which is why you need to ensure your shop or place of work has an appropriate listing that can be found.
Optimally, you will want a personalised website that can sell your services or products and entice potential visitors. However, if this is out of your reach, settling for some free social media accounts and a Google My Business listing will still have a notable effect on your footfall numbers.
Using these techniques, you should easily see a boost in your business’ traffic. Again, as with all things, doing your research is key to success. Similarly, whatever you opt to do, ensure that you do it with quality and brand consistency at heart. The only thing worse than not having enough footfall is decreasing it further through sloppy or unprepared marketing.