How to drive traffic with store marketing—but not until you’re ready

Be sure you’re really prepared for guests before inviting them

Retailers must get their house in order before inviting guests to their store. It’s a simple principle, but sometimes we get the cart before the horse!

I am an adamant believer in never inviting guests to a party without first making sure the lights are on, the door is open, the table is set, the food is ready and directions have been given, so I held off on addressing marketing and advertising until we had tackled such foundational issues as omnichannel, value proposition, service and selling.

Unfortunately, our email inboxes and mailboxes are filled with invitations to visit stores that have invested in marketing before they got their house in order. Why? They were  desperate for traffic and sales. If you have ever responded to an ad only to find out it is not in effect yet, it has expired, the store is out of stock on the item or the staff was at best uninformed and at worst rude, then you know why one of our Retail Successentials is to never drive in store traffic before you are ready.  

But when your store is ready and you spend a dollar on advertising, it may just produce a sale.

1. Reach the customer who is already in your store. Your first and most profitable advertising dollar will always be the one you spend reaching your current customers. Did you know that only 20% of customers who shop the average CBA store received a catalog, but 100% of them will see your product displays and point-of-purchase (POP) materials? So, don’t skimp on investing in visual merchandising and POP materials. 

Take time to create “feature” displays on endcaps and gondolas near the front of your store. Stock them with seasonally relevant product and use clear, single-price messages like 20% off, $5 off or $9.99 each.

Last but not least, consider creating a “bounce-back” piece that you hand the customer with their change at the point of sale (POS). Giving them an attractive, time-sensitive offer that’s good only in the next 30 days is a great way to bring the customer back sooner than the 90-day average you are probably experiencing with most guests.

2. Institute a loyalty program. You can go as basic as a “punch card” or all the way up to one that is integrated into your POS. You can also find third-party solutions that are run through your credit card swipe reader.

Start by finding out how often your average customer comes in and then how much he or she spends per visit on average. Next, create incentives that reward frequency, amount purchased or both.

3. Capture email addresses and/or cell numbers.Having this customer contact information allows you to engage in inexpensive electronic advertising such as e-blasts or text messages. Make sure you also have adequate privacy statements and opt-in policies in place.

Focus all of your communication on events, new product releases and special offers to increase the number of times your customer shops with you each year and/or the amount of money spent on the average transaction. If you are a novice here, consider reaching out to a company that can help guide you or simply use a third-party email/text service to jump-start your results.

4. Use direct mail to bring known customers back to your store.Segment your mailing list into at least three groups and create offers as follows:

?New customers who shopped for the first time in the last 30 days. The goal here is to get them back in within the next 30 days. Since most customers do not shop within 30 days of their last purchase, be sure to provide them with an aggressive offer. Think margin dollars. Wouldn’t you rather make $5 in margin on a $30 transaction than to make 40% on a sale that may never happen?

?Valued customers. These are people who have shopped with you two or three times in the last six to nine months. Your goal is to get them to spend more on their next purchase than they normally would. Give them an offer good for the next 60 days that offers 20%-30% off a much higher transaction.

?Old customers. These are people who have not shopped at your store in more than nine months. Send them a postcard that looks like it is worth $5. Set a minimum purchase amount of $20 to get them to think of something to buy in this price range before coming to the store.

5. Remember that customer acquisition is your store’s lifeblood.Consider reaching out to acquire new customers with mass distribution of catalogs in your local newspaper (free-standing inserts) or placing a coupon in one of the “marriage mail” envelopes that companies like ValPack offer. These options give you the ability to target the ZIP codes in your area, so buy the inserts accordingly.

6. Employ no- or low-cost forms to reach your community.Consider  writing a book-review column for your newspaper’s religion editor, doing on-air reviews with a Christian radio station, creating events like Christmas shoebox collection days and getting the local media to promote it, or handing out “Be My Guest” cards that give your customers a free book just for coming into your store.

In closing, take time every day to make sure your store looks and smells great and that your staff is ready to serve. Don’t forget to dedicate the day to the Lord!

NEXT ISSUE: Learn how to use an age-old retail secret to drive 3% to your comp-store sales.

Bill Nielsen is a 25-year Christian retail veteran having served in C-level positions with Family Christian Stores, LifeWay Christian Stores and Berean Christian Stores. Nielsen is now president of The Equation Team, a consulting firm that specializes in retail and publishing.

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