Local Store Marketing (LSM) is a highly valuable, constant factor in driving sales. In most cases, it helps create your customer point-of-differentiation. LSM is critical for capturing a local customer base and helping build a strong sales foundation for sustained and long-term growth.
Here are five helpful LSM tactics for driving sales to your store!
1. Be Locally Relevant
There are many creative and inexpensive ways to get involved in your community. Think of it as building up your retail karma. What goes around comes around and if you support your community, it will support you in return.
Generate local awareness for your business by participating in local events — by sponsoring the local baseball team or hosting an event or class inside your store.
2. Embrace Research
The number one thing your store can do to kick-start your local marketing efforts is getting to know your market. A trade area analysis and sampling program can go a very long way in establishing momentum and awareness in your area. Understanding your community will help stimulate marketing ideas that resonate with customers around you.
3. Use Local Offers and Promotions
Once you truly understand your local customers, try creating tailored marketing offers and promotions to drive foot traffic to your store. (Examples include window signs, discount flyers and local coupon programs.) Whatever you select, make sure you are able to measure the impact of your efforts through the use of special in-store codes or online data. This will help you understand the effectiveness of your promotion and if it helped achieve set goals.
4. Team Up with Other Local Business Owners
Partnering with other local businesses that compliment your goods and services is one of the fastest ways to reach new customers. For example, if you are a small wedding dress boutique, partnering with the local flower shop would be a perfect match.
If you are unsure of a partnership, try testing the relationship out with a small group of customers first. This will help you evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the partnership.
5. Improve Visibility
The last thing any store should want to happen is for their location to simply become part of the local landscape. Becoming retail wallpaper can be a huge damper on sales. Create excitement on the outside of your store in order to draw attention and bring customers inside. Do this by placing A-frame boards on the street, balloons on your rooftop or by having a mascot waving around in the crowd. Whatever you do, the goal is to create and increase visibility.
Focusing efforts towards the development of a Local Store Marketing plan is crucial for driving sales and long-term success. Want to brainstorm more ideas to help your store stand out from the rest of the community? Give us a shout! We’re always ready to help!
