Five tips for running a small shop
Running a brick and mortar shop is becoming increasingly difficult. Due to the popularity of online shopping, which increased even further during the pandemic, many businesses are struggling to attract customers on the high street.
So, how can you compete against the convenience and abundance promised by online retailers? Here are the top tips for running a small shop.
1) Get location data
To appeal to your audience, you need to know who and where they are. You should already know quite a bit about who your target audience is following your initial business plan and market research, but learning more about their location can help you determine when and how often people visit your shop and competitors’ shops.
With the help of companies like Mobsta, you can gain this location data and learn about your audience’s behaviour and mobility patterns, which will help you gauge your and your competitors’ performance.
2) Improve your marketing
You can also use this location data to inform your marketing efforts. For example, if a competitor has more traffic than you, try to figure out how they’re achieving this. What marketing strategies do they use to appeal to more customers? How can you adjust your own marketing campaigns to better compete with them?
Overall, improving your marketing strategy is an important task you shouldn’t be skipping. Make sure your business is active on social media – this will allow you to promptly answer customers’ queries and share content and information, helping you build a stronger relationship with your target audience.
3) Sell something unique
It’s hard for a brick and mortar business to compete with the convenience of online shopping. Nowadays, people can easily find anything they want online and have it delivered straight to their door. This means that you need to offer something unique to convince people to leave their homes and shop in-person. For example, you could sell rare or handmade items that people can’t find anywhere else.
4) Focus on quality
Another way to stand out and attract more customers is to offer unrivalled quality. One of the downsides of online shopping is that it’s hard to always verify the quality of an item before you purchase it.
Additionally, although the internet offers abundance, the online market is often flooded with low-quality items that won’t stand the test of time. Therefore, if you offer the highest-quality goods in your market, this will be an incentive for people to go out and visit your shop instead of shopping online.
5) Offer fantastic customer service
Customers also can’t get the same level of customer service if they shop online. Although FAQs and chatbots exist, it’s harder for online shoppers to speak to someone and get assistance before they make a purchase.
So, if you offer fantastic customer service at your shop, this could be another reason for customers to purchase from your business instead of an online retailer. Make sure you always behave in a friendly and professional manner when you interact with customers – if they’re extremely happy with their experience, they could encourage their friends and family to visit your shop.
Running a brick and mortar shop is much more difficult nowadays due to the popularity of online shopping. However, by following the tips listed above, you can increase your chances of running a successful business.
Photo by Krisztina Papp
