How to Improve Your In-Store Marketing

Your customers are in the door. Success! You have managed to get them into your store so that they can peruse your stock and hopefully buy something. All the hard work is over and it’s up to the customer from here on out. Right?

Wrong!

In-store marketing is so important to help encourage a customer’s behavior and to provide a better overall experience. From signs that help direct them to exactly where they need to go, to in-store services like color-matching. There is so much you can do to improve the experience of your customer through some simple marketing tricks:

Make Use of Dead Space

Dead space will often include your walls or your ceiling. By taking advantage of these areas you can add a more harmonious approach to your design. This is particularly true if your store is larger than average. High ceilings don’t often get a lot of use, but they can be the perfect spot to place a few wall signs that help reaffirm your brand and give your customers a better sense of who you are overall.

Try using your logo, as well as a few great bylines that help customers feel like they found the right brand. A DIY store could have an uplifting message geared towards those who work with their hands and have endless imagination for their home, for example.

By bringing the eye up in this case you balance out your entire store and can actually improve the overall vibe when shopping.

Unify the Color Scheme

If you are looking to improve your store then you need to have a look at color theory. The right color can really drive home the feel and energy you want in your store. This way it’s not just design working in your favor, but emotion too.

Add Purely Decorative Elements

We like pretty things, so make your store pretty. Add photographs on the walls, find fun decorative elements you can secure to your store’s displays, and so on. It will help you stand out and drive the eye in towards your store and products.

Make Your Store Feel More Like Home

Almost every brand can benefit from making their property feel more homely. A clothing store with wooden floors will feel more like your customers’ personal closet and entice customers to bring home your clothes. A DIY store will feel rustic and help drive home what can be done with your products for your customer’s vision. 

Declutter and Reorganize 

You should always use redesigning opportunities to reassess how your store is laid out and how you can improve the flow of your store. This way you can encourage more window shopping, and might just remind your customer of something they need that they almost completely forgot about.

Try to take customers on a journey that moves them through your store without making them feel like a rat caught in a cage. This can be done through visual pathways, by placing top-selling items near the back, and by having a great design that encourages customers to explore.

What First Impressions Are You Giving To Customers?

We’re all told not to judge a book by its cover—and yet we all do. If your business isn’t giving off good first impressions to customers, you could be finding it much harder to win over new business. Here are just four areas where first impressions could be very important.

Your physical appearance

If you regularly meet customers in person, it could be important to consider your physical appearance.

Start by considering the way you dress. Whether your customers expect formal attire or casual clothing, it’s important that your clothing is clean, uncreased and a good fit. A tidy dress sense suggests a sense of organization. Good hygiene and a smart hairstyle will also suggest this.

The way you compose yourself also matters. A smile, a confident posture, and a handshake are all things that will warm customers towards you by making you appear friendly and professional.

There are other unusual ways to use physical appearance to create the desired impression. Color psychology for instance—dressing in a certain color—could have an influence on the way customers feel.

Your premises

When customers visit your premises for the first time, it’s also important that the building creates a good impression.

Start by considering the outside of your premises. If you own a store, it could be vital that you have eye-catching signage and an engaging window display. When it comes to offices and clinics, think more about the small details. A commercial lawn service could be worth outsourcing to ensure any grass outside is tidy. Clean windows could be essential.

When it comes to the inside of your premises focus on making the area around the entrance feel inviting. For instance, a cozy office lobby consisting of comfortable furniture and warm lighting could help to make customers feel more welcome. Cleanliness and a lack of clutter are very important.

Your company vehicle

If you turn up to meet customers in a company car or van, you may also want to consider the appearance of this vehicle.

First, you need to be sure that the vehicle is appropriate. A car or van that is visibly in poor condition could suggest that you can’t afford a good vehicle and that your company isn’t very successful. However, turning up in a luxury car could suggest that you overcharge. Something mid-range is generally a good option.

Make sure that your vehicle is also kept clean. Just like your physical appearance and premises, cleanliness shows that you care about your business and the smaller details.

Your online presence

Many consumers may stumble across you online. In these cases, it’s important that you have a strong online presence.

Your website should firstly look professional and should contain all the information your customers need. Make sure that it does not load slowly and that it’s mobile-friendly – these are two big things that can put website visitors off.

A high search engine ranking could meanwhile help you to get found and suggest that you’re a successful business. Consider investing in SEO or try paying for PPC ads. You should also be wary of search engine review features such as Google reviews – having lots of positive reviews will encourage consumers to trust your company.