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To reach today's
customer your store must offer them something that others
are not. You must be unique! The corner coffee store has
done it, so has the local hobby store - in the customers mind they stand out!
You must do the same. You don't want your customers only
thinking of you when no one else has the item they are looking
for, you want them thinking of you FIRST!
Here are some
suggestions for making your store unique that will make your
customers think of you first! These suggestions are in no
particular order.
Add Music
Listening Centers Such As Audioselect, Resound, or Quest
– These touch screen units act as a permanent music
employee. Use these to research special order requests or
even to learn more about the artists yourself. Song
searches, title searches, and in some cases even lyric
searches can make things much easier for you to find
products. Your customers will love this and it keeps your
store on top of new technology.
Start a
Frequent Buyer Club – Some POS systems have this
built in, but even if yours does not, there are ways to
reward your customers while also getting their contact
information for your mailing list. Offer a program of stamps
or punches, or keep this information in your POS system,
where after a certain dollar amount or quantity of purchases
are made, the customer receives a discount on their next
purchase. This makes for very loyal customers.
Concentrate On Being Youth Friendly – Store
decorations, the music that you play, and the employees that
you hire all hint toward where you focus lies. If you want
to bring in more young customers, you may have to change the
look or the way that you do things so that your store is
attractive to them. This age group has a great deal of
influence on the spending habits of their parents. Hook the
youth and you may in turn hook their parents.
Offer Your
Location As a Free Wi-Fi Hotspot – This is a pretty
simple drawing point to incorporate if you already have
wireless Internet for your own offices and computer systems.
Combining this with the coffee shop area can make a very
relaxing atmosphere. There is no reason not to let your
customers in on this service if you are using it already.
Make sure that you have enough speed to make it worth the
customer’s use and to be sure that your own systems don’t
slow down.
Utilize
Music CD Samplers - Be sure to take part in any of
the promotions that the music companies offer that include
free cd's or dvd's. If there is a free with purchase item
that the customer can get at your store, they are likely to
buy from you as opposed to another location that doesn't
offer any free add-ons.
Occasionally Rearrange Categories or Departments -
The appearance of new and fresh is attractive to customers.
Adding on to your store, a new location all together, or
even just rearranging product will cause the customer to
look at new things whether they intend to or not. Change
your high traffic areas frequently even if it is not new
product but just a new location in the store for that
product.
Change
Endcaps At Least Once a Month - Featured product
should always be new and hot. Definitely use endcaps in your
book department and telescans in your music department to
highlight certain items that you think would interest your
customers. Keeping these fresh will keep the customer coming
back to those same areas to see what is new every time they
come in the store.
Cross
Promote Items In Other Departments Within Your Store
- Whether it is a music artist who has written a book, or a
local author who also has paintings, display these items
together in different departments. Keeping themed items or
seasonal items together works in the same way. Not everyone
shops every department in your store. Pulling out products
that can somehow fit together and putting them in different
departments will cause more people than normal to view those
items. |
