Recently I was participating in a Think Tank session and one of the challenges that surfaced was how to attract customers to actually give that first look… in other words, to get them to come inside.
That is a really great question and one that has different answers for different types of businesses. Today, let’s talk about businesses that have an actual store front with walk-in customers.
In real estate there is a concept call Curb Appeal. It is how attractive and appealing the house/business/property is when parked at the curb. It is the first impression that a potential buyer has of the property. Obviously, curb appeal is very important to selling real estate, for if the buyer isn’t attracted from the first, they will have no interest in looking more closely.
Your business is like, that, too.
Have you given a look lately at how your business looks to your ideal customer? (Always look at things with your ideal customer in mind, as they are the ones you most want to attract and please. There will be others that are attracted as a side-benefit, so don’t worry about them.)
When your ideal customer drives by or drives up to your store, what do they see? It is inviting to them? Is it just the kind of place that they want to do business with?
There are a lot of things to consider here. Everything from the signage to the windows to the cleanliness of the building and the space in front of the building. All of these things will look very different if you are trying to attract families than if you are trying to attract upscale professional people.
As an exercise to help you get a feel (and some ideas) walk around a mall or shopping district. Look at each store as you approach it and take a quick guess as to what kind of customers they are trying to attract. Then, evaluate how well they are doing. If you are the kind of customer they are angling for, decide how well they are doing. What could they do better? (Resist the temptation to share your insights with them. Unsolicited advice, even from customers, is seldom welcomed. Ask me how I know.)
Take your new-found knowledge back to your own store and examine it. You may be surprised at what you learn. Once you have an awareness of your own store’s curb appeal (to your ideal customer) then begin to plan changes you can make. As always, make the easiest, quickest changes first.
But what about when you don’t have a store front for people to see? I’ll talk about that in a future post.
Increase Your Store’s Curb Appeal
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