By With the rise of e-commerce, sales from traditional brick-and-mortar retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses have taken a hit.
Now that online shopping and delivery services have appealed to their convenience, customers are less motivated to spend additional money on transport, gas, or parking to shop at the stores they once frequented.
The big question is, must traditional stores always compete with e-commerce businesses in this manner?
You give it your best answer but a dynamic and growth-oriented business will seize the opportunity to fine-tune its services to fit the times.
It’s possible for the shopping experiences to work in their respective playing fields, so that physical and online stores may complement, rather than compete with each other. Today, you have no excuse not to give it a shot of a lifetime because there are many guaranteed marketing strategies you can apply in your e-commerce startup.
Want to know how to get started on modernizing your business from the physical front?
Here are 3 big tips on how to create great experiences for customers in-store, driving up your overall in-store revenues, and making the store an appealing place to visit and work in.
3 Tips for Creating an Irresistible In-Store Experience for Customers
Table of Contents
In-Store Experience Tip #1: Adapt a Point-of-Sale (POS) System for Your Store
Starting on the finance and data side of things, consider using a POS system for your in-store experiences.
A point-of-sale software system, or POS software system, records each of your sales in real-time, collects facts about shifts in unit-dollar costs, and syncs with your inventory so that the latter always stays up to date.
A thorough and efficient system can even measure and control inventory just from the cash register.
A POS system is therefore a great tool for you and your staff to utilize. With it, you could get accurate information about your sales to analyze for your store’s sales reports, gauge pricing accuracy, and make the wisest possible decisions for your store’s purchasing levels.
In short, it’s a way to efficiently manage customer data and inventory, and improve your store’s operations from the position of the cash register. There are POS systems out there that are tailor-fit for your business’s industry, your needs, and the demographic that you cater to.
In-Store Experience Tip #2: Sell the Exclusive In-Store Experiences
Something that physical stores can bank on is exclusivity. When it comes to online shopping, some customers are apprehensive about the limits that the transactions have, and any margin of lower accuracy in fulfilling orders.
Some examples of these are obtaining an article of clothing of the right fit without being able to try it on, or ordering a meal with distinct specifications without being able to see someone prepare it in person.
While the e-commerce industries are in the process of leveling up, capitalize on being able to exclusively address these customer needs with your in-store services.
There are a lot of creative ways to drive up foot traffic to your store and increase the chances of sales of multiple products.
Advertise that your store can enact product testing, or has services like fitting or tapering clothing for free.
In addition, craft exclusive in-store experiences like rewards programs that cater for loyal customers, freebie promos, and even in-store workshops where customers can create things out of your products and meet other people in their community.
In-Store Experience Tip #3: Hold Both Customer Service and Staff Morale to a Premium in Your Stores
This is where a lot of store owners are missing it. While some are working towards automating marketing processes and improving their customer service, some pay little or zero attention to boosting staff morale.
If you want to offer your customers a topnotch experience, concentrate on the unique human experiences in physical stores, where people can speak face to face, have their questions answered in real-time, and benefit from the input of someone familiar to the business when it comes to making decisions about their purchases.
Train your staff to be thoughtful to customers as well as accommodating. Let them comport themselves as people who have insider information about the business, and have them show that they are willing to pass it down to the customers present. Nothing can be more annoying like stepping into a store where the staff are disorganized. Above all, enjoin your staff to be honest, focused, and always ready to extend a hand.
On the subject of staff, the human element extends to them. Keep staff morale up by acquiring feedback from them from your store operations, and making sure that the systems they use are efficient and up-to-date, thus granting them manageable workloads. After all, it is not only the customers who should be happy inside the store; motivate your staff constantly, and give them the energy to be fully present at the storefront.
Conclusion
When you create and enforce an irresistible in-store experience that your customers can’t say no to, you will be amazed at how speedily your business will grow, notwithstanding the number of businesses you are competing with in your locality.
Hii Emenike Emmanuel,
a very nice article, keep up the good work
Interesting read, Emenike. Customer service is an important part of every business – big or small.
It is so important that many businesses are investing significant amounts of money in customer service, making it a primary part if their business. Therefore, to help you create an in-store experience for your customers, consider creating a conducive environment for your customers, communicate with them regularly, listen to complains, suggestions, and respond accordingly. Give them a reason to trust you. If they your customers sense that you appreciate them, and have a unique service system in place, they will always come back because you have set yourself apart from your competitors.
Thank you for sharing.