“I haven’t been in your store for years — it looks great!” is a bit of a backhanded compliment.  And yet it’s not uncommon for someone to remark that although they have been in our store in the past, and were favorably impressed, they somehow neglected to come back until something reminded them to do so.

We always try to ask what that something was, because it is up to us to make sure that our existing customers have regular reminders of all we have to offer. If they’ve signed up for our email list, or liked us on Facebook, that’s easy to do. But of course the vast majority of people who walk through our door only occasionally don’t do this.

Our advertising throughout the year often focuses on a single item that will hopefully tempt customers to come back, especially if it is a new product that has a wide appeal. We do newspaper and magazine ads, and although we don’t do much with radio or TV, we know these media are successful for other stores.

Underwriting public television and radio gets our name out in front of the public often, as does supporting local arts groups with program ads. We give gift cards to dozens of non-profits for their fundraisers, which again helps give us visibility in the community.

Press releases and special events also get us media coverage that is better than any advertising we can buy.  Whenever a reporter contacts us with a question, we do our best to cooperate so that our store name will appear in print.

The visibility of our shop also plays an important part in staying in the public eye. You may not be able to do much about your location, but making sure that your signage, store windows and front lighting are up to date and eye-catching is essential.

I hope that any vendors to our industry who are reading this blog will also realize that “out of sight, out of mind” also applies to our suppliers. If you don’t have a sales rep to show me your new products, and you don’t send out a new print catalogue once or twice a year, how am I to be inspired to reorder? 

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder