Spring is the perfect time to breathe new life into your business. Take this opportunity to reflect on areas where you can improve and focus your attention on growing over the summer. Renew your commitment to customer satisfaction and freshen up your outreach strategy with these six Easter eggs that will set your small business up for success in the spring.
Rethink Your Current Business Model
Start the season off right and take time to reflect on your current business model. Ask yourself, your employees, and those who know your business:
- What’s working?
- Where is there room for improvement?
- Where would you invest time and money?
Be open to feedback and take comments and suggestions from customers into account as well. Look for consistent themes/ideas/suggestions. And as always, look for that brilliant stroke of genius.
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the next steps to ensuring your company is adequately keeping up with changing consumer sentiments and retail behaviors is crucial for creating winning solutions this year:
- Take stock of your inventory.
- See what is selling versus what is sitting on the shelves and focus marketing & advertising on those products that sell.
- Examine your marketing strategy.
- Find the choices that boosted online engagement and in-store foot traffic.
- Maximize ways to expand that success into this year.
Once you have a thorough understanding of what your business is doing well and where it needs to improve, you’re ready to spring into action with your new plan.
Optimize Your Outdoor Space
Your storefront is an extension of your brand. A staggering 95% of customers say a store’s exterior appearance influences where they decide to shop. Clearly, when it comes to business what’s on the outside matters. So make the most of your outdoor space with attention-grabbing window displays.
Start by keeping your storefront windows clean, and open your front door when the weather is nice. These simple steps create a bright and inviting atmosphere for customers. Elevating your storefront with planters filled with low upkeep flowers or succulents will last throughout the season and make your storefront stand out as well.
Think of your storefront windows as your sales pitch to passing foot traffic. You only have eight seconds to make an impression on customers, so use that space. After all, you’re paying for it! Window decals and window lettering are great options to dress up your window displays. Don’t be intimidated by window decals; there are plenty of online tutorials for you to learn how to apply vinyl lettering. It’s actually really simple to apply and remove these types of window displays, so you can have fun changing them up!
The key to a winning window display is to blend brand-appropriate color choices with highly-visible messages. 80% of consumers stated that when signage is hard to read, they become frustrated and annoyed, so be intentional with your design choices. Make sure your message is the main point of focus and steer clear of overly cluttered displays.
Spring Clean Your Store
Cleanliness is a crucial part of the customer experience. A dirty store can derail your business’ profitability. In fact, 52% of customers admitted to avoiding a business solely because its storefront was dirty. Now is the time to spring clean your storefront and safely prepare your store for higher foot traffic.
Nearly 40% of all North American consumers stated that they immediately make assumptions about the quality of a business based on the quality and upkeep of its signage. Be sure to replace old or tattered signage and faded window displays so you don’t repel new business. Keep your sales floor clean and tidy with well organized merchandise. Give your customers peace of mind with hand sanitizing dispensers and sneeze guards.
Spring Clean Your Books Too
Spring cleaning isn’t just about your physical store. Use this time to organize your accounting records. Do you have outstanding invoices or unused business subscriptions? Take some time to review your bookkeeping and you could find ways to save your business money.
Expand Your Social Network
Even if you’re not a social butterfly, your business needs a social media presence. The reason is simple: 33% of Americans shop online at least once per week and 69% shop online at least once a month. Expanding your social media presence can help you increase your online sales.
Once you create eye-popping window displays, share them on your social media accounts. Include your address, hours of operation, and link to your online store on all of your social media platforms. Adding this information makes it easy for customers to find your physical and digital sales floors. Check out these small business social media marketing tips from Hootsuite to get inspired.
Perfect Your Product Marketing Strategy
New and established small businesses can benefit from product marketing. As you develop a strong social media presence for your brand, update your followers about your store partnerships so they can visit locations where your products are carried. Use signage to promote your products in-store and print brochures with your brand’s backstory and website information. This strategy makes it easy for existing customers to support you and buy your products while educating new customers about all that you have to offer.
If you’re an online or cottage business, trying to build your way up to owning a brick and mortar business, pop up shops are great venues to increase your brand’s visibility and find new business opportunities. Pop up shops are an $80 billion a year business, but in order for your pop-up shop event to be a success, you have to find ways to get the word out.
Having a branded step and repeat banner as your backdrop is a cost effective option for your next pop-up event. You can add a step and repeat and step and repeat banner stand to your setup for every event to increase visibility. If you’re wondering what a step and repeat banner is, it’s a banner with a repeating logo typically used for event photography backdrops. This type of signage is perfect for these event-specific sales activations. Bring a box of fun product-related props or create an instagram-worthy set up your customers will want to share.
Giveaways Go A Long Way
Personalized touchpoints have a big impact on customer experience. Promotional items are a great way to make your customers feel appreciated and keep your business on their minds. 83% of consumers can recall the company advertised on a promotional item while only 7% of consumers can remember the brand name advertised on a TV commercial. Promotional giveaways and thank you gifts are small investments that leave lasting impressions on your customers because 58% of consumers will keep promotional giveaways for 1 to 4 years!
Ensure your giveaways are brand-specific and appropriate for your target market. Pens are a super versatile option. You could hand out branded pens at trade shows or have them for guests to use in your office. If you work in travel or event planning, give your customers a wall calendar or stationary with your logo on it. Gyms can pass out branded water bottles to new members. Giveaways really are the gift that keeps on giving if you find cost-effective items your customers will love and use.
This season is a time for fresh starts. Don’t become complacent with your strategy when there are plenty of cost-effective solutions for growth. Revamp your business model with these 6 Easter eggs for your small business’ success this spring.
References
Do Customers Notice (or Care) if Your Storefront Is Dirty?
State Systems Inc.
https://www.statesystemsinc.com/blog/impact-of-cleanliness-of-building-on-customers
Why Visual Merchandising Matters More Than Ever
Intelligence Code
100,000 Shoppers Can’t Be Wrong: Signage Communication Evidence from TheBrandSpark / Better Homes and Gardens American Shopper Study
Signresearch.org
Consumer Perceptions Of Retail Signage
Sign Research Executive Summary
Nearly 70% Of Americans Shop Online Regularly With Close To 50% Taking Advantage Of Free Shipping
Mintel
The Science Behind Pop-Ups and Their Pull
Sourcing Journal
The Impact of Promotional Merchandise
Industry Today
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