Q: I own a small store that sells wedding products and services and I seem to continue to have fewer and fewer customers coming in. What can I do to increase store traffic?
A: Many industries have changed so much that online marketers dominate search engine results over local retailers. It is important for you to change your focus on how to acquire customers.
According to Brian Lawrence, a wedding business consultant and the author of "The Wedding Expert's Guide to Sales and Marketing," there strategies a local wedding business can master that also apply to many other business categories. He recommends you:
IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE
Make your website the best extension of your store it can possibly be. Be aesthetic. Have a clean, convincing home page that acts as a virtual receptionist. Have calls to action, strong photography, state benefits, access to reviews and include store photos. Also, with over 50 percent of all internet use taking place on tablets and mobile devices, your site needs to be optimized for all platforms.
TARGET MARKETING
Advertise and market on less-saturated platforms that are specifically built for soon-to-be-married couples looking for local vendors. These include wedding.com and mywedding.com. Develop your profile on Google Maps, Yahoo and Bing. Thousands of local wedding customers search for products and services there.
GENERATE REVIEWS
Work on generating reviews from satisfied customers. When you have more reviews than your competitors on platforms like Google, Yelp, WeddingWire and the Knot, that can be the reason your listing will be clicked first and generate strong interest. Try to balance the amount of reviews on each platform to outperform your competitors rather than focusing on one review platform.
ADD ON SALES TO EXISTING CLIENTS
Focus on making more money on existing clients by offering add-on products and services. Invitation companies like Lemon Tree Stationery and online formal wear companies like Xedo.com have very profitable revenue programs that can add thousands of dollars in additional profits from offering these needed services to your existing customers.
NETWORK WITH OTHER VENDORS
Finding other vendors that are an earlier rung on the planning ladder to refer their customers to you will never get dated. Do more than exchange business cards. Try to encourage the businesses to make an introduction on your behalf via phone or email or allow you to do so directly. Look at offering the business a commission as an affordable advertising expense.
