No matter what market you’re in, consumers have a lot of options. It’s the beauty of our free commerce society, but as a business owner, it creates a lot of competition. We are so saturated with products that, when making a purchasing decision, your target market will give your product between three and seven seconds of consideration before moving on to your competitor. In order to be successful, you need to make that three to seven seconds count. Here are a few tips for doing that:
- Embrace technology.
Creating your brand is an incredibly important piece in getting your target market to choose your product (or store) over your competitors. What you might not understand is that this challenge begins long before your potential customer ever looks at the shelf that has your product and seven million of your competitors. In fact, nearly 90% of purchasing decisions (whether they are made in person or online) are researched online before hand. This means that in addition to coming up with creative retail display ideas, you also need to create creative online marketing ideas:- Search Engine Optimization. If you aren’t doing this already, start right this second. Right now.
- Social media marketing. Almost every human (and certainly every human who will be buying your product) uses at least one form of social media. Reach your customers where they are.
- Email marketing. The postage rate for mailing a future customer a promotional email is zero cents. Low hanging fruit.
- The devil is in the details.
When a consumer is choosing a product, they are absolutely judging a book by its cover. Every detail in your display racks help tell a story.
If you are a retail shop owner, this is particularly important. For example, if you let your clients know about store updates or sales with a sign taped to your window, it tells your customers that you cut corners. If you can spend a few dollars for window signs with suction cups. Even though it’s a small expense, you might not think that window signs with suction cups are really important. There are so many easier ways to attach a sign to a door that don’t involve a niche item you’ll have to look online to purchase. While the cost of window signs with suction cups is minimal, the cost of sending a message to your customers that you don’t care about details is far greater. Basically, you can’t afford not to take the time and effort to purchase little things like window signs with suction cups. It’s hard enough to get customers through your doors at all.
Don’t squander the chance you get by skimping on details like free standing sign holders and product stand displays. Think about the details. The details matter. - Create an experience for your customers.
Consumer choices are very emotionally driven. Your customers will choose your product and choose it again and again based on how it makes them feel.For example, there is a certain big name coffee company (who will remain nameless) that every single human goes to every single day. Why do they do that? It certainly isn’t for the quality of the product. The coffee is mediocre, at best. This unnamed coffee company is taking over the world one venti mocha cold brew with almond milk at a time through the power of experience. Their shops are warm and welcoming. You want to sit and stay. You want to meet a friend for a PSL (another experience-driven product that really isn’t very good in reality) and enjoy the autumn weather together. You want to set your laptop up and do some work over an overpriced cup of over-roasted coffee. It’s the experience that makes them wildly successful.
Take the same approach with your product or shop. How does your brand make your target market feel? Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if you were looking at your product on the shelf or walking through the doors of your shop for the first time? Create an experience that you would be drawn into. This will not only draw your future customers in and give them a reason to choose you over your competition, it will make them loyal to your brand.
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