Marketing Ideas for Retail Stores
Retails stores need customers and are always looking at ways to retain old customers and bring new customers into the store. By emphasizing what makes your store unique, you can take advantage of social networking ideas and combine them with guerrilla marketing techniques.
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Promote Yourself
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Retail marketing relies on customers knowing what you have to offer. No matter what marketing idea you use, emphasize your strengths. Determine what your store has that other stores don't and promote yourself relentlessly. Always have coupons on you that contain all your business information, as well as a sizable discount to get a new customer into the store.
Guerrilla Marketing
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Guerrilla marketing is a term meaning getting the most promotion for the least amount of money. Another way of looking at guerrilla marketing is finding ways to generate "buzz" about your store. If you get people talking about your store, you'll gain attention without having to spend a lot of money. For example, if you own a pet store, you might want to get attention by staging a dog fight outside the store---using people dressed in dog costumes. Make a video of it, post it on a social network site, and also incorporate a link to a charity that helps dogs that have been abused in dog fights. If the video goes viral, it can literally spread to hundreds of thousands of people without you having to spend a lot of money. Or, if you run a car wash, instead of having bikini-clad girls out front bringing customers in, do something completely offbeat---such as having people wearing scuba outfits outside your business. You are only limited by your imagination.
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Networking
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Build up your network in order to get new marketing ideas for your store. Talk to the people who deliver products to you and find out how others in the same business you're in are doing. There might be a store in a distant city doing really well by adopting a practice you haven't thought of. Talk to your distributors and see what ideas they might have. Consider a network setup in which people who bring new customers into the store are given a 25 percent discount on the spot, as well as a 25 precent discount for the new customer.
Social Networks
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Social networks allow businesses to stay in touch with customers, as well as address any problems or complaints. Using social networks to get the word out about your business doesn't cost money and you can reach a lot of people quickly. If you're going to have a sale the next day, post it on your social network site and mention that people mentioning the ad get a bonus.
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References
- Photo Credit Market Shopping Bag image by Madera from Fotolia.com
