Getting Started Driving Foot Traffic

How does a business owner or service provider effectively drive increasing foot traffic to a store, office, restaurant, or physical brick and mortar location?

There is no single, one way to attract more customers to a physical and brick and mortar business, but there is a path.

You ultimately have to be willing to do what other business owners will not or cannot do, which is innovate.

So, that being the case, there is no single “best strategy” or singular approach to take that’s going to ensure reaching a specific outcome or goal unless you’re willing to take what’s called the “long game” approach.

The Long Game

Taking a “long game” approach to business growth, is basically first defining primary business objectives into structured goals that are achievable and measurable and time bound.

Next, is the process of working with either an agency or individual to organize this process, to put into a structured plan for achieving those results.

The first thing business owners should realize, if they’re seriously committed to turning around either a failing business or simply gaining more financial empowerment for a business in general, is that they are not purchasing a single item or participating in any single simplified process that will reap overnight immediate benefits for them.

Life doesn’t work that way and certainly business doesn’t, either. Most businesses statistically fail very quickly , so successful business owners know the value of hard work, determination, focused concentration on achieving objectives, and being organized.

I’ve worked with multiple marketing agencies where our job was to build up businesses and help them become more profitable, then for more businesses than I can count as an individual marketing consultant, and later as a certified business mentor for several non-profit organizations advising startups.

In almost every case, you could see which businesses were going to file for bankruptcy and who would make it based on one or two discussions with them: which would reveal attitude.

Determination

Attitude determines whether the venture will succeed or fail, just as someone with a very negative attitude in business can tend to repel people rather than attract those who could help you reach your goals. Attitude can make or break a business, especially when leadership is concerned.

An attitude that embraces a poverty mindset is one in which the business owner(s) believe that investing for growth is not necessary or being methodical before a business is launched is just not necessary, they can “wing it.”

An attitude that embraces success is one in which the owner(s) is willing to invest a few thousand dollars in effective marketing in order to make back quadruple that amount several months later, and then again a few months later after that.

The best way, however, to increase foot traffic to a physical business is to combine approaches into a cohesive and organized overall marketing plan, knowing that, as I said above, you have to dedicate at least several months to the effort to “prime the pump” in some cases before seeing results begin pouring in.

You either believe in your business sufficiently and those you work with or you don’t.

Steps

I would recommend doing the following, but with the caveat that it’s simply too much for a single person (especially who may not be an expert) to do alone:

• Build a professional online presence for the business that rivals or surpasses that of larger, more profitable competitors locally. This means implementing accurate SEO, writing engaging content that speaks to the needs of your ideal consumer, writing about their most common concerns, making sure the website makes it easy for your customers to pay for services or goods online 24/7, and works on all types of devices easily. This includes investing in PPC, on Facebook and LinkedIn, especially while it’s still affordable with attractive, simple ads that speak to the core needs and pains of your ideal customer
• I’d network, focusing on speaking about what matters to your ideal customer, and talking from that perspective. For example, when I meet people at networking events I don’t talk about SEO or PPC. I talk about what business owners are going through professionally, what obstacles they may be encountering, and whether or not they want help. You need to do the same but from your own perspective and view. Address their needs and pains, and talk about how you can solve them once you determine if they want to vent or really are ready to take action and get professional help you represent.
• I’d increase “boots on the ground” offline efforts by creating a local networking group or event group at that business using Meetup and Facebook local listings and LinkedIn ads and Twitter posts and combine that with local Chamber of Commerce event calendar listings. Once that dynamic group is created (with regularly scheduled events well into the future), cross-promoted thoroughly, and launched, results can manifest immediately or take several months to appear. But appear they do.
• I’d purchase folding sidewalk signs and find out what signage I could legally pace in accordance with zone regulations, and execute on it asap, and I’d hire a sign-spinner if possible as well.
• I’d invite local groups to hold meetings in the store relevant to the services or goods sold there and offer them reasons to return often with family and friends.
• I’d offer free giveaways or samples.
• I’d hold regular contests and promote those outside the store if possible with signage and advertising and cross-pollinate.
• I’d invite other businesses to overlap their efforts with our store. An example would be if you have a store selling shoes, you’d want to invite hiking groups; then invite day trip organizers to speak at your store or travel agencies where we at some point discuss proper footwear to be comfortable and safe in different terrains.
• Finally, and this is just to get started, I would put together the aforementioned more organized thought-out marketing plan with just some of these examples in it, go over it, put structure to how budgeting would be done, what actions to participate in and in what order, who I could get involved to help, go through what I could offer others as incentives for participation, list partnership ideas, and put it all down in my marketing plan with the deadline of one week to go through it all, discuss it with family and friends, and decide what course of actions to take and which to implement later down the road, and which might not bear fruit.

Generating and maintaining foot traffic to an office or physical location, like growing any other type of business, can take time, and its success ultimately is dependent on how deliberate your process is for stimulating interest.