store front design
Maybe the town centre has moved away from your location over time, if an anchor store moves, it can displace shoppers, maybe stores around you have closed leaving your store a bit isolated on your street or maybe your store had other advantages that outweigh the drawback of the location.
Basically the nearer the epicentre of town your business is, the more expensive the rent will be. Cheaper rents apply to A2 locations, or those up or down stairs, around corners or with obstacles of some kind in their way.
A rule of thumb for working out your costs is that the more you save on location, the more you’ll have to spend on advertising.
So what can you do to promote your store if you have a location challenge? Firstly, you have to be a bit more inventive. People generally feel uncomfortable entering a store where it is not obvious (for location reasons) what they’re going to find, so if your store is up or down some stairs, in a back street or has some other location disadvantage then take a look at the following ideas which we’ve tried and tested over the past 15 years in our store.
1. A good tip is to have something cheap like cards for example just inside the doorway because if people feel uncomfortable getting into your store, they’ll always be able to buy a card. This takes away the barrier to entry.
2. Props: for example put tables and chairs outside (without looking like a cafe) any other props will do too. Preferably oversized props to draw attention to your products.
3. Hand made signage that is regularly updated. I’m thinking of chalkboards here – easy to write on and update and you don’t have to be an art graduate to do this.
4. Clean and spotless exterior
5. Flower garlands (in season)
6. Balloons – filled with helium – check them regularly otherwise they can look a bit sorry for themselves.
7. Flowerpots – with plants that are colourful and alive and healthy – the bigger and more vibrant the better.
8. Statues / Artwork – securely fastened – again the bigger and more vibrant the better – subject to planning permission, local by-way rules.
9. A boards (Check that these are allowed by your local council)
10. Signage – can you put brand names that you stock up on the shop sign – if so this takes selling to the second stage as known brands help to establish credibility.
11. Lighting – fairy lights, overhead lighting, pools of lights, coloured lights (avoiding red for obvious reasons) but coloured lights in a dull area attract attention.
12. Sound – can you pipe through music from your store into the street (at a low level) so people can hear what is going on inside.
13. Leaflets – showing what your store is about – with trial offers ?
14. Signs – saying things like “need help with the stairs, your pram, etc, Please ring this bell for assistance.”
15. Have a welcome mat or entrance carpet
16. Publish pictures of the interior of your store on the exterior along with recommendations or reviews you’ve received from the press and satisfied customers.
17. Have a video playing outside the store, showing what’s going on inside.
18. Bunting or flags – if appropriate – anything that moves in the wind and attracts attention.
19. Canopy – can you make the most of a negative feature and really dress up the entrance to your shop – a vivid canopy would stand out in an otherwise dull street.
20. Use your security shutters to advertise your business even when you’re closed !
To all of you reading this with wonderful shop fronts and lots of window display space, spare a thought for those of us in a scheduled ancient monument where the only use for the windows is to shoot arrows from…..
We’d love to hear any tips that you’ve tried if, like us, you retail from an unusual store…
