Shopping With Visual Aides

Magazines. Celeberties. Coupons. Friends. The influence of consumer purchases can go on and on and on and on. You get the idea! Outside of needing something, one of the primary reasons people shop is influenced by visual stimulation outside of themselves. Maybe they like how something looked on their friend – now they want it. Maybe they saw a great purse in a magazine – now they dream about it. Maybe they received a coupon and it is burning a hole in their purse! Whatever the reason, visual aides literally influence why people shop. So rather than ignore this, jump on the band wagon. So what can you do?

Press

Want press? Of course you do. Have press? I hope so! If not, try and get some. By gaining press, potential consumers will learn about your product and ideally, buy your product. Not everyone who sees you or your product in the press will be a customer, but it can lead to conversations with others that may lead to sales as a result. In addition, one press piece can help encourage another press piece and so on. Press helps you. It’s your friend. It’s a visual aide that you can’t buy but will make people want to buy. And consumers? Whether they like the media or not, they are influenced by it. So if youcan, be a part of it.

Store Displays

What are the trends in your area? What is your target market doing for fun? What does your store do to capture all that and more? Using your store to create  visual stimulation through displays can attract new customers and keep old customers coming back. Make sure you keep your store front windows alive and fresh so that customers can be drawn into your store and more importantly, stay in your store. Capture them and keep them engaged visually. Merchandising is a challenge for some and a passion for others. If it isn’t your thing, get help from someone who is good at it because it can make a difference in your sales! Remember, the visual aides in this scenario are your store and your product – make them want what you have to sell.

Employees

While this isn’t true for all stores, the visual impact of your associates often influence your customers. Now don’t get me wrong - I don’t expect beautiful models working in your stores. But I do think well groomed, well taken care of individuals that represent the product you sell will make a difference. Customers see the associates and like it or not, are visually influenced. If you sell clothes and your associates wear your clothes, this is especially the case. Sell art? Your associates need to capture a sense of knowlege and be open for communication. Sell a service? Your associates should be easy to approach. And yes, looks do make a difference here. Visually, consumers will respond to people in different ways. Are your associates visually complimenting your store? If not, have a chat with all of your associates and see what you can do together to make this visual difference. Uniforms, dress codes, body gestures – this will all impact visual perceptions that WILL be made by customers or potential customers… It’s just the way it is.

Don’t ignore the many layers involved in how consumers shop. Visual impressions surround each of us everyday and ultimately will influence purrchases. Make them work in your favor!

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