Creative Ways To Market Your Retail Store

Tired of the same old, same old marketing tactics that every other retail store in your community uses? Postcards, special events, sales and advertising are all great ways to gain visibility for your store, but there are other ways to gain valuable attention that can drive business to your cash register. A few out of the box ideas include:

1. Reach out to local radio stations and publications.Explain to them in a professional fashion that while you are not looking to buy advertising space, you do want to donate some product from your store in exchange for their mentioning of your business either on the air or in print. Take the time to negotiate specific details so that you know exactly what you are partnering yourself up with. This includes how often you get mentioned in exchange for the product. Make sure you have a timeline defined, as well.

2. Have a front window display contest. You can offer this to anyone or reach out to specific group of people to do this, such as a local college or high school. Create buzz about this contest by promoting it to the local media. Have your partners in the contest, such as a college, do their own promoting of this contest, as well. Span out the contest over the course of a month for a highlighted, elongated event that will create  ongoing buzz.

3. Sell store gift cards at other local businesses. This is a great way to encourage cross promotion between local businesses, as well as gain a new audience of customers to your store. Even if they don’t sell a ton of gift cards to your store, the exposure will still offer the opportunity for your store to be introduced to new clients. To better support this, include an enticing visual display to feature the gift cards.

4. Hold monthly or bi-monthly seminars or clinics at your store. Depending on your business, you can educate your customers at the seminars or clinics, provide knowledge on products you sell or provide “how-to” information that relates to your store assortment. Don’t underestimate the value in bringing customers into your store for reasons other than shopping. This is a great way to show you support them and in return, they just may end up shopping!

5. Volunteer your time by offering speeches on career days at high schools and colleges. Depending on who your target market is, this could introduce you to a whole new audience of potential customers. Make sure to “sell” your business during your speech.

Finally, don’t be afraid to try new things. Look for ways to promote your business in non traditional ways that bring new eyes to your store. Be open to new ways to promote your business so that you can gain new customers while keeping your existing clientele. And of course, when you find something that works for you, make sure you do it again and make a big deal out of it each time. The best thing to do is to keep up with marketing, though. Those that avoid it all together are typically the ones that fall behind.