15 Marketing Strategies for Retail Stores

Retail encompasses hundreds of product markets and thousands of companies competitively vying for a sale. How one stands out in a large industry involves a store’s marketing. Marketing is more important than product and service quality, so marketing gets customers through your door. Without it, your store may face a ‘sink’ situation more than a ‘swim.’ 

Here are the marketing strategies used daily for retail stores to reach new leads.

Focus on High-Quality Content

Quality content for a retail store helps organically market your brand. Content can be posted on a website or social media. It can be text, image, or video. The three types of content most likely to be shared include that which is funny, value-driven, or creates an emotional attachment.

Run a Competitive Analysis on Comparable Companies

Because retail is so vast, there could be dozens—if not hundreds—of stores like yours to gain insights. Run a competitive analysis on others to see what they’re doing right and wrong in marketing. Identify potentially uncaptured customer segments you can target with your offerings.

Encourage Social Media Interactions and Activity

Promote social media engagement with digital signage. Keep your social feed active. Respond to public comments and inquiries. Feature user-generated content on your socials to build social proof and foster a sense of community.

Use Digital Signage Software for In-Store Promotions

Put up time-sensitive flash sales and promotions on digital screens in-store. Using digital signage software, you can update these promotions in real time and adapt them to your store’s needs on an ongoing basis.

Actively Cross-Promote And Upsell With Bundle Deals

Consider how you can increase your average transaction size. You can use showcase cross-promotions, complementary products, or impulse buys to upsell a customer. Bundle deals on related items can help you sell more while providing the customer with more value.

Encourage Sign-Ups to an Email Marketing List

Ask for an email with every purchase. This registers your customers to an email list. Use this list to market directly to your customers with personalized messaging designed to engage the customers at different points in their sales journey.

Adopt Strong Standards in Customer Service and Quality

When you deliver on product quality and service, customers notice. Go above and beyond. This word will get around. This creates brand awareness and can help you market via word-of-mouth, from existing customers to potentially new ones.

Be Responsive and Helpful to Customer Inquiries

Word gets around if your customer service is unsatisfactory by text, email, direct message, or social media. When a customer reaches out for information, respond quickly and effectively. A retail store should be highly responsive and prioritize strong customer service channels.

Brand Partnerships for Exposure to New Audiences

A retail company can partner with a complementary brand to offer that brand’s audience a special discount for shopping with you. They can also employ brand ambassadors, public figures, or influencers to speak about your retail store and build trust.

Encourage Repeat Purchases with a Loyalty Program

A loyalty program rewards customers who regularly shop with you. It gives them points and personalized offers and connects you directly to those most likely to buy from you. Regularly update loyalty offers and promotions.

Launch Customer Surveys to Hear Directly From Your Audience

Surveys on retail store websites, product purchase emails, and in-store receipts provide direct feedback. These insights can help with more effective marketing strategy planning.

Use Customer Data to Run Highly Targeted Campaigns

Retail stores generate large swaths of data every day. Use it! See customer behavior, what products are selling and which aren’t, and continually pivot to run better-targeted campaigns to maximize revenues. Data should continually inform retail store marketing.

Maintain a Consistent Visual Identity for Your Store

No matter if someone is in-store, on your website, sees you on social media, or catches one of your marketing ads somewhere, the look and feel of your store should be the same. Be recognizable. Use the same colors, font, graphics, and imagery. This is what provides a visual identity.

Digital Signage Software to Help You Tell Stories

Use video content for enhanced storytelling online, digital marketing, and in-store. Display video in-store on digital signage software that showcases product usage, brand stores, and behind-the-scenes footage that connects your brand to real people. Create emotional connections with customers by telling their stories of how a product or service positively impacts their lives.

Search for Ways to Customize Products

Customers love customizable product features, attracting more attention to your store. Adding or customizing names, colors, images, scents, accessories, cards or notes, and other product aspects enhances the connection between the product and your retail store.

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