As the Retail Doctor, people often ask me, "How can I get more people into my store? How do I attract more shoppers?" And while it's good to attract shoppers, you better know your conversion rate, because just getting more people in the door isn't the begin all and end all. It's how do you convert those lookers into buyers? When you look around at how different types of businesses have made a difference, I think it always comes down to framing the entrance to your store.
Now let me explain. Probably 20 years ago, I think it was, Toyota had a model car dealership where they just put a big square around the door. It sets off that entrance, and they noticed that sales went up. So now if you go out and look around, you'll see the big square that goes around most new auto dealerships, and that seems to work.
At some others, like Mimi's Cafe in California, they plant all the pots and they put everything around the door so it looks like a garden. But you understand that's the focal point. For you today, maybe you've got a strip center or something else. You could always put pots or something out and then a welcome mat to really show that you're open for business and you want people to understand you are there to grab their attention. Once you get them in the door, then you want to start looking at how you can convert those lookers to shoppers. That's your tip for today from the retail doc.
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