24 practical tips to inspire you to do more awesome retail. Enhance your store environment, sell smarter, and make customers love you. Your next genius store idea awaits.
www.vendhq.com #1 Bribery works*. ! ! To get customers to follow you on Facebook or Twitter, or to sign up to your mailing list, give them a ! gift or discount. Bam! Instant network.! ! *Please don't use this idea when dealing with law enforcement ofcers.
www.vendhq.com #2 Try putting an iPad in store to use as a display tool. Put images, inspiring links and your online store ! on as bookmarks.! ! It'll work out cheaper than printing nice imagery and you'll look like you're from the future.
www.vendhq.com #3 Get random with your customers. Next time ! they visit give them a chocolate bar or pot of honey ! or nice soap with no strings attached.! ! Lab rat testing has shown that randomised reward builds greater interest than structured reward.
www.vendhq.com #4 Don't forget the rst three rules of retail. ! Location, location, location. ! ! If you're a retail genius you might beat ! a bad location, but a real retail genius ! wouldn't be trying to.
www.vendhq.com #5 Get Big Data.! ! Gather intel on your shoppers so you can ! get to know them, predict their behavior,! and enhance their experiences.
www.vendhq.com #6 Do you Google? So do your customers. ! ! Put yourself on the Google map by listing! on Google Places for Business. ! Also, make sure they can call you directly ! from looking you up on a mobile device.
www.vendhq.com #7 Giving to charity is good.! ! Studies show that 65% of consumers are inuenced by a retailer doing charitable activity. Not that you needed any other reason to give to charity, of course.
www.vendhq.com #8 Instead of a discount, give customers small gifts ! with purchase. They will feel more special and it ! will cost you less than losing margin. Have different gifts for different spends.
www.vendhq.com #9 Special occasion? Drinks are on you!! ! Throw a party for your customers. Seriously. ! Even if they can't make it they'll know you care. ! Plus you'll get good photos to share.
www.vendhq.com #10 Get your product into customers' hands with ! free samples and giveaways. ! If they love it they'll be back for more. ! ! Crack dealers know a thing or two, you know.
www.vendhq.com #11 Are you taking mobile payments? Mobile payments will account for $1 trillion in transactions next year. ! ! Try PayPal Beacon.! It's like you're buying something in The Jetsons.
www.vendhq.com #12 Make interesting stuff and post it on your ! Facebook/blog/Tumblr/MySnapJellyFace. ! ! Sure. But what stuff?! Here are some good tips.
www.vendhq.com #13 Get secret shoppers to visit your store. ! So secret that you don't even know they are there. ! ! In fact, treat every customer like they could be ! a secret shopper.
www.vendhq.com #14 Use a loyalty program to keep customers coming ! back by earning dollars to spend by spending.! ! More spending at your store is good, ! we can all agree on that.
www.vendhq.com #15 Walk around your store and look at everything ! like you are your worst enemy. ! ! You'll see a lot of stuff you need to do better. ! Then do it better.
www.vendhq.com #16 People who leave unhappy tell their friends. ! Punish them ingeniously. ! ! No, just kidding - be really nice to them ! so they won't be angry, silly.
www.vendhq.com #17 Roll out the red carpet for everyone who walks into your store. Don't judge on appearances.! ! You never know who is going to be your big sale.
www.vendhq.com #18 Do you have a mobile phone? ! Do you check internet sites on it?! Does your site work on mobile? ! No?! Do we see a problem?
www.vendhq.com #19 Play music that you can give away.! ! Tell customers that the music you are playing is ! on a Spotify playlist they can check out.
www.vendhq.com #20 It is cheaper and easier to keep a current ! customer happy than to nd a new one. ! So be cheap and easy. ! ! No, wait, you know what we mean.
www.vendhq.com #21 Check out your competitor stores often and steal ! any good ideas they have. Same goes with staff. ! ! But not products. Trust us on that.
www.vendhq.com #22 In the unlikely instance that a customer is being ! very wrong, that is the very best time to ! remember that they are always right.
www.vendhq.com #23 Do something cool with your window. ! Like really cool. ! ! It is basically a big free billboard.
www.vendhq.com #24 Always be nice to customers. ! ! You never know when you might need one.
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