How to Start Marketing Traditional Businesses

Tips on How to Start Marketing Traditional Businesses

All traditional businesses in the retail and restaurant industries need to practice marketing strategies to increase profit. 

If you have a traditional business and you do not have any marketing strategy, it’s going to be hard for you. You won’t be able to reach your potential customers. Also, you need to convince them to try your restaurant or retail store. 

If you’ve never done this before, then keep reading. We’ll provide you with tips on how you can incorporate marketing into your traditional business.

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Upselling through Signages

Attracting customers is what marketing is all about. Signages are great to boost your sales. They can also make your customers spend more whenever they are at your establishment. 

You can highlight deals that give more savings, features of some of your new or lesser-known items, or seasonal items they can try through your signage. You have to make sure that your signage has a clear display and label so that customers will notice it right away. 

Providing Free WiFi

Most people own a smart device, so it is not surprising that one of the easiest methods to market your business is by providing free WiFi. Once they enter your store or restaurant and use your WiFi to sign in, you can market your business by promoting new items or dishes. 

Your business and customers benefit a lot from free WiFi. They enjoy their stay more while they are on their device. Moreover, they will be more patient in waiting for your staff or servers. Because of the happy experience, they will most likely return to your establishment. 

Sharing customer reviews and check-ins

Another advantage of offering free WiFi is making it easier to seek support from your customers by encouraging them to check in at your establishment. You can also ask them to share content about your business on social media platforms. 

These are great options since your customers are likely browsing their social media feed on their phones if they use your WiFi. It also does not take much time to share or check-in, so it is best to try different CTAs or call-to-action to encourage them to do it. 

Asking them to post photos of your products or Instagram-worthy parts or food of your restaurant can help your business become known online. You can also ask them to check in before they can access your WiFi.

Concentrating on Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing is a strategy where customers get an experience in your business. For instance, restaurants that offer drinks to customers while waiting for a seat or stores having their lounges so that their customers can rest.

You can check your business and think of ways to improve your customer’s experience. 

Some ideas you can consider are having more activities or games in your lounge or waiting area. You can also strategize on how your staff can better interact with the customers. Creating positive experiences brings you more sales and good reviews. 

Giving Audio Messages 

Having audio messages is a great idea if you have an event or promotion coming.

You can have short audio clips you can play between songs to encourage customers to reserve for a new product or try a new meal combo at your restaurant.

Although your customers did not pay attention to the signage or talk to your staff, they will be aware of this information. 

Relating Your Entertainment to Your Business

If you have entertainment in your store or restaurant such as TV and music, you have to make sure that what you show or play is related to your business and supports your business’ ideals. It can be risky to show programs from a broadcast TV channel or play music from a radio station because you cannot control the content shown. 

Giving Out Surveys

Most companies depend on surveys to obtain performance feedback from customers. They also determine the things they need to work on.

A member of the staff such as the cashier is the one who usually asks customers to fill out a survey with the instructions and codes indicated on the receipt. Nevertheless, most customers either forget or are too lazy to do it.

What you can do is to ask them to fill out a survey before leaving the establishment. You can put a tablet computer near the exit or assign one of your employees to get the survey from them.

You can also give them a discount code for future transactions. Asking for comments through surveys and providing incentives to customers shows that you value what they say.

Holding Events

Since customers need to go to traditional businesses physically, hosting events is a great idea for them to visit your establishment. For instance, if you have a wine store or bar, you can have drink tasting events. Interested people are likely to invite family or friends, increasing your business’ exposure. 

Since they can sample the drinks right away, they might purchase wine bottles or order meals to complement the drink they are having. Some will also take photos and tag your business, so it is a great way to do marketing.

Checking Foot Traffic

Analyzing your customers’ experience when they go to your store or restaurant can help you boost your marketing strategies. You can see what you need to improve on your business’ setup by looking at their reaction when they enter or what they often look at. 

Conclusion

Finally, you know some of the ways to start marketing your traditional business. New and decades-old businesses can benefit from these tips. What makes marketing great is that it can be done in many ways. It is all about figuring out what works best for your business. 

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Ross Jenkins

Ross Jenkins is the founder of DigitalME and is an ActiveCampaign Certified Consultant. He is ranked #1 on UpWork for his proficiency in digital marketing. DigitalME offers targeted digital solutions and is perfect for anyone who wants to increase leads, sales, and productivity through automation.