Taking steps to incentivise customers to travel to your stores makes good business sense.
By encouraging customers to keep your store regardless of whether it’s the most convenient option, you can maximise overall customer value. And, as customer retention costs five times less than customer acquisition, this tactic increases overall profitability.
However, this requires a smart approach to marketing. Here, we’ll introduce you to some of the ways you can use location intelligence to fine-tune your marketing strategy and incentivise customers to travel to your store.
Deals and discounts
Collate loyalty card, sales and eCommerce site-related data to gain insight which customers are most valuable, and what their individual purchasing behaviours are.
Using this insight, select which deals and discounts will attract the most customers, or a specific customer group. Tailor the products you discount, the amount you discount them by and the duration of the discount to appeal to your chosen customer demographic.
Tempt customers into your store using ‘free’ extras or loss leaders related to high-cost items favoured by your key customer groups. Create bundles of related items to encourage customers to make higher value purchases, and promote them using targeted email marketing.
Timing is crucial. Offer seasonal and event-related discounts. Also, look at how the local transport infrastructure impacts on footfall, and time your deals to increase convenience for customers.
Targeted advertising
Assess individual customer behaviour using the sources listed above as a first step towards creating targeted adverts.
Combine this with location-related data to find out where your customers live, work and travel, and how this impacts their purchasing behaviour.
Use this data to choose which items to promote, where to promote them, and which methods and messages to deploy.
In terms of offline advertising, place a billboard on a major highway frequented by your customers, or hand out free samples to customers outside local transport hubs during rush hour.
For online advertising, use this data to dispatch marketing emails to the relevant groups at thetimes (such as during their commute). Orwhich social media platforms your customers are likely to frequent, and post promotional material here.
Either of these approaches could incentivise customers to visit immediately. Or, it can ensure your store is seen as a convenient option when they’re next looking to purchase a related item.
Improved in-store experience
customer feedback and purchasing behaviour to find out how you could optimise customers’ in-store experience.
Consider the customer service, logistical and amenity-related factors that could be improved. These are some examples of relatively small requests that could persuade customers to travel to your store:
- More staff to advise on purchases
- Improved parking/access
- Free Wi-Fi
- Assistance moving bulky items
- In-store cafe and bathroom facilities
Also, use sales data to make predictions and ensure you’re always adequately stocked with theproducts to meet customer demand. You might even see merit in hosting events for high-value customers as a means of establishing loyalty.
Use location intelligence software to get to grips with these techniques and keep a steady supply of customers visiting your store.
Discover how Periscope® can help give you the marketing insights you need to incentivise customers to visit your store.