Businesses with physical stores or locations find themselves in a bit of a quandary as of late. Online businesses seem to dominate the majority of sales, so you’re struggling to bring customers to your place of business. You’ve tried everything you can – and you’ve got fantastic products with great deals – but what if the solution lies not in what you sell, but in the overall experience you provide?
After all, that’s one of the biggest differentiating factors a physical business has from an online one: you can offer customers a completely different experience that’s way better than what they get while browsing a website. It comes down to what you add to your premises, and here are some cool ideas that will bring in more business.
Playgrounds for kids
Child-friendly additions can draw in families and make them choose your business over rival establishments because you allow them to bring their kids. This is a popular option with a lot of hospitality businesses – particularly cafes, bars, and restaurants. Offering some sort of playground or play area gives families an excuse to come to you because the adults can enjoy whatever you offer while their kids play.
From splash pad equipment on hot days to simple indoor play areas for young children, there are various ways you can implement playground features on your premises. If you already target families – or even young parents – then this is a must-have addition.
Click-and-collect
Why try to compete with the online business world when you can embrace it and coexist? A click-and-collect feature allows people to order things online and pick them up at your premises.
The interesting thing is that you have two ways to utilize this:
- People order things from your online store and pick them up
- People order things from elsewhere and pick them up at your premises
The former is obviously beneficial, especially in retail and hospitality, as you tap into online orders but then encourage people to visit your store, which could result in additional purchases. The latter is also popular if you’re willing to accept deliveries from non-rival businesses. E.g. Your cafe is a pickup point for an online retail store, meaning their customers pick up their orders from you. As a result, you could so easily generate more business as click-and-collect customers are on your premises and may be tempted to buy what you’re selling.
Free parking
You cannot underestimate the power of free parking when it comes to drawing in customers. If you have enough space near your premises, then see if you can build a small parking lot. Implement parking validation inside so people have to go in and validate their registration. You could even design a system where people’s parking gets validated for the entire day if they buy something from your store. It’s such a simple addition that acts like a magnet to draw in so many customers every day – especially if parking is hard to find in your local area.
These three customer-friendly additions show that making a few changes to your premises can be all it takes to bring in more business. It’s all about upgrading the overall experience that your business provides, which can make it stand out from everything else.