We all know that solid marketing strategy is critical for business growth. No matter the industry, no matter the size of the business, getting creative with marketing strategies will set your business apart from the competition, draw in new potential customers and build loyalty with existing customers.
Last year, we learned that brick-and-mortar stores not only can coexist in the age of online shopping, but in fact, thrive. With a growing number of consumers who understand the importance of shopping in a physical space, brick-and-mortar venues should feel encouraged to invest in additional marketing strategies to keep their brand relevant.
The question to ask is, “what type of marketing should I be using for my brick-and-mortar venue?”. That is where a team of marketing professionals can help out. So scroll on down as we discuss the four smartest marketing strategies brick-and-mortar venues should be using in 2020.
Email Marketing
Please, don’t listen to the tinfoil-hat wearing folk who tout the end is nigh for email marketing. One look at the growing number of worldwide email users and there’s no doubt email marketing is hear to stay as an effective and powerful marketing strategy.
With all that said, it’s not enough to just start using a popular marketing tool and automatically find success in it. To see results in any marketing strategy, it’s crucial to be strategic on your execution. Utilize tools like a captive portal, Facebook Ad, or your own website as ways to encourage guests to sign up for your mailing list. It’s never a good idea to but email lists form third-party providers as it’s consider a less than professional practice and also puts your email sender score at risk.
It’s also important to be reviewing your email content periodically to see which campaigns are yielding your desired results. Consider A/B testing your email campaigns if you want to truly get better results from your email efforts.
Smart Tip: When designing emails, always consider responsive design. Research shows that mobile has long surpassed desktop readership.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is important to brick-and-mortar venues because social media provides a variety ways for people to interact with your brand. Last year, there was a 28% increase compared to 2018 in the amount of consumers who used social media as a way to communicate with a business and ask for some type of customer service.
Keep in mind, as more use people use social media s a form of customer service, you’ll want to use your social platforms as a tool answer certain questions regarding your store. Here are some typical assets you may want to start providing through your social profiles:
- Menu or product line
- Phone number and email
- Hours of operations
- Address and location
- Messenger popup for guests to ask other questions
Using social media as a tool for customer service may not seem like a typical marketing strategy, but it’s one your guests and potential customers will thank you for.
Smart Tip:Â When creating your general social media content, it always best to ensure you’re a content has a personalized touch whenever possible. If you’re wondering if your social postings are starting to sound like they’re coming off a conveyor belt, here are some tips to help your content sound more like the human you are.
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are the heartbeat of consumer research related to brick-and-mortar venues. Since research shows that 85% of potential shoppers trust online reviews as their ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ for shopping at a certain store, it’s imperative to have online reviews that puts your business in a positive light. If you’re currently not collecting online reviews for your store, Facebook and Google reviews are a great place to start.
Smart Tip:Â When it come to handling negative reviews, best practice is to address them as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Since bad online reviews can actually diminish your local SEO ranking for your other online content. If there’s an opportunity for you to correct the situation with the customer and have them change their review, don’t hesitate to ask said customer on what can be done to change their tone towards your venue.
How WiFi Marketing Can Help
There are multiple reasons for a venue to offer basic WiFi to its guests. But pair that basic network with a powerful WiFi marketing platform, and now you have a revenue-generating to top off your marketing strategies for 2020.
WiFi marketing includes tools that power:
- Guest engagement
- Social media following
- Email marketing
- Customer reviews
All of these marketing strategies are powered by WiFi network that guests interact when they visit the venue. If you currently offer WiFi to your guests and are ready to improve upon your marketing strategies for the rest of 2020, GoZone WiFi’s team of Smart WiFi experts are here to help. Our Marketing4WiFi platform is built to play a part on whatever marketing strategy you’re needing to improve upon. Need a better way to collect emails from guests? Social media following needs a boost? Want to hear more from your shoppers in the form of reviews and surveys? Contact us today or schedule a demo, and we’ll be thrilled to show you how to unlock the power of Smart WiFi.
