Increasing store traffic: the usefulness of marketing studies

Introduction

Supporting and developing store attendance is a major challenge for owners of physical retail outlets. As e-commerce gains ground, traditional stores are facing unprecedented competition. The current environment shows that consumers are moving less and less to physical stores, preferring the convenience of online shopping. These trends reflect a critical need for store owners to understand the motivations and barriers of non-visitors.

💡 So how can you meet this challenge and bring more customers to your store? This is what we are going to discover throughout this article.

1.Define your catchment area

One of the first essential steps to increase store traffic is to clearly define its catchment area. Often misunderstood, it is a key term that should not be overlooked, allowing you not only to understand where your potential customers are but also to know how to effectively attract them to your store.

Why is the catchment area crucial? 🤔

Think of your store as a magnet, and the catchment area is the magnetic field that surrounds it. 🧲 The more precisely you understand and define this catchment area, the more you can focus your efforts on attracting consumers to your point of sale. Before using a strategy Drive to store, it is important to define and improve your catchment area. This will help you attract more customers to the store.

With the advances in marketing studies and the use of social networks, you can now precisely target your customers. You can determine your catchment area according to the region, department, city, or even municipality. This data allows you to personalize your marketing actions to directly reach your target audience.

Check out our item to learn more about how to define a catchment area and how to define it correctly.

Now that we understand the importance of the catchment area, let's explore how marketing studies can help you identify areas for improvement to increase store traffic. 📈

2. Marketing studies: an effective lever for identifying areas for improvement and increasing store attendance

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In a constantly changing commercial environment, understanding and anticipating the needs of your customers is essential to maintain the competitiveness of your store. 😉 Marketing studies prove to be a valuable tool that allows you not only to understand your customers, but also to identify areas for improvement in order to increase store attendance.

Why is marketing research essential? 👀

1. 👥 Create a profile of your visitors and non-visitors: marketing studies help you to precisely define who your current customers are and who are not yet crossing the threshold of your store. You can analyze socio-demographic criteria such as:

• Age,
• Sex,
• The geographical location,
• The interests,
• etc.

This in-depth knowledge of your typical prospect allows you to customize your marketing strategies to meet the specific needs of each segment of your customer base.

2. Measuring overall customer satisfaction and its Net Promoter Score: you can assess various aspects of the store experience, including accessibility, attractiveness of the offer, and the pleasure of the visit. By collecting customer feedback, you identify strengths to maintain and areas to improve to ensure a positive experience.

3. Evaluate the image and my reputation of your business : understanding how consumers perceive your store compared to your competitors is essential. Marketing studies allow you to measure the reputation of your brand, assess its image, and determine your market share compared to the competition.

4. 🔍 Understanding shopping habits: By analyzing buying habits, such as frequency of visits, reasons for buying, and preferred products, you can adapt your strategy to attract more customers. If you find that a lot of customers are coming to your store for specific products, you can design special offers or promotions to keep them coming back.

5. Measuring the perception of an activation in store before it is launched : before deploying new in-store initiatives such as animations, you can measure how they are perceived by your potential customers. Marketing research allows you to gather feedback prior to launch to adjust and improve these initiatives.

One of the major advantages of marketing studies lies in their adaptability and precision. Discurv, for example, offers an innovative approach via social networks. This method allows you to interview frequenters, non-frequenters, and even former frequenters in your catchment area, to the nearest kilometer.

In partnership with players such as real estate Nhood, Discurv assesses the satisfaction of visitors to shopping centers and identifies specific courses of action for each center. This approach offers unparalleled granularity to understand the expectations of your audience.

How does that work?

1. Ultra-precise targeting : the studies are carried out by targeting the people to be interviewed in a very precise and novel way. It may be appropriate to target the inhabitants of municipalities bordering each shopping center concerned.

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2. Setting up quotas : a well-defined methodology is put in place to guarantee the representativeness of the responses. Respondents are divided according to the proximity of their home to the shopping center. They can be divided into three categories:

• 50% living in the primary zone, who are the closest residents to the mall.
• 30% living in the secondary zone, which are slightly further away.
• 20% living in the tertiary zone, who are further away but continue to frequent the center.

This methodology allows us to obtain a representative sample of the clientele of each shopping center, with particular attention paid to those with geographic proximity.

Thanks to this careful approach, we are in a position to assess visitor satisfaction specifically for each shopping center, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and make specific recommendations to improve the customer experience in each location. That being said, let's now explore concrete actions to boost traffic to your store.

3.How to attract customers to a store: “the courses of action”

In an increasingly digitized world, physical stores are facing a major challenge: how to attract and retain local customers? The answer lies in implementing effective marketing strategies.

Here are some concrete examples of marketing actions you can put in place to achieve this objective:

• Targeted local advertising : use local advertising to reach your local audience. Traditional media such as local newspapers and the most listened to radio stations can be effective in reaching a geographically close audience. Refine your strategy by exploiting digital media such as Facebook ads and Google Ads, which allow you to specifically target residents in your area. You can Use a web agency to help you create these campaigns.

• Social networks : social networks are a powerful tool for interacting with your customers. Use platforms like Facebook, Instagram (Meta), and Twitter to promote special offers, in-store events, and to create meaningful engagement with your customers. Sharing visual content and videos can generate strong interest in your store.

• Loyalty programs : set up loyalty programs to reward your regular customers. Loyalty cards, exclusive discounts, and special benefits encourage loyalty and keep customers coming back regularly.

• 🌍 Local influencer marketing : collaborate with local influencers who have an engaged audience in your region. Their credibility and proximity to their audience make them excellent ambassadors for your store. They can promote your products and your store to their audience.

• In-store events : organize in-store events to create a unique experience for your customers. Open days, workshops, tastings and demonstrations attract visitors and then strengthen relationships with customers.

• Collecting customer reviews : Encourage your customers to leave positive online reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, TrustPilot, and TripAdvisor. Positive reviews boost your store's reputation and can attract new customers who are looking for trusted local businesses.

4. The power of local marketing research

When looking to boost physical store visits, local marketing becomes an invaluable asset. The key to success is a thorough understanding of your audience, their needs, and preferences. 😎 By using tools such as local marketing studies, it is possible to not only understand your audience, but also to influence their behaviors and reactions.

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How can local marketing attract a local audience?

Local marketing focuses on engaging your target and local customers, using specific strategies to get their attention.

It also allows you to personalize your message and your offer according to the specific needs of your audience. You can use familiar elements, such as references to the region, local events, or personalities to connect more deeply with your customer base. 🚗

Local marketing studies to understand and influence

Les marketing studies local are an essential tool for understanding your target prospects but also for evaluating the impact of your advertising campaigns on their behavior.

Two types of studies are particularly relevant:

• Communication campaign pre-test : before launching a communication campaign, validate that the message and advertising creation are well understood by your local target. Les pre-test studies make it possible to measure the reception of the message, to identify possible confusions or misunderstandings, and to adjust the campaign accordingly. You can also conduct A.B tests to maximize the effectiveness of your communication by ensuring that it resonates correctly with your audience.

• Advertising post-test : once your communication campaign is broadcast, it is crucial to measure its impact. Les advertising post-test studies assess how your target audience reacted to the campaign and its impact on brand image. Thanks to Discurv, it is possible to specifically interview people who have been exposed to advertising messages, whether on the radio, on billboards or online on social networks.

For example, we carried out a post-test study to measure the evolution of the reputation and image indicators of the Aushopping brand after the launch of a local advertising campaign broadcast on radio, posters and digital. This study was carried out via social networks for 6 days, in a targeted manner among 1600 people aged 18 to 74, living in the metropolis of Lille. This allowed the following key indicators to be analyzed:

• Advertising souvenir (display/social networks/etc.)
• Understanding the message conveyed
• Appreciation of advertising (and associated reasons)
• Impact on reputation (spontaneous and assisted) from the Aushopping brand
• Impact on the image From the Aushopping brand

The final words

With smart marketing strategies, it is possible to attract a target audience, strengthen relationships with your customers, and increase store traffic.

If you want to find out more about how Discurv can help you optimize store traffic and maximize the impact of your local marketing, don't hesitate to contact us Contact. Together, we can create a personalized strategy that will strengthen your local presence and increase store traffic.

Frequently asked questions

How to calculate your attendance rate?

To calculate store traffic, you can use the following formula:

First, you need to determine how many unique visitors are coming into your store over a period of time. Then, divide that number by the total number of days your store is open and then multiply by 100 to get the percentage rate. This will give you an indication of the average traffic rate for your store.

How to measure the effectiveness of your local marketing strategy?

To measure the effectiveness of your local marketing strategy, you can use a variety of performance indicators such as:

• In-store conversion rate: measure how many visitors actually become customers once in your store.
• Increase in sales: compare sales before and after implementing your marketing strategy.
• Retention rate: monitor how many customers come back regularly through loyalty programs.
• Customer reviews: Look at online reviews to assess how satisfied your customers are and how they react to your marketing.

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Bonus: Have a website or a Blog can also bring people to the store.

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