While we thrive on discussing, sharing, and inspiring with insights surrounding the digital marketing and ecommerce worlds—the retail space is not lost on us.
Nearly 20 years ago we built our reputation on best-in-class SEO solutions dedicated to maximizing the visibility of local businesses in the digital space. The faster a local business could be found, the more rapidly a customer could hop in their car and make it to the brick-and-mortar location to complete their purchase.
Retail shopping locations are not only the backbone of our economy, but they are also a huge driver in profitability during the holiday season. There is something unique about the experience of making a physical purchase—so it is about time we talked about it.
If your brick-and-mortar location is going to be key to your holiday season success, here are 5 ways you can bridge the gap from the digital ecosystem to the physical retail reality.
Update Your Google My Business Profile
Though it’s no longer the shiniest, newest tool in your toolbox, Google My Business is still a powerful instrument for capturing eyeballs in your local market.
In fact, since GMB’s conception, Google has introduced a swath of additional features that you can use to strengthen your profile and bring customers to your door faster. While many of these features were originally fueled by the pandemic, most of them look like they are here to stay.
Here are a few that you should know about:
Health and Safety Information
With pandemic-related shopping requirements differing so widely, your GMB profile now provides you with the ability to outline the precautions and/or requirements your retail location has put in place. These may include appointment requirements, mask mandates, staff guidelines, etc.
Completing this area of your profile can help put shoppers at ease about entering and safely purchasing from your retail location.
Call Logging Data
This is a fairly new one and might not be available to everyone, but if you have customers calling—you definitely don’t want to miss them! According to Google: “You can use call history to keep track of phone calls from your customers on Google Search and Maps. Your calls are all in one place to help you respond to missed calls and stay engaged with your customers.”
So, if you don’t currently have call tracking in place, this simple yet effective profile feature may be worth testing out.
Direct Messaging
If physically picking up the phone to make or answer a call seems a bit old fashioned, adding messaging might be a better (or additional) solution for you. Similar to using SMS text or direct messaging from a social media profile, customers can perform the same action directly from your GMB profile.
This option was previously only available on GMB’s mobile app, but now you can also answer messages from your desktop. Some of us prefer direct messaging to calling—so why not give your customers the option?
Use Google’s Free Product Listings
While we have always had the ability to add photos to our GMB profiles, Google has expanded this to include specific listings for your most popular products. Though product listings will not show all the time, if local customers are searching for a specific item, Google may present your retail location as having their requested product in stock—with, you guessed it, a photo.
Most customers are aware that there are supply chain issues for many products they may be looking for this holiday season and may be ready to jump on offline purchasing opportunities.
You never know, a customer seeing that their product is right around the corner might be enough to send them through your front door.
So hop into your GMB profile and check out your options for featuring your best-selling products for the upcoming holiday season. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Provide Clear Local Purchase Options
Yup, we are still in the world of GMB; however, this little tip can apply to your website as well.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the practice of purchasing online and then either picking up your product in store or curbside has become a mainstay.
For many, this purchasing option is a convenience that has become part of their everyday lives—so you might as well take advantage of it.
Adding these purchasing options to your GMB profile will allow your more “hands-off” customers the ability to simply choose their preferred acquisition method with the click of a button.
This option has the built in benefit of saving on the additional cost usually associated with product delivery.
Customers can pick up their purchase at your retail location the same day, and your business does not need to go through the hassle of packing and shipping purchases to local customers.
All of these things start to add up when it comes to attracting local customers. If they can find products locally, clearly see availability, and order for pickup, they accomplish that holiday shopping list without missing a beat.
Email Your Local Past Clients
Now let’s dive into something a little more tailored to your specific local business—your list of past customers.
There may be no asset more valuable than an email list of your previous local customers. The fact that they already know who you are is one benefit, but so is the fact that you don’t incur your business any additional costs (i.e. Facebook or Google ads) to bring them back for their holiday purchasing.
Consider sending “in-store only” promotions to these local customers. Include a barcode or a promo code to be used for their in-store purchase, and be sure to include that your promotion is your way of saying thank you to your loyal customers for their patronage.
This thank you gift, rewarding customers for their prior business, can also help build customer loyalty.
If it suits your business model, you could include free delivery up to a certain date as your promotion. It may not seem like a big deal, but all too often additional shipping costs are one of the top reasons that customers abandon purchases.
So, if you can swing it—give it a shot!
Remarket With Geotargeting
Full disclosure, we are now getting to the point where you may need to invest some marketing dollars and cents. However, if you are already running digital ads, you might just be temporarily relocating some of this cash.
Often, a new customer might need to see your logo or company name several times before considering making a purchase. This is not out of the ordinary. One way to make this happen faster is with remarketing strategies.
Remarketing is the practice of showing your ad to those that have previously seen your ad or your website. If you have ever checked out a product and then started seeing the same product in your social media feed—this is remarketing.
One of the ways you can use this strategy for attracting local customers is to create a geo-targeted remarketing campaign in a 5- to 10-mile radius around your business. You can even customize the messaging in these campaigns to address your local customers differently than your national customers.
Something akin to “Hey Williamson County, the snow is coming next week. Now is the perfect time to XYZ” (local messaging) vs. “Well, it’s November and winter is coming” (national messaging).
You can turn these campaigns on and off with the click of a button, and they might just give you that extra little push you need to bring in those additional customers for the holiday season.
The Finish Line Is In Sight!
Nothing has been easy since the start of the pandemic, but in order to reach the finish line before your competitors this holiday season, now isn’t the time to let off the gas. Push that pedal down and don’t let up until the new year hits.
You still have time to make this an incredible holiday season, and if you need any last minute assistance to push your profits over the finish line, our team is ready to help.
As our gift to you, we are more than happy to provide a profit analysis to uncover your best, most lucrative opportunities. Click here to send us an email or you can call our team directly at (818) 740-4774.
Wishing you, your team, and your loved ones a very happy holiday season. You got this!