How we engage with customers from the outside in
- People looking from across the road do notice us
- People looking through our shop front window have several planes to look at and through
- We physically engage with customers after hours
Through the window
I once did some marketing evaluation work for an architecture firm. A wonderfully talented young bunch of creative people, an equally creative shop front and their work space upstairs but customers just did not come through the door. Downstairs was a selection of models of buildings they had designed and these were displayed on stylish plinths amid a sea of large pebbles; wall to wall, front to back. Nothing else disturbed this space except for the set of stairs in the back corner which lead up to the business end of their architecture practice.
The shop window of these architects was far and away the most paused at by pedestrians along this stretch of retail but nobody new what was inside. Interviewing everyone who stopped and looked in the window, not one person new that they had just seen the work of architects. Guesses of art installation, vacant retail and others but nobody new it was an architecture firm.
The window which all these passers-by had stopped at had the company name on it but they weren't looking at that, they were looking inside to this wonderfully artistic space. We quickly got a sign on the back wall and then all of a sudden everyone new what they were pausing to look at.
Of course an architecture firm is not going to get by on foot traffic but the example does demonstrate the way people engage with shop fronts.
People want to engage with you before they step in the door
From across the street
I did some work for a pub whose customers amounted pretty much to a few regulars sitting on their stools each evening and the rest of the time was next to dead. There was nothing inherently wrong with the appearance or feel of the pub on the inside, but a quick walk outside and across the road once during the day and then again at night showed up two problems. Day or night, passers-by could not see into the pub because of window treatments. Worse still, at night, nobody could see the pub because almost every bulb on the outside of the building had blown.
With a week of well lit evenings on the outside and people being able to see into the establishment during the day or night, we all of a sudden had patronage.
Impressions of what's inside can start on the outside
What we've done
The main entrance to our retail outlet was cluttered by an old red phone booth. It didn't do anything except sit there and take up space. We moved the phone booth into the centre of the outlet and it now serves as an attention grabbing display case. The entrance has now been opened up to make it brighter and more inviting and real product can now be displayed there.
We've removed stickers and posters from our windows so passers-by can see inside to get a feel for what we are all about.
The focus for displays had always been inward facing to the point of having a display wall blocking off a huge window. From the outside all people could see was the back of a display wall. We have reduced the sizes of our display panels from two or three large panels on walls to five or six displays in the middle of the floor space. Now people can look in and between our displays from the outside and visually engage with us before deciding to come in.
We've cleared the windows and created fore, mid and background displays for people on the outside to be visually engaged
After closing
After closing our displays are lit and we stand out. We have also placed some promotional material outside in a plastic flip top box which is mounted to the wall. At first we thought that this box would be smashed and our material scattered to the winds. But after more than a year of having this display, we are without incident and the top ups required are testament to its use. Now people arriving outside of our opening hours can take a brochure and be a bit more informed when they phone, email or come back when we are open.
A simple plastic brochure box lets us communicate with customers and tell them that yes we are closed but we are still thinking of you
Now I did say that customers are down 28% on last year but I believe the efforts we have made have reduced the impact of what the downturn in customers could have been. I also believe that customers are seeing us as an ever changing business that they are interested to engage with. The staff are also enthusiastic in this culture of change to see what effect our efforts have on business.
David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
http://www.huttvalleynz.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington
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