How to Plan Retail Events That Drive Traffic, Boost Sales, and Win Loyal Customers
The Secret to Retail Events That Actually Work
Transform ordinary promotions into unforgettable experiences that drive traffic, boost sales, and keep customers coming back.
We love Shoppertainment: The use of in-store events and promotions – no cost, low-cost in-store events and promotions – to build foot traffic and increase store sales. Yes, there are times when you must run a sale in your store; however, do not confuse an in-store event with a sale. A sale provides you with the opportunity to clear out the dogs and the discontinued stock – pile it high and watch it fly! And yes, there are times when a sale can be combined with a promotional event, but the primary purpose of a promotional event is to attract new customers. Customers, of course, are the lifeblood of your business.
First Things First
Your first step in planning your in-store events and promotions is to get your hands on a blank calendar. You can buy a blank calendar or find one online; we use Google Calendar. It’s free, offers loads of options, and you can share it with your team. Keep an extra copy of your blank calendar because it will come in handy when creating your monthly refrigerator calendar – a complete listing if what’s in-store for the month – that you distribute to customers as bag stuffers. (Hint: Even though they are called bag stuffers, they should never be stuffed in a customer’s bag. For best results, have your cashiers hand the bag stuffers to the customer along with a short, sincere conversation inviting the customer to return to attend the advertised event.)
Schedule a brainstorming session with your store associates to gather ideas for each month of the year. This will be fun! In a brainstorming session, there are no bad ideas. No one gets to say, “We can’t do that.”, “That won’t work.”, or our personal favorite, “That’s a really stupid idea.” When brainstorming, there are no stupid ideas – that so-called dumb idea just might be your next big claim to fame when a staffer puts a new spin on the idea, or combines it with another idea. If you don’t stop the negativity at the very beginning of your brainstorming session, some of your team will clam up, and their potentially great ideas will be lost.
Have a list of Official U.S. Holidays handy during your brainstorming session. This list will help you plan events around specific holidays and avoid scheduling major events during major holidays. As one retailer said, “I couldn’t understand why no one came to my store for my first big open house. It was perfect!” Well, almost perfect. His big day was also Easter Sunday. Oops. Google “goofy holidays” for a list of fun themes, like Best Friends Day, Jelly Bean Day, Frankenstein Day, and more.
If in-store events and promotions are new to you, then begin by scheduling one major event and one minor event for each month. If you’re already holding successful in-store promotions, schedule one or two major events per month and two minor events per month.
A word about “major” event versus “minor” event: A major event is one that builds traffic and packs your store with buying customers. Do not confuse a major event with something that takes a long time to plan. A trunk show that keeps customers in your store for two to three hours is a major undertaking, but it’s not a major event unless it packs the store with shoppers who come to watch – and buy something while they are there.
A minor event might be a Saturday full of new product introductions, demonstrations, fashion shows, or DIY classes. Minor events draw customers to your store, but don't require a lot of time to plan.
Once you have brainstormed ideas and compiled your monthly list of in-store events, add each one to your promotional calendar in its appropriate place. You will also need to write a detailed description of the event, exactly as you see it, so that there is no confusion later.
Details, Detail, Details!
Each time you begin planning a promotion, answer these questions first:
What’s in it for me? Why should I run this particular promotion? What’s the reason I chose it? What’s my sales goal? In other words, what do you want to accomplish overall?
Will this promotion bring new customers to my store? Attracting new customers to your store should be a goal in every event that you run.
Will the new customers this promotion attracts be the kind of customers I want to shop in my store? This is not a trick question. For example, suppose your event offers a chance to win a $500 shopping spree, and you open your doors to find people who are not typically your customers and are unlikely to buy from you in the future. What good will that store full of people do for you? Not much. Instead, plan your events to attract the poor, misinformed shoppers who buy what you sell but tend to shop at your competitors’ stores.
Will the new customers the event attracts be likely to come back and shop again? What will I give them to entice them to return? Bounce Back Coupons that bounce ‘em back again next week are always a good idea.
Will this promotion attract my loyal customers? If new customers in your store are beneficial, then hordes of loyal customers are even more so. The national average shows that a repeat customer is likely to spend twice as much in your store on their second visit. Why? Because that customer trusted you enough to come back and shop with you again.
Could this promotion harm me by making the store so busy that I won’t be able to attend to my long-time customers? Ask Wal-Mart or Target about this one. When 6,000 people show up to meet a celebrity, how easy will it be for a shopper to run in and get what they need?
Will this promotion enhance my store’s brand and/or reputation? We know a retailer who owned a 1,700-square-foot store that sent out a fabulous offer to 3,000 customers with this one tiny stipulation: You must be present to win. 3,000 people trying to get into a 1,700 square foot store? You do the math…
Count Down to Your Event
Every tiny detail for your in-store event needs to be thoroughly planned and assigned to a team member to ensure it will be appropriately handled. Each event needs its own countdown calendar. Begin planning three to four months out (this time frame will be determined by the type of event and how much lead time you will need to get everything organized), meet with key personnel and assign each one an area(s) of responsibility.
Make all necessary initial contacts. Book the entertainment, the caterer, other retailers you wish to partner with, instructors, demonstrators, and of course, your vendors. And do it sooner, rather than later In addition to purchasing any necessary supplies you will need during your event, you might also want to place additional merchandise orders. If you run an event, you need to be in stock when customers arrive to buy.
Schedule a meeting to review the event and go over the details with your entire staff. Do this each week as necessary as your event approaches.
Design the advertisements, bag stuffers, contest forms, in-store signing, etcetera that you will use to promote your event.
Hold a store meeting the morning of your event with every store associate in attendance. Review everything thoroughly, then review it again.
Immediately after your event, ask everyone involved to evaluate how they thought it went. Follow up with a store meeting to discuss what worked, what you’d like to add, and what you might do differently the next time around.
To be successful these days, you have to do more than sell “stuff.” Today, it’s about touching customers’ hearts and minds as well as their wallets. You can survive by running occasional sales and maybe a few events throughout the year, or you can thrive by utilizing Shoppertainment – events and promotions – to connect with your customers and foster word of mouth. Putting together a promotional calendar and then bringing each event to life is not an easy task; it takes creativity, dedication, and sometimes sheer willpower, but it’s always worth it. If the task seems overwhelming or you’d like to do some pre-planning brainstorming before you start brainstorming your events, give us a call. We’ll be happy to help you exercise a little crowd control!