Few people loiter in convenience stores. Most customers want to get what they want and go on their way. However, the location and atmosphere of your store can determine whether your place becomes the go-to shop for customers in your neighborhood or a store that most people avoid if at all possible.
Consider the fact that 63% of customers say they are influenced by a location’s atmosphere.
When a customer walks into your store, they will either relax and feel confident that you have what they need or try to leave as soon as possible. Fortunately, many of the factors that influence a store atmosphere are in your control.
Follow these four best practices for in-store marketing for convenience stores to elevate your business.
Direct Your Customers With Digital Signage
The best option for in-store marketing for convenience stores is digital signage. Your customers want to find their items quickly and see out how much they cost. To do this effectively, you have two options: traditional signage that needs to be reprinted and rehung whenever there are changes, or digital signage that you can change as often as you want.
More convenience store owners are switching to digital signage because of the ease of use and lower cost of changing messaging.
While the initial investment is more than sign printing, the benefits are long-lasting as you can update your signs as often as you need to without paying more.
Along with investing in the right signage, consider the placement and use of these signs. By guiding your customers to different departments, you can help them find what they need and maintain a positive reputation in the area.
Use Scent Marketing to Guide Customer Behavior
Scent marketing uses the power of perfumes and natural aromas to evoke feelings in your customers that drive certain behaviors. You likely have been moved by the sense of smell before, even if you didn’t realize it. The smell of a dish your mother made or a sweet perfume that reminds you of your girlfriend are examples of being moved by smell. The sense of smell doesn’t just identify the object, it also identifies memories and emotions related to it.
It turns out, there is science behind these close ties with memories, and it has to do with how our brains are built.
“The olfactory bulb has direct connections to two brain areas that are strongly implicated in emotion and memory: the amygdala and hippocampus,” explains Dr. Jordan Gaines Lewis at Psychology Today. “Interestingly, visual, auditory (sound), and tactile (touch) information do not pass through these brain areas.” It is believed that this is why the sense of smell is tied so closely to memories.
What does this have to do with in-store marketing for convenience stores? You have the power to evoke memories and drive behavior.
You can brew coffee on cool days and let the smell of fresh ground and roasted beans drive people to buy a cup of joe. You can use air fresheners to create a fresh scent that evokes cleanliness and builds trust in your store. Either way, you have control over what your customers smell and how they react to it.
Increase Customer Convenience With WiFi Marketing
It’s not uncommon for customers to expect WiFi in coffee shops and restaurants, but what about in stores? In late 2012, free WiFi went mainstream with stores like Target, Walmart, JCPenney, and Kohl’s all rolling out WiFi to customers across their chains. Previously, many of these stores were built out of cement blocks, and customers struggled to get cell service through the thick structures. Then, everything changed. Retailers finally realized customers would stay longer, spend more, and connect better with their brands if they had access to WiFi.
Customers who use WiFi in your store are 14% more likely to make a purchase. This number jumps up to 33% if they look up your app or website while they are shopping.
Customers use WiFi to answer their questions. They learn about product features that your staff might not know. They compare prices to make sure they’re getting the best deal. For shoppers, WiFi is an essential part of the education part of the buyer’s journey.
WiFi marketing is a nominal expense to your business. You can offer it to your customers for a flat fee and control the online experience as a whole. Why would you fall behind other convenience stores by not adding this element to your in-store marketing strategy?
Set the Tone With Branded In-Store Music
Along with using WiFi to keep customers in your store and guide them through the buying process, you can also use music as part of your marketing strategy. When it comes to in-store marketing for convenience stores, anything you do to stand out can give you an edge to bring more customers to your business. A simple and affordable option for many store owners is to curate music.
Overhead music significantly impacts shopper behavior. Almost 85% of customers say music makes the shopping experience more enjoyable, and 77% of shoppers say waiting in line isn’t as boring when music is playing overhead.
You can have happier, more patient customers in your store with the right music.
The concept of the “right” music is important. If you are blaring rock-and-roll or playing songs that get on the nerves of your customers, you might not have the positive impact that you hope. Many stores actually drive away customers because their music choices are too abrasive and grinding.
By developing a soundscape for your store, you can guide customers to buy and leave them humming along or tapping their toes to your selected jams.
Learn More About In-Store Marketing For Convenience Stores
In-store marketing is important even for businesses like convenience stores where customers quickly come and go. At Spectrio, we know how to use in-store marketing tools to quickly and effectively connect with customers coming through the doors of your business, and we specialize in providing in-store marketing for convenience stores.
Contact us to learn more about how we can bring in-store marketing elements to your business. Or, dive deeper into what is possible with in-store marketing right now by downloading our free ebook, The Ultimate Guide to In-Store Marketing.