What makes convenience stores a hit with customers is the full range of products that they offer. Customers can trust these stores to be stocked with most of their necessities, and they look to these stores for reasonable prices and great value. However, to be genuinely profitable, consistent and to foster growth, these stores like any other business will need to employ effective marketing strategies that will promote the items in the store and encourage sales.
One way to do this is with digital signage. These signs have become effective marketing tools since businesses have seen high turnover from using them within their establishments. Digital signs are one of the most exciting must-have promotional tools in several industries. Whether it is an educational institution, airports, hospitals, these signs are hot commodities to increase efficiency and profit. Convenience stores stand to benefit significantly from this too. A convenience store without digital signs in today’s landscape lacks in potential. Here’s how a convenience store can use them to earn the most from their customers.
Invite customers in
Before you make any cash at all the customer must find their way into your store to make a purchase. Sometimes all they need is a small nudge to do so, and you just need to find a friendly and efficient way to invite them in. Prospective new customers may be loyal to their grocery stores. So they might pass your shop regularly but are just not interested and do not see a need to stop by and look inside to see what is being sold.
This is why there needs to be a solution that is proposed to pull customers away from your competitors and get them to turn to you, to be the source for any product that they might need. One right way to do this is through the use of captivating and luring mediums that will showcase the features that set you apart from your competitors. Not only are digital signs attractive enough to encourage customers to take your business a lot more seriously, but they are also one of the best ways to portray information in an engaging way to your target audience. Just place them at the entrance of the store, to grab the attention of prospective customers, who are walking by. You can display your best deals and anything exciting that is happening within the store. You will be sure to catch a handful of customers each week from this. These signs are such excellent message communication mediums, and they never fail to provide positive results.
Advertise products
Convenience stores are popular for providing a wide range of products. So much so that customers might overlook some of the items that they offer because there is a lot to take in. In any typical convenience store, there will be a few aisles to go through and a few products that you will be targeting. The products that they are shopping for will likely distract them from getting to scan through thoroughly and find new items that they never knew you needed.
Considering the vast range of products that they offer, convenience stores need to adequately promote their items to their customers so that slow-selling ones might get sales boost and the best sellers can continue to provide surprising results. Using digital displays to illustrate the images is the first step that you need to take. When customers enter the store, you should make them aware of the product if they were not informed about it. When a product illustration grabs their interest, they will continue to keep the product in their minds so that they are subconsciously led to the store whenever they need these items. This is because the display pushes customers to associate your store with whatever product they see often. No matter how many stores offer the product, you need to be recognized as the premier provider for all their needs. Use the electronic TV signs to create a slideshow of the items with quick videos or just professional still images. For efficiency, the posters can also promote the different categories of things that the store provides. It can also continuously remind customers of what is top rated within the store, and it can show a positive spin on the image of the slow-selling items.
Make the store more attractive
Whatever business you are operating, should be presentable and attractive to pull in and retain customers. Attractiveness goes a long way with generating sales and loyalty. When customers walk around your convenience store, they should be able to shop comfortably and feel at ease just because there is a welcoming ambiance. Digital signs do not need to do much to create this environment. They merely need to be present in the store to make an impact. Digital signs have a look that can modernize any area where they are added. They give the space a clean and contemporary look that will work well with what customers are used to today, being a part of the technologically advanced era.
Use it to display promotions and price cuts
One of the most popular uses for digital signs is to display promotional information and drops in pricing, such as exclusive sales. This is because these tools are perfect ways to alert the customer of these things. With convenience stores, there will always be a need for promotions and price cuts. For instance, when there are products that are nearing expiration you might choose to get rid of them as soon as possible. In this case, it becomes essential to promote the price cut in the most efficient way possible. Digital signs allow the discounts to be vibrantly and boldly display for the customers to see as soon as they step into the establishment. There is no missing it. This will lead to a higher percentage of sales for the product before the product expires or becomes unsaleable.
Promotions are most successful when there is a buzz around it. They are not meant to be dry and dull events; if you conventionally approach your advertisements, then it will not serve its purpose efficiently. You do not need to pay for the most expensive mediums of pushing your promotions either, not when you have digital display within your store. These help to promote your advertising to anyone who comes into contact with your shop whether driving by or browsing inside. Digital signage provides a cost-effective way to share the most compelling promotional material with them.
Navigate customers to other areas of the store
Convenience stores have different areas that service their various item offerings. Sometimes you have a larger store in which it might be a daunting task to find the item that is needed because there are so many aisles to go through. You, however, do not want the customer to feel inconvenienced when shopping within your store as this can lead to fewer sales. This is why an additional effort needs to be made to help customers navigate their way around as efficiently as possible to find everything that they need. In addition to packing shelves in a smart way to make it easy for customers to find related items, you will need to help guide them around the store with visible signs. Using digital images to mark specific areas is one of the best options out there. Use digital photos to help a customer to be able to pinpoint the aisle that they need from anywhere within your store. Use them to also display some of the products within the corridor whether through images or writing. Additionally, position them in places that highlight other essential areas of the store such as the checkout area. Ensure that it allows for ease of movement and enhances the shopping experience so that customers will be encouraged to spend more money.
Display News, Weather, and announcements
Within every establishment that owns a digital signage, it is good to use it to keep customers aware of things happening that might be related to whatever industry the business is in. Daily, there is a host of occurrences that might be related to convenience stores or the products within them. Whenever there is anything that can be valuable to a customer if they know of it, then you can consider displaying this on your digital signage for the customer. Is there any news related to a specific grocery product? You can share this on your sign in the grocery area. Is there something that will affect the prices shortly? The TV signs are perfect ways to make customers aware of this so that they can be mentally prepared for the changes.
Build the store’s brand
Displaying your logo brightly and boldly on a digital sign will help to establish your brand within the minds of customers. Branding is all about familiarity and awareness. Customers need to know more about your name, and the best way to make them aware is by using creative mediums and images. Once they become aware, then you keep pushing it until they have created brand recall and association with your store. Your goal is to convert your customer to a loyalist; this is the ultimate aim of brand marketing.
Bland marketing strategies are forgettable and thus ineffective. Bland, however, is never a word that can be used to describe digital TV signs. They are colorful and bold and so persons who pass by can’t help but have a look. Whether or not they look at it absent-mindedly or deliberately, the signs are sure to have an impact and leave an impression on them. This is why it is one of the best mediums to let your brand identity stick with both your potential and existing customers.
Entertain your customers
There are sure to be some long lines at the cash register in your convenience store. Long waits mean that there will be impatient customers that might end up leaving without making the purchase that they need. On a busy day, you might try to keep all registers operational or try to encourage employees to be speedy when providing customers with service. However, you might not be able to avoid having a few customers wait and get a little impatient. One strategy that works to alleviate impatience is a distraction.
If you can distract the customers during their wait, it will almost feel like the time has passed by a bit quicker. Distracting customers means that you will grab their attention with something at least engaging. Digital signs can accommodate striking visuals of all kinds to present to your customers. These signs usually catch people’s attention whether or not they are watching something that is exciting or just simple moving images. Sometimes a person can merely stare at a looping picture alone, and it can pull them in subconsciously and take their minds off the line in front of them.
The Bottom Line
Are the sales within your convenience store lackluster? Are you looking to build your brand even more and grow your business? Then you will need to take some steps to get this done, and digital signage is as dynamic as it gets. Digital signs should be necessary for every convenience store that is looking to maximize its profits and keep its customers. Do not let your competitors get ahead of you with this and secure most of the sales. Installing these signs will be one of the most profitable business decisions that you make with regards to your store. Imagine the handful of benefits that these signs offer. These benefits will lead to an inevitable increase in profit which is the apparent end goal that you are aspiring for.