INDUSTRYNEWS
SPONSORED BY ALDRIDGE SECURITY
THE SMALL SHOP OWNER’S GUIDE TO
ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS
It can be hard enough at the best of times to make enough
money to keep your small shop running. Supermarkets are
expanding into all specialist areas but fortunately there
are many consumers who still understand the importance
of local, independent shops and enjoy using them.
The on-going financial difficulties do not
make things any easier for you to attract
customers. You might have an existing
customer base but should always be
looking to increase this to turn over the
most amount of money. So what can
a small shop owner do to attract new
customers?
Flyers remain one of the cheapest and
most effective ways in which companies
can attract new business in your local
area. Pick an area, perhaps a mile, say, of
your shop and distribute a catchy, wellpresented flyer to people’s doors. Local
free newspapers will have competitivelypriced flyer services – and you could be
crafty and negotiate an advertisement as
part of the package: local newspapers are
under pressure from other rival forms of
media these days, so it is worth a try!
SPECIAL OFFERS & VOUCHERS
Just telling people to come will not cut
it, you must offer them a reason to try
your shop – a special offer or money-off
voucher should do the trick.
This old-fashioned way of drumming up
business is a percentages game; OK, many
people will bin it without looking but even
if a small number of people come to your
shop then it will have worked.
Use public announcement stores to put
up posters advertising your new business
too. If you ensure this stands out and offer a
good deal, people should