4 Ways To Get Consumers To Visit Your Store This Summer

In our last blog, we brought attention to the fact that summer makes its official start tomorrow. There’s no question that it’s a time of year that most Canadians look forward to. As a Canadian business owner, summer is a time that you should very much look forward to as well. As we pointed out on Monday, warmer temperatures bring people outside. And outside with those people is where you should be all summer long!

Of course, you’re not likely to have opportunities to attend every festival, barbeque, picnic, concert and ball game this summer. While it’s wise to try to be where your customers are, there are still many days when you’ll need to encourage members of your target audience to visit you in-store.

What are the best ways to encourage those visits? Here are four ways to get consumers to visit your store this summer:

1. Throw a big summer party.

As mentioned, you’re not going to be able to attend every party thrown this summer. That’s why it’s a great idea to throw one of your own. There are few ways to excite consumers more than to host a bash that will both provide a lot of fun and further enhance the image of your brand in the minds of your target audience members.

“Create excitement by hosting a summer event at your store that includes free giveaways, music, refreshments, face-painting for kids—whatever activities make sense for your store,” advises Rieva Lesonsky on SmallBizTrends.com, “Mail and/or email your customers party invitations that can be redeemed for a discount or a free gift with purchase. You can make the event exclusive by focusing on VIPs outside of normal store hours, or open it to the public.”

2. Celebrate special summer occasions.

Canada Day, Civic Holiday and even the start of the CFL season – these are just three of the special occasions that are celebrated each Canadian summer. Mark these days on your calendar and consider launching marketing campaigns surrounding them. It’s advantageous to generate excitement for your business based on the excitement that is already occurring across the country.

As Susan Solovic points out on ConstantContact.com, there is a ‘day’ for everything. “Find some fun days that you can transform into a ‘hook’ to get people to your business,” she advises, “One cousin eats free on Cousins Day, for example. By the way, I’m celebrating Penuche Fudge Day on July 22 whether or not your small business figures out a way to take advantage of it.”

3. Don’t forget the tourists.

Remember that the summertime isn’t just a fun time for Canadians. It’s also a fun time for visitors of Canada. Keep them in mind when you run your promotions this summer. Ensure that your branding message incorporates the fact that your company is very tourist-friendly.

“Does your local area enjoy an influx of tourists in the summer?” asks Lesonsky, “To capture their dollars, see if you can partner with local businesses that cater to tourists, such as hotels, bed and breakfast inns, restaurants or tour companies.”

4. Make it easy for customers to pay you.

The Poynt Smart Terminal couldn’t make it any easier to accept credit card and debit card payments from customers! Learn more about this amazing point-of-sale device by calling Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or emailing us at info@localhost.