Driving Foot Traffic to Your Eco-Friendly Brick-and-Mortar Store

Sustainable businesses must do everything in their power to stay profitable. You won’t be able to do much to help the environment if your business goes bankrupt.

Fortunately, an eco-friendly brand will make it easier to attract customers. However, you still need to have a stellar marketing strategy in place.

One of the most important things that you have to do to make sure your sustainable business survives is draw enough customers. Keep reading to learn more about how to do this.

Importance of Foot Traffic in Brick-and-Mortar

For any kind of brick-and-mortar business you run, whether it’s in retail or any other area, driving people to your physical location is one of your top marketing goals. Eco-friendly businesses are no exception.

Foot traffic is one of the most vital considerations for such businesses. Fortunately, there are several ways you might consider going about increasing it. 

You have the advantage of appealing to a large customer base when running an eco-friendly business, as long as you offer quality products at a good price. A recent survey found that 68% of customers would pay more for eco-friendly products. This is an increase from 58% of customers that said the same thing in 2019.

These range from storefront marketing options to online, offline and many other formats outside your actual location itself. Why is foot traffic important for brick-and-mortar stores, and what are some of the top ways you can go about increasing it to your location? Here’s a simple rundown.

In many ways, the importance of foot traffic for physical business locations is somewhat obvious. Many businesses, after all, rely on customers physically entering their store in order to make sales. If people aren’t coming into your store, you’re not going to make any sales. It doesn’t matter how eco-friendly your business is if nobody wants to buy your products. Your customers will all go to your less sustainable competitors.

But foot traffic is important for other reasons as well. For one thing, it’s a key metric that investors and landlords often look at when considering whether or not to invest in or lease to a particular business. If a store has high foot traffic, it’s often seen as being more successful and having more potential than a store with low foot traffic.

Foot traffic is also important from a branding perspective, regardless whether your business is green or not. A busy store is often seen as being more popular and successful than a store that’s always empty. Even if people don’t actually make a purchase when they come into your store, just having them come in and look around can help increase brand awareness and potential sales down the road. 

Finally, foot traffic can also be important from a data perspective. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can use data collected from foot traffic to help inform your marketing and other decisions. For example, if you see that foot traffic to your store drops off sharply after 6pm, you might decide to stay open later in order to catch those potential customers.

There are a number of different ways you can increase foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar store. Let’s go over these in our next few sections.

Work with the Green Chamber of Commerce and other Green Organizations

You want to get the word out that your business is eco-friendly. This will make it easier to reach people that truly believe in sustainability.

Find out about eco-friendly nonprofits and business advocacy groups in your area. They will be happy to help promote your organization to local customers that want to be responsible consumers.

Use of Quality Eco-Friendly Business Signs

Few themes are more important to most brick-and-mortar businesses than making sure people can actually find your store in the first place. The use of quality business signs is one of the most basic but important ways you can increase foot traffic to your location.

From various small business signs for purposes like directional signage to large ones that can be seen from a distance, there are all sorts of different options available when it comes to business signs. You’ll want to work with a sign company to find the right mix of signs for your particular business and location.

You also want to use eco-friendly signs as well. It is a good idea to use signs made from recycled paper and nontoxic paint. This will be better for the planet.

But in general, the more visible your store is, the more foot traffic you’re likely to see. So if you’re not already using business signs, it’s definitely something to consider.

Location-Based Marketing

Another key way to increase foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar store is through location-based marketing. This is a type of marketing that targets potential customers based on their location.

There are a number of different ways you can do location-based marketing. One is through the use of location-based keywords in your online marketing, such as in your website content and pay-per-click ads. You can also target potential customers who are near your store’s location with things like geotargeted ad campaigns and social media posts.

Finally, you can also use physical location-based marketing tactics like flyers and window displays. If you’re not already using location-based marketing to drive foot traffic to your store, it’s definitely something to consider.

Gift Card Promotions

A great way of driving in new customers is by running gift card promotions. You can offer a discount on your products or services when customers purchase a gift card, or you can offer a bonus (e.g., a $10 gift card for every $50 spent).

Gift card promotions are a great way to increase foot traffic because they provide an incentive for people to come into your store. And once they’re in your store, there’s a good chance they’ll make a purchase. If you’re not already running gift card promotions, it’s definitely something to consider.

Hosting In-Store Events

For a number of business types, including retail, hosting in-store events can be a great way to increase foot traffic. Customers are always looking for things to do, and if you can provide them with an entertaining or informative event, they’re likely to come check it out.

There are all sorts of different types of events you can host, so you’ll want to choose ones that make sense for your particular business. But some examples include things like product demonstrations, meet-and-greets with local celebrities, and workshops.

Create a Space for Kids

If you’re the kind of business that markets to both adults and children, or even primarily to children, then you might want to consider creating a space for kids. This can be a great way to increase foot traffic, as parents are always looking for things to keep their kids entertained.

There are all sorts of different ways you can create a space for kids. It could be as simple as setting up a few toys in a corner of your store, or you could go all out and create a dedicated play area. If you’re not already catering to kids, it’s definitely something to consider.

Provide Chargers and Other In-Store Amenities

Another great way to increase foot traffic is by providing in-store amenities that customers will appreciate. This could be something as simple as providing a few phone chargers so people can charge their devices while they’re in your store. Or it could be something more sophisticated like offering Wi-Fi or a place to sit and relax.

In any case, providing such amenities will make your store more attractive to potential customers, and it’s definitely something to consider.

If you’re looking to increase foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar store, there are a number of things you can do. Some of the most effective methods include using business signs, location-based marketing, gift card promotions, and hosting in-store events. So, if you’re not already using these techniques, look for simple ways to implement them. And if you are already using them, try to find ways to improve your approach.

Create a Booming Green Business by Driving More Foot Traffic!

You need to make sure your eco-friendly business is drawing customers if you want to be successful. This requires you to adapt a good marketing strategy to reach consumers that care about sustainability. The tips listed above should help.