In this day and age, retailers face an uphill battle. With Amazon and other major online stores dominating the field, the competition can feel insurmountable.
But, just as David defeated Goliath, so too can local retail businesses compete with e-commerce giants. Here’s how.
5 tips for competing with online retailers
#1. Get listed
Before someone can shop with you, they need to be able to find you. The very first thing you have to do as an offline retailer is to make sure that you are listed in all the maps listings that you can be — Google Maps being the most important one.
Optimize your listing by adding a professional business description, photos of your business, your hours, phone number and address, business categories, etc. And, improve your visibility by getting reviews.
Get listed anywhere and everywhere your prospective customers might be looking. And listings management software, like the Marketing 360® Listings app, makes it quick and easy to keep your listings up to date and accurate.
#2. Market your store online
There are many digital aspects of marketing that you can use to promote your retail store to ensure that when people are searching for you, or searching for a product that you offer, you show up.
SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) help you get in front of people actively searching for your business or products on search engines. Social media marketing helps you target specific audiences and connect with your community. Remarketing ads help you reconnect with people who have previously shown an interest in your brand. Digital billboards help to drive visibility in your area.
Every small business needs marketing, and brick and mortar retail stores are no exception. Maximize your investment by marketing on the right channels and to the right audience.
#3. Offer free local pick-ups
One reason why it’s so difficult for small retailers — online and offline — to compete with Amazon is free shipping. Free shipping makes shopping convenient for customers, because what they order comes straight to them.
However, free or not, shipping takes time, and we live in a world that loves instant gratification. Take advantage of this by allowing customers who order online to get their order faster with free local pick-ups.
With free local pick-up, customers don’t have to wait for their order to come. They can visit your store directly to get their order today or tomorrow.
The easier, more convenient you make the shopping experience, the better you’ll compete with online retail giants.
#4. Emphasize the customer experience
A lot of retail stores offer a unique experience that comes along with them in person. Maybe you’ve been in the community for years, or there’s something different about your space or where you’re located.
Lean into the fact that you are a destination, not just an alternative to shopping online. Create a customer experience that’s centered around visiting your store. What is something customers can experience while visiting you that they can’t experience on a website?
Maybe you offer white-glove service to make your customers feel like royalty. Maybe it’s the fact that they can come in and actually try the clothes on, try out makeup samples or smell the candles.
Whatever it is that sets your in-person retail experience apart from online shopping, make sure that you highlight it in your marketing.
#5. Get involved in your community
When you’re buying something online, a lot of the time, you don’t even know what state that product is coming from, or even what country for that matter. That money leaves your community, and it doesn’t come back.
But, when you shop locally, the money you spend will change hands an average of seven to eight times before leaving the community. That’s additional income for lots of other small businesses and tax revenue for the community.
People want to support their communities, and it’s important to highlight the ways that you are involved with and give back to your community (apart from creating local jobs and keeping money local).
Get involved. Find local charities or nonprofits to support. Sponsor a local sports team. Invest in community events.
There’s a lot you can do to compete with online retailers. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t also expand your brick-and-mortar retail store to online sales.
Contrary to popular belief, online and offline sales are really two sides of the same coin. For the company utilizing both, they’re simply two different opportunities for consumers to purchase from you.