7 fatal mistakes that local shops are still making in 2023
Today I want to share with you 7 common mistakes that local store owners are still sadly making in 2023.
We’re all well aware that society, business and customer behaviour is changing faster than ever before – especially since the pandemic.
I still see local shopkeepers making the same mistakes as before though – pushing potential customers away instead of getting them through their door.
Pushing customers away instead of getting them through the door
So here’s the 7 crucial shop mistakes that you definitely don’t want to make:
1. You’re promoting your local shop everywhere on the net.
This way you are targeting everybody and no one. It’s a waste of your time and effort. Just find out where your “physical” customers spend their time online and reach out to them on that online medium only.
2. You’re running your shop as if e-commerce doesn’t exist
Whether we like it or not, our local shops have to co-exist with e-commerce shops. Online shopping experiences are totally different from offline shopping experiences.
Find out what great online shops are doing for your group of customers and adjust your shop to this.
3. You’re not writing down the results of your marketing efforts
Whether you’re organising a shopping event, dropping leaflets around your shop, doing a temporary discount or paying someone to post on your Facebook’s fanpage –
it’s crucial to take notice of the results and calculate how much profit you’re making.
If you’re not doing this, how do you know if it was a good action or not and therefore whether to repeat it or never do it again?
4. You’re not using input from your customers to improve your shop
Every day we get comments, reactions and reviews from our customers.
This is the best input we can get to adjust our shop to make our business better to get more people through the door.
If you’re not doing this, you’re missing out on the most important thing for local shops:
improving your shop so customers love it even more and set the word-of-mouth on fire.
5. Not being different from other shops with similar products or services
Many local store owners don’t stand out enough. They offer the same products or services as everyone else.
Give the same service as everyone else. Have a shop that looks the same as other shops.
Being different isn’t difficult at all and it’s the only way to get more people through the door every day.
6. Not having a goal for everything you do
Every leaflet drop, every post on your socials, every email to your customers, every event you’re organising, every paid ad online or in the papers should have a specific goal.
If not, how do you know if you did a good job, if people responded well to your action, if it’s something you can do again or not?
7. Not making time for learning
Running a small business and doing marketing is an ever-changing arena, and it’s crucial to keep up with new trends.
Without continuous learning I see local shopkeepers getting stuck in old patterns, struggling with new technologies and heavily limiting the success of their shops.
If you’ve already made one or more of these common mistakes, there’s no need to panic.
Making mistakes is inevitable, especially when you try to get more customers or try to increase your earnings.
Making mistakes is inevitable
Just recognize that these are common mistakes for local shops and you can move away and grow from them.
What mistakes do you still see local storekeepers making?
Or what would you like to see differently in your favourite independent shops?
I’d love to read or receive your reactions!
Connect with me HERE or just search for ‘Mieke Claerhout’ on YouTube 🙂
Or just email me here: mailto:yes@miekeclaerhout.com