Very interesting, I always thought a highly visible , high traffic location was the best.
I never knew that walk ins were not preferred. What other forms of marketing do you guys do to grab business?
It all depends on your model. High visibility will bring 'em in. It'll bring 'em
ALL in. It will bring in interested parties, tire kickers, cheapskates, mother's dragging 4 little ones, talkers, shoppers, people who can't speak what's on their mind, people just passing the time of day, people wanting to use the bathroom and competition. Now, keep in mind, it will pull more interested possibles than anything else, so it generally makes up for all the unwanted people, but there's one important elemnt you need regardless of where you're located.
You need a good product.
Okay, not all successful sign shops sell good products, but that's like any kinda business. How can you have a Pizza Shop on three outta four corners at an intersection...... and they all do well ??
- Price ??
- Taste ??
- Service ??
- Nice people ??
- Convenience ??
- Always too busy and ya hafta wait too long ??
- Wrong orders ??
- Special attention ??
- Bar ??
- Sodas only ??
- Location, location, location ??
You tell me. Ya gotta have what they want. Some of the best Pizza Shops are tucked away in the back of a shopping center or down under a bridge... and they still have standing room only service with tons of people waiting for their product. That's all it takes. Good product and a reputation to follow.
Forms of marketing to do business is to mingle, ask questions, say hello to everyone and have a card ready to palm off on everybody regardless if they look like a prospect or not. The vast majority of our customers are with us for more than 25 years. Very few drop off and when they come on board, they rarely leave, for good. They might test the waters, but they come back. They like what they got with us and I ain't too proud to say so.
