The store was popular in the neighborhood and had a steady flow of customers trickling in every day. That is until the COVID-10 pandemic hit, and stores got shut down because of the lockdown.

But the lockdowns and restrictions are lifting. And he’s ready to go full steam ahead with marketing to bring his customers back. 

If you also own a brick-and-mortar business and are ready to ramp up your marketing, we’ve got some ideas for you.

Marketing your Brick and Mortar Stores in the Pandemic 

With the pandemic still in the picture, digital marketing has become non-negotiable. There are times when you just can’t physically connect with your customers. Or anticipate that they’ll pass by your storefront. 

But you can reach them online and advertise to them based on their preferences. And by reminding them of all the perks of shopping in-store:

1. Personalized Experience 
2. Quality Assurance 
3. Personal Relationship
4. Premium service they get for being a loyal customer

You can leverage these when you market your brick-and-mortar store online and offline to bring back foot traffic to your stores. 

Once you do that, you will be back to the good old days of meeting your customers and not having a moment to sit in your store. 

7 Pandemic-Proof Marketing Ideas for Your Brick-and-Mortar Business 

So, you love your brick-and-mortar business. It is your lifeline, and you are ready to give it your all to restore it to its old glory. No more deserted shops and closing early. You want it filled with people (socially distanced, but yes filled)! 

When you think about where to start, though, it can be seem very overwhelming. 

We don’t blame you. Planning, executing, and maintaining a marketing campaign for your offline store can feel quite challenging.

That is why Kimp is bringing you a detailed guide on pandemic-proof marketing ideas to bring the Midas touch back to your business. 

1) Transition from a business into a brand 

You are a business, yes. But if you want to stand out from the competition and attract a wider audience, it is time to transition into a brand.

What’s the difference, you ask? Well, let’s compare a shoe store to an Adidas store. Adidas is a brand. And when you walk into that store you’re expecting more than just any old shoe. You need that kind of edge to grow in a competitive world.

To craft a brand – you need a clear purpose statement that answers the following: 

• “What do you offer?” 
• “Why should the customer choose you?” 
• “What do you aim to achieve with this brand?”

These answers will form your brand. And then your visual identity will turn them into visual elements that customers can relate to and recognize anywhere. 

This includes your logo, font style, brand colors, images, and overall visual style. 

Customers view brands as trustworthy, reliable, and expert in their fields. This perception can motivate people to walk into your stores and experience it themselves.

Kimp Tip: If you have some existing branding work, ensure that you share it with your design team so that they can create something that merges the old and the new innovatively. Need some help getting your branding designs done? Try Kimp Graphics to work with a dedicated design team. 

2) Invest in Website Design and Development 

Your storefront is important to make passersby walk into your store. And your website is important for people to express interest in, and learn about, your brand.

When someone on the internet comes across your name and products, the first thing they will do is check if you have a website. 

The design and development of your website make a tremendous difference to your reputation on the internet. Customers admit they judge a business based on its website, and you have about 10 seconds to make a good impression.

So, you need an excellent website and a design that attracts your customer.

Best Practices for Website Design:

1. Ensure that the home page or the landing page of your website hooks the visitor in. Demonstrate the problem you are solving and interest them in the solution.
2. The design of these pages must match your branding, industry style, and invoke curiosity and interest in the customer.
3. Choose a design team that can deliver high-quality images in the right resolution so that the page loads faster. 
4. Keep updating your website to reflect changes in offerings and promotions.

Kimp Tip: Website design is a crucial part of your marketing campaigns. But it’s not a set-it-up-then-forget-it kind of deal. You need to make sure your sliders and imagery are updated regularly. And that they are well-designed. 

Especially since all your advertisements and promotional campaigns will link back here. Invest in professional services to achieve an engaging and consistent design across all mediums.

Get a Kimp Graphics team to help you get high-quality designs like sliders, icons, and landing pages for your marketing campaigns. 

3) Be present on Social Media 

No you cannot be on five different platforms every day creating videos and posts. You have a store to run. We get it. But, let us tell why being “present” on social media platforms is important.

There are 4.72 billion users on the internet, out of which 4.32 billion use social media regularly. And add to that, Google reports that the “businesses near me” search went up by 200% post-2020. 

Lockdown, travel restrictions, and fear of contact from delivery agents are driving people to find local resources.

By creating social media profiles, you give them and your business a chance to connect and solve each other’s problems.

And keep, you don’t have to be everywhere. Choose the platform or platforms you want to be active on based on your target audience and be consistent there.

Ace the social media game for your brick and mortar store by:

1. Posting personalized videos of your store such as product tutorials, explainer videos, how-to guides, and anecdotes of customer queries. 
2. Engaging with the audience via comments, repost, and tagged posts. Talk to them. This connection separates your business from a generic e-commerce store.
3. Weaving stories that depict how invaluable an in-store experience can be. 
4. Running exclusive discount or giveaway campaigns that require people to buy in-store. Once they are in, we are sure you will win them over.
5. Try incorporating a brand character or mascot into your posts. This can be a great way to make your brand come across as more approachable. 

Kimp Tip: You can create simple marketing and explainer videos without going through the trouble of shooting new footage every day. Just sign up for Kimp Video, and then share your requests with your dedicated design team. And we will take care of the rest.

A creative way to drum up foot traffic

Have you heard what Ikea Dubai is doing to make people travel large distances to their stores? 

Ikea Dubai is now rewarding people who spent time traveling to their store by offering cash discounts on purchases. Based on how long they traveled, customers are rewarded with discounts on everything from purchases made at the cafes to other in-store departments. 

For more innovative social media content ideas, you can check Kimp’s guide here. 

4) Omnichannel Advertising 

When the goal is to go all out, omnichannel advertising is what you need. Advertise your store across different mediums like Google AdWords, pay-per-click campaigns, social media, website advertisement, billboards, mailers, flyers, and so on. 

Your customer can discover you from anywhere, right from a billboard from your neighborhood or a targeted Facebook ad to a Google search. 

There is no one right way of doing this – it depends on your budget and your marketing goal. Do you want everyone to know you, or do you want a few qualified customers to buy from you?

Honestly, you need a healthy mix of both to get your business back on its feet. So size up your goals and your resources, and find the sweet spot between the two for your business.

Kimp Tip: If you go the omnichannel advertising way, you risk giving out different impressions on different channels if you don’t coordinate the messaging and design. This can drastically affect customer experience and your brand identity.

Choose a design team that can handle print, web, static, and video advertisement design to ensure consistency. 

Speaking of design teams, have you checked out Kimp Graphics and Kimp Video for your business yet? 

5) Personalization FTW! 

Customers like shopping in stores for the personalized service they receive. It is much easier to pick out clothes with the help of the in-store employee than browsing from endless collections on an app. 

When you market your store, you must leverage this advantage. This is unique to your business and can set you apart from your e-commerce counterparts.

Personalized marketing has seen a terrific response from customers, with Spotify’s #OnlyYou campaign being a prime example. 

So, how can you bring the personalized touch to your marketing strategies? With email marketing campaigns. Some ways to do this include: 

1. Analyzing the data of your existing customers and reaching out to them via an intricately designed email marketing campaign.
2. Sending personalized, valuable, and thoughtful emails to them to make them feel special and cared for.
3. Curating products you think they may like and sharing those with them via a personalized newsletter. 
4. Launching exclusive discounts for their next in-store purchase on their favorite product.

Such campaigns are bound to bring your customers back to your store in a jiffy. Need some more email marketing ideas to make your customers and subscribers happy? Click here.

The fine line between Brick-and-Mortar and E-commerce Store Marketing

You may run a brick-and-mortar store and e-commerce store. You may wonder how different the marketing strategies for each have to be. And whether you should invest in a separate marketing campaign for each of them?

Well, the answer is the goal and tone of the marketing strategies for both retail businesses are different and need different approaches. 

With E-commerce, the goal is to go big on social media and get customers to buy your products. E-commerce stores have the advantage of being online and promoting themselves online, making the customer movement easy.

But, for brick and mortar stores, the design and marketing campaign spreads across online and offline channels. There is considerable effort to bring an online customer to the store. The branding effort is also quite nuanced as it has to merge with the existing storefront yet cater to a wider audience. 

E-commerce can take a global approach, whereas the brick and mortar need a global outlook but altogether a local approach.

Design with Kimp To Revamp Your Marketing 

To create an impactful marketing campaign for your brick-and-mortar store, you need to create interest and intrigue amongst your audience. And occupy enough of their minds that they gravitate towards your store.

That takes a powerful brand and visual identity. And both of these things need good design.

Which is why you need Kimp. Home to an experienced and passionate design team that delivers results for small and medium scale businesses worldwide. Seeing your success is our motivation.

Our flat rate design packages and customer testimonials also mean that you don’t have to worry about the quantity or the quality. It’s all on us.

Sign up for a free trial today and see what Kimp can do for you.