Marketing for business on 2nd floor

[Katiekat]

Hi guys,
I have recently opened up a botique. I am getting great feedback from my social media and web presence. I have one problem however! I cannot afford the rent in a premises that is at street level. I am currently on a high street but my shop is on the second level floor of a building. Can anyone share any insight that may help get passers by into me? Or any tips on the signages/marketing material I should be using! All help would be so appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

It's a hard battle. My parents own a shop that has two floors and they have a battle getting customers to go upstairs.

You need to make sure you give the passing trade a real reason to go upstairs. Now that it's cold, make sure that it looks warm and inviting. Make it clear what you have up there, try and get some really good products visible from the entrance if possible.

Do you have a single door on the front that goes straight up? Do you have any kind of space before the stairs?

 

[ethical PR]

Your problem is that unless you are a destination shop/entertainment/leisure outfit, you will struggle.

When you did your research before opening up - did not having a second floor premises come up as a major mark against taking the shop?

You would have been better getting a premises off the main high street or on a market which would have been more affordable rather than a second floor premises, which no-one is going to wander into.

When you did your business and marketing plan where did you foresee most of your business coming from online or offline? If offline, your priority should have been a premises/location which your research showed you was most likely to be visited by your target audiences.

What you can do while depend on the location of the shop, whether you have window space facing the high street and what it says in terms of your lease and local planning laws.

 

[MOIC]

my shop is on the second level floor of a building.

Do you mean second floor of a retail shop (in a high street with a window frontage). . . . . .or building for another use?

 

[TrefG]

The only real way to get attention from passers by, is going to be having something remarkable at street level.

Not sure what your business is, but I'd be thinking about what I can put at street-level that would make people stop and want to know what it was all about.

 

[Welsh Retailer]

Employ a "human statue" to point at your door in the run up to Christmas??

Once they know you're there, they'll keep coming back if you have the right product.

Just an idea??

 

[myfairworld]

Yesterday I had a rare opportunity to go shopping myself in a small town I haven't visited for years but which supports many independent businesses (probably because it offers masses of convenient free parking!). I went into one gift type shop which had prominent notices at the entrance and around the shop that there were two more floors of the same shop upstairs. So obviously they were facing something of the same challenge as you though at least they had a ground floor section too.

As a shopkeeper I'm fascinated by shops, or at least by the small independent kind, plus this was a rare chance for me to do some Christmas Shopping outside of my own shop, so I did do the climb but with some difficulty. I'm arthritic and use a stick when out and about and negotiating stairs with a shopping bag and a stick is always a bit of a problem as well as stairs being a challenge in themselves. The stairs were narrow and there was a bit of an issue when I met two people who were coming down though this was partly because the lower of the two folk had stopped half way down to speak to the person above her and was oblivious to the fact that people might be trying to get up. Even with a better staircase (this shop was in a very old building though that of course has its own charm) there are obvious problems for older people, less fit people, people with pushchairs, people with small children and so on. Plus there is the fact that many people are just too lazy to climb any stairs at all.

Would I make the climb again? Yes because apart from the interest any shopkeeper feels in other shops I did find a very good gift for a friend and I found it one floor up which links with the point that Welsh Retailer has made. I suspect that many others would just not think of going to upstairs retail premises unless the items on offer were very unique indeed and of particular interest to them.

One thing this particular shop did have was a bell on each floor with a notice asking you to ring if you needed help with products or with carrying them. I nearly used that because I'd chosen rather a large item and was wondering if I could get it downstairs but it was light though large so I managed okay but I thought the bell was a good idea. Could you install one at the bottom of the stairs leading to your premises for anyone needing help with the climb or dealing with children while going upstairs? There is a sort of human thing that if people feel help is available they decide they don't need it, but if the offer of help isn't there they feel they can't access the premises.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Apart from a big sign outside the door and a clean and attractive stair well there is not much apart from paying for plenty of local advertising to your customer group, maybe discounts bar mats or something similar to pubs and clubs

Few people will venture upstairs unless they have a very VERY VERY good reason unless a department store

To me you have made a major mistake going for a second floor shop

 

[MOIC]

A second floor shop should command a rental of approximately 30% of the ground floor.

It can be a good decision as long as there is the following:

1. The ground floor has a good foot flow.

2. You have window frontage to attract customers to your floor.

3. The stairs are easily visible with signs, arrows and samples of your products to attract and entice customers to your floor.

4. Offer a promotion with every sale.

It can work, although ultimately it depends on your products and pricing.

You need to use the money you are saving for being on the second floor towards marketing and attracting potential customers.

 

[Katiekat]

Thank you all very helpful comments!!!

 

[tdwight17]

I disagree vitally with Leo-installingIT. Yes, passers-by might seek something warm and bright in the cold weather, but sometimes they like to go into something quaint and, perhaps even dark! Signs would obviously also work, but do NOT make them corny. People tend to disregard dull colours and antiquated messages--make it flashy, but slightly enigmatic. The store itself, however, does not have to be modern; it can have a musky and nostalgic smell. There needs to be a sense of purpose for people to enter your store, especially if, as you said, it is located on the second floor of a building. Often, these onlookers need a reason to divert themselves from their daily lives, so you have to convince them of your products' quality and show them that you are worth their time. I would be interested to see anyone's counterargument, however!

 

[AllUpHere]

It depends on the type of business. If you have the kind of shop where people need to pop in and browse as they wander round town (gift shop for example), I think you will always struggle upstairs. However, if you are a destination shop ( specialist of some sort, wedding dress shop, gunsmiths etc) your marketing can easily to tailored to make it a non issue.

What type of business are you in?

 

[Stuart Bailey]

try an A board

 

[Katiekat]

Its bridal and higher end ladies fashion botique!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

That's not so bad then as its a destination, people are looking for you rather than just shopping around

Can you make the shop entrance really stand out that you are a wedding shop and do every thing to make the entrance and stairs welcoming, maybe photos of dresses all hung up the side of the staircase, New coat of paint in a nice colour, Maybe some flowers on the landing etc.

Then its all down to service price and Advertising and marketing, attend every bridal show in the area often held at hotels, Give each hotel that caters for weddings a nice selection of your brouchers, try and get them to sell you themselves

 

[Neil Ball]

Somehow people have to find your business either by being in a location with a lot of passing people on the ground floor or you drive people into your business with marketing. I had this situation when I opened a shop.

The lack of visibility when you are not on the ground floor will result in significantly less business if you are relying on passing trade only.

You can try to compensate with A Boards and somehow making the entrance enticing but it will not have the same effect as a ground floor shop and window.

The alternative is that you use marketing to drive people to your store. If you know how to do online marketing then you should be able to get people into your store. If you don’t know how to do online marketing then you are either going to have to learn to do it or pay someone to do it. The risk of doing it yourself is that it may take you a while to get results whilst learn how to do it which could cost your business dearly. Obviously you can also do more traditional marketing but that also has a learning curve whiles you figure out what works and how to do the copywriting.

Whilst I understand that you can’t afford to be on the ground floor it may be case that you pay the price for poor location if you don’t do enough to compensate for the lack of visibility.

 

[JD@fifty6]

I was involved with a 2nd floor retail business a couple of years back, and it can be very tough. The real positive you have going for you is the bridal side – people are always getting married, so you have the opportunity to make yourself a destination.

I'd suggest that your first market to tap into are those who already think they've done their research locally and still don't know about you. The people you can evoke a "how did I miss them" reaction from. A lot of that would come from partnering with companies catering to the same audience – venues, florists, function bands even. These are the people who have the conversations about the struggles of finding good bridal wear locally. They're the people who will almost inadvertently do a lot of selling for you.